Pumpkin Pie

We like Pie. Here is Cait with pies (and brownies) she made for me to take on a staff retreat.


Beth from Acorn Collective asked for a recipe for pumpkin pie. This is Ian's mother's recipe for a nice light pie filling. She served it at Thanksgiving. It is Ian's and Pat's favourite kind of pie. The pie crust recipe is from my friend Liz and it is her mother's recipe. The method of mixing the ingredients is critical to its success. I have used it for over 30 years - (it cant be that long!!!) Both mothers have passed on and its comforting that passing on these recipes keeps a bit of them still with us.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour
2/3 cups shortening
I tsp salt
1/2 cup of milk (You may not need all the milk)

Put flour in a large bowl. Put shortening into the bowl with the flour and cut the shortening into 4 pieces and then cut each of those pieces into 4 pieces and then cut each again into 4 pieces. Then with clean hands thumb the flour and shortening mixture over your fingers until the mixture resembles little grains. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time - important just add enough of the milk for the flour to form a ball and handle dough lightly. Pat dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and cool in the fridge for half an hour. Roll cooled dough out on floured surface. Place rolled dough into pie pan and cook at 375 degrees fahrenheit until faintly golden brown at edges.

Pumpkin Pie

I large tin of pumpkin
3 cups of cooled scalded milk (I don't always scald the milk)
2 cups of brown sugar
6 eggs - separated
I tsp cinnamon (I use a heaping teaspoon)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice (I have never found this)
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Mix sugar, pumpkin and spices together. Add in egg yolks, then cooled scalded milk, to pumpkin mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff and then fold gently into pumpkin mixture. Pour pumpkin mixture into lightly cooked pie shell.

Bake for 10 minutes at 420 degrees fahrenheit then lower temperature to 375 degrees fahrenheit and bake for 35 or 40 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream.

Up and At 'Em

Sunday was a better day. I read more with Pat, cleaned up the kitchen, made a really good dinner of meat stuffed cannelloni with tomato and béchamel sauce and two pumpkin pies. Yum!! Pat and I also watched Nim's island video and we really enjoyed that. Pat also addressed 8 of his 24 valentines. Way to go.

Today was good too. I want to make a few valentines and started on that tonight. Devon helped me sort out an etsy account and paypal - he thinks I'm a dinosaur -but I am learning to evolve. What gets catches me up is remembering the passwords.

I did a bit of work on the craft room and Ian worked on the office.

Its so beautiful here...the sun was shining and there was a light dusting of snow on the mountains - just so beautiful.

Seeking Balance But Stumbling

Yesterday I did not get up off the couch...I was glued to the computer...Stumbling....

The night before all kinds of good resolutions were made about what I really wanted to do this weekend.
Read Inkspell to Patrick,
Call Caitlin,
Put some order into the craftroom,
Make a nice dinner,
Make valentines,
Do some baking,
Clean up the pile of stuff in the hall, and
Check out what is left to do in the office

I started off fine with calling Cait and read a chapter of Inkspell to Pat but he had to keep nudging me as I was so dozy. (Must be those 12 to 14 hour days at work) and then I just did nothin, nada, rien ... except stumble

Amazing how I could spend all day and night reading about the wonderful things others were doing that I would like to do and could do but I actually did nothing. Give my head a shake!!!

February 2009

Where has the time gone??? January has simply disappeared.

Cait has gone back to university and likes her new place.

Matt has flown out to London and has taken the train to Edinburgh. He called the english countryside scenery "ridiculously pretty." Mat is planning to get a job and work in Edinburgh for a year - what an adventure lies ahead for him.

Devon is staying with us and helping out with Patrick. I hope he uses some of his time here to learn to drive.

Patrick and Ian have been skiing/snowboarding on early dismissal Fridays and enjoying themselves. The snow has disappeared in Vancouver but condtions are great in the mountains.

We have cleaned out the laundry/storage room and made it more usable as an office for Ian. The last piece of work is to relocate the laundry appliances to our main bathroom and to the apartment bathroom and then we should be set. My fingers are crossed that it will work out.

Work has been very busy but I have found some time over Christmas and on the weekend to work on the quilt I have been making Caitlin. It started off as a twin size quilt but now she has a queen bed so I created some borders to make it wide enough. Thankfully I had some extra material and am pleased with how it is turning out. LOL I can't sew a straight line that is for sure - but I am so happy to be sewing again.

Still looking for our camera dock - when its found I can post some photos.

Today was a good day - Pat was thrilled to have a friend over, I made chocolate brownie cookies with almonds, and a really good sausage casserole from Happy Loves Rosie's blog and watched Waterhorse with Patrick this evening.

Oh my!! I just found an old blog entry where I had promised Cait to have the quilt finshed for Christmas - 2007 - hope I make Valentines 2009!! Here are some photos from October 2007 - showing the fabric and the quilt before the new borders have been added.