{"id":7917,"date":"2019-10-17T21:52:58","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T21:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/?p=7917"},"modified":"2019-11-04T02:25:54","modified_gmt":"2019-11-04T02:25:54","slug":"single-mom-chronicles-october-13th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/17\/single-mom-chronicles-october-13th-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Single Mom Chronicles October 13th 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s pumpkin month.\u00a0 And, yes, this post is late.\u00a0 Again.\u00a0 Even I’m rolling my eyes.\u00a0 And I’ve been basically absent for the entire summer.\u00a0 Even though my kid is grown, I know those of you with kids still in school can relate to how busy the summer months are.\u00a0 It certainly never felt like a break of any kind!\u00a0 But let’s pretend that I kept up on the Chronicles and just pick it up here.\u00a0 With Halloween!<\/p>\n

I’m so excited!\u00a0 Halloween is one of my favorite silly holidays.\u00a0 No one tells you that being a single parent is more like being a prison warden.\u00a0 You spend most of your time being a disciplinarian.\u00a0 And it sucks, to say the very least.\u00a0 But on Halloween, you get to give candy with wild abandon.\u00a0 Or, at least with as much abandon your wallet will allow.\u00a0 I had priorities with my candy money, which I saved here and there from the previous two months.\u00a0 Teenagers got the cheapest mints ever and trick or treat aged children got chocolates.\u00a0 That’s how I roll.<\/p>\n

I still drape white sheets over the furniture.\u00a0 I still cook for a crowd.\u00a0 And I still give out undesirable candy to teenagers.\u00a0 Some years have been more fussy than others.\u00a0 But I’ve always done SOMETHING….even in the leanest years.\u00a0 In the lean years, slumgullion was a hit.\u00a0 In moderate (or lazy) years there was chili and sometimes it was in a pumpkin.\u00a0 In better years it was steaks on the grill.\u00a0 But every year there was a roasted pumpkin for puree and stock.\u00a0 That recipe is here:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/05\/let-thanksgiving-begin\/<\/a><\/p>\n

There was also something with apples.\u00a0 My kid loved apples and still does.\u00a0 For around six bucks I could make an apple pie.\u00a0 I’ve done caramel apples, candied apples, apple dumplings, mulled apple cider, apples and cheese…the list goes on.\u00a0 A home made dessert…even just fruit and cheese on a plate…made the sting of getting half your hard earned trick or treating candy tossed out much less traumatic.<\/p>\n

Yep.\u00a0 I was that mom.\u00a0 Chocolate stayed unless it was wrapped in unsealed foil.\u00a0 Cheap hard candy got tossed.\u00a0 Salt water taffy?\u00a0 Gone.\u00a0 Gum?\u00a0 No thanks.\u00a0 Whomever handed out gum clearly never had to clean it out of a clothes drier.\u00a0 Or off the walls.\u00a0 Or out of hair, carpets, and auto upholstery.\u00a0 Candy was metered out one piece at a time one day at a time.\u00a0 I managed to keep my kid cavity free his entire life.\u00a0 Because who can afford dentists?!<\/p>\n

Apples in the fall are easy and affordable.\u00a0 For pie filling, the most effort takes about half an hour of coring and peeling, which can be done with nothing more than a paring knife.\u00a0 If you don’t have a pie dish and don’t want to spend a dollar on a three pack of disposable pie plates, you can easily make hand pies.\u00a0 No pie dish required!<\/p>\n

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I liked to use Granny Smith because they were less expensive and often quite large which meant I needed less apples….five to eight usually does it.\u00a0 They hold their shape the best in cooking and baking.\u00a0 Bonus!\u00a0 It took me a very long time to figure out how to make an apple pie after my grandmother passed.\u00a0 I regret not having learned her pie tricks.\u00a0 But this pie is pretty good, if I do say so myself.\u00a0 If you’re short on time, just use a boxed pie dough.\u00a0 There’s no shame in it.<\/p>\n

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I used boxed dough for years. It was under three bucks and I’m a terrible baker.\u00a0 However, recently I came across Babe’s recipe for pie dough.\u00a0 Babe was Gramma’s best friend for decades.\u00a0 She gave me a copy of a cookbook for a womens’ league that she submitted her pie dough recipe to.\u00a0 I stumbled across the book cleaning out the garage and I’ve been dying to try it out.\u00a0 My guess is that it’s the same recipe Gramma used.\u00a0 Let’s find out!<\/p>\n

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The actual recipe calls for two cups of vegetable shortening.\u00a0 Yikes.\u00a0 I swapped it for butter and cut the amount by a quarter cup.\u00a0 If you only eat hot pie (wow that sounds…awkward) then vegetable shortening is just fine.\u00a0 However, we can’t eat a whole pie in one sitting and inevitably the leftovers need to go in the fridge.\u00a0 Cold pastry made with vegetable shortening is just gross.\u00a0 Sorry (not sorry), but it just is.\u00a0 If you’ve ever eaten anything that was made with pastry and it coated the inside of your mouth with a weird film that feels slick….that’s cold or room temperature vegetable shortening at work.\u00a0 No thanks!<\/p>\n

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What I like about the pastry recipe is that it makes four rounds.\u00a0 You can make two fruit pies or four single crust pies or a mixture of both.\u00a0 I kept two rounds in the freezer and made two single crust chocolate pies a few days later.\u00a0 Perfect!\u00a0 I mean, if you’re going to spend the time, might as well make some extra to save time…..later.<\/p>\n

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Being the terrible no good awfully horrible baker that I am, I spent years…literally…perfecting apple pie.\u00a0 Actually, it wasn’t perfecting, but more of just trying to accomplish an edible pie.\u00a0 Happy?\u00a0 Anyway, I sweat my apples and I use scant seasoning.\u00a0 Also, I skip the lemon juice.\u00a0 Because, why?!\u00a0 It’s just to keep the apples from browning and they’re going to be baked anyway.\u00a0 I’ve always found the “browning” of the apples to be minimal enough to skip the lemon thing.\u00a0 I have better uses for my lemons, nor are they cheap.<\/p>\n

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Where was I?\u00a0 Oh, yes.\u00a0 Sweating.\u00a0 I keep my peeled, cored, sliced, and seasoned apples in a big bowl in a warm place as long as possible….sometimes all day.\u00a0 I give them a stir now and then.\u00a0 What results is a liquid I reduce to a sticky goo that I drizzle over the pie right before adding the pastry lid.\u00a0 I’ve never changed that aspect of the pie through all my trials and errors.\u00a0 Without further adieu….behold…apple pie from a terrible baker.<\/p>\n

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Apple Pie<\/h2>\n
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Ingredients<\/h3>

FILLING:<\/h4>
  • 6-8<\/span> large Granny Smith apples<\/span> about 8 cups cored, peeled, and sliced<\/span><\/li>
  • 1\/2<\/span> cup<\/span> sugar<\/span> roughly...I use 3 handfuls<\/span><\/li>
  • 1<\/span> teaspoon<\/span> nutmeg<\/span> more or less to your taste<\/span><\/li>
  • 1<\/span> teaspoon<\/span> cloves<\/span> more or less to your taste<\/span><\/li>
  • 1<\/span> tablespoon<\/span> cinnamon<\/span> more or less to your taste<\/span><\/li>
  • 1\/4<\/span> cup<\/span> tapioca flour<\/span><\/li>
  • 1\/4<\/span> stick of butter<\/span> however much that is<\/span><\/li>
  • 1<\/span> egg beaten<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div>

    PASTRY:<\/h4>
    • 4<\/span> cups<\/span> all purpose flour<\/span> plus more for rolling<\/span><\/li>
    • 1<\/span> teaspoon<\/span> salt<\/span><\/li>
    • 3<\/span> sticks unsalted butter frozen<\/span><\/li>
    • 1<\/span> cup<\/span> ice water<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n

      Instructions<\/h3>
      • In a large bowl, coat the prepared apples in the sugar, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.\u00a0 Toss to combine well.\u00a0 Set aside for several hours.\u00a0 I do my apples in the morning.<\/div><\/li>
      • Meanwhile, prepare the dough.\u00a0 Pour cold water into a cup or mug or whatever and place it in the freezer.\u00a0 Give the salt and flour a quick whisk.\u00a0 Chop the butter into marble sized pieces and combine them into the flour.\u00a0 I use my hands to smoosh (that's a technical term) the butter into the flour.\u00a0 Alternatively, you could use a pastry blender (I don't own one) or you could toss the whole thing into a food processor and give it a few pulses.\u00a0 I'm kind of low rent and I didn't want to clean a food processor mess.<\/div><\/li>
      • When the flour butter mixture looks like small gravel, add the ice water and stir to combine.\u00a0 I use a wooden spoon or a stiff spatula here.\u00a0 I do a kind of folding in method.\u00a0 When the dough is completely combined (ish), turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and do a quick knead to get it really all together, sprinkling scant flour when you need to.<\/div><\/li>
      • Form it into a makeshift round, cut it into four pieces, reshape them into rounds, and wrap the individual rounds in saran wrap.\u00a0 Store them in the fridge and go do some laundry or whatever you have to do and come back to your pie later.<\/div><\/li>
      • When you're ready to bake the pie (finally), separate the apples from the liquid that's formed.\u00a0 Put the liquid in a small saucepot and boil it on medium or medium high and the apples in a different bowl.<\/div><\/li>
      • While the goo is cooking, toss the apples with the tapioca flour.\u00a0 Toss it well to get the apples evenly coated.<\/div><\/li>
      • Roll out one round of pie dough to fit your pie plate on a lightly floured surface.\u00a0 I shoot for a thickness of about a 1\/4 inch or less.\u00a0 To move the rolled out pastry from your work surface to the pie plate, fold the dough in half and then in half again.\u00a0 I learned this the hard way with many ripped pastry doughs on my belt.\u00a0 Then unfold it into the the pie plate.<\/div><\/li>
      • Preheat the oven to 375.\u00a0 Put the apples into the pie plate and press them gently down to compact them.\u00a0 I do some fussing here, but not too long!\u00a0 Keep an eye on the goo bubbling away on the stove!<\/div><\/li>
      • Dot the apple mixture with the butter.\u00a0 Top the the whole thing with the sugar goo.\u00a0 It should be sticky and syrupy like.\u00a0 I have no idea how long this takes, either.\u00a0 Right now you're thinking, \"What is with this ridiculous recipe?\"\u00a0 But it takes about 15 minutes.\u00a0 Ish.<\/div><\/li>
      • Roll out the second round of pastry and cover the pie with it.\u00a0 Pinch the bottom pastry and the top pastry together to seal it.\u00a0 Brush the beaten egg over the entire thing and dust it with a little sugar.\u00a0 Cut 4 vent slits into the center of the pie with a knife.<\/div><\/li>
      • Place the pie on a piece of foil in the center of the oven and bake it for between 35 and 60 minutes.\u00a0 I know that's a large variance, but some ovens are just so weird.\u00a0 I start checking it at 35 minutes.\u00a0 Enjoy!<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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        \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        It’s pumpkin month.\u00a0 And, yes, this post is late.\u00a0 Again.\u00a0 Even I’m rolling my eyes.\u00a0 And I’ve been basically absent for the entire summer.\u00a0 Even though my kid is grown, I know those of you with kids still in school can relate to how busy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":[],"wprm-recipe-roundup-description":[],"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_1752.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pagICo-23H","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7917"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7917"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7974,"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7917\/revisions\/7974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.burnedatthesteak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}