Some Final Comments on This Week’s Meringue

Two days after being baked, the meringue is still light, foamy, and not at all sticky. It is not weeping and there are no little beads of moisture developing. It is still firmly attached to the top of the lemon filling. And strangely enough, the filling seems less watery today and the crust is nice and crisp. I have no idea how that works. The crust was completely waterlogged yesterday. The only explanation I can come up with is that the excess water leaked out of the cut pie into the pan allowing the remaining slices to dry out a bit. But who even knows? 🤷

I’ve been reading up on why lemon meringue pie is prone to becoming watery and I have a couple of tips to try that could potentially help. So there really might be another real meringue pie in the not-so-distant future. Anyone who knows me well knows that a culinary conundrum is like the call of the wild to me. I have to figure out how to fix the kitchen chemistry so that my brain can let it go. I guess it’s a good thing that we like lemon meringue pie!

Let me wrap things up with a completely non-pie related matter. It would seem that the meringue and the turkey were not the only successes this year. Apparently, this year’s gravy was also top notch. We ate leftovers for dinner this evening and once the mashed potatoes were gone, Malia asked if she could heat up the last little bit of gravy and eat it with a spoon. 😂

Culinary Experimentation

Let’s talk about turkey. For those that don’t remember, I bought a fancy roasting pan three years ago. I did loads of research, read lots of reviews, and selected a solid option. I used one of those $2 disposable foil pans from the Walmart prior to my purchase, so I was very excited to have a Bonafide roasting pan. But then…the pan failed its main purpose. For three years in a row, the back of my Thanksgiving turkey was not cooked. Even when I overcooked the breast in an effort to get the entire bird up to temperature, the back stubbornly remained a vehicle for salmonella. I tried everything I could think of to solve the problem-cooking the turkey on a lower rack, adjusting temperature, tenting the turkey to slow the cooking of the breast, doing the first part of the roasting with the back side up instead of down, etc. And nothing seemed to help. As you might expect, there was some frustration that increased exponentially with each year. So, this year I bought the $3 pan (inflation happens), and was ready to redneck my disposable roasting pan with rolls of tinfoil in place of the rack from my swanky and useless roasting pan, which was too big to fit the foil pan.

But this morning, I was watching a video about how to truss a turkey (since I only do it once a year, I always have to review the procedure prior to turkey time) and saw an alternate and intriguing turkey roasting method that used just a standard shallow baking sheet with a cooling rack used as a roasting rack. And an idea began to take root. The standard half sheet baking pan used in the video I watched is the most commonly used sheet pan in my kitchen. I have half a dozen cooling racks that fit inside the previously mentioned pans, but I also have a super fancy roasting rack that came with my super useless roasting pan. And the fancy rack fits perfectly inside the basic sheet pan. And just like that, my plans changed. The hardware for roasting this year’s turkey changed to one of my 26-year-old work horse baking sheets and my fancy rack. I was hopeful and honestly, a little bit excited.

The results of my change in hardware were absolutely stellar. Not only was the entire turkey cooked, but the breast was still nice and moist when the back was fully cooked. And since the rack lifted the turkey above the edges of the pan, hot air circulated around the entire turkey which meant even the bottom was beautifully crispy. As an added bonus, the turkey roasted faster due to the increased air flow.

So, let’s count those pros:

1. The entire bird was cooked.

2. The breast was still moist when the back was done.

3. The entire turkey was crisp. Yum. More crispy skin for everyone.

4. The roasting time was shorter.

5. I didn’t have to spend any extra money or time to have the appropriate hardware. Yes, $3 isn’t much, but it’s more than spending nothing.

And the cons:

1……

I’m never going back. It was a complete success. I did put a little water in the bottom of the pan right at the beginning of the roasting time so the butter and herbs that dripped wouldn’t scorch, but once the fat of the turkey started to render, that problem was solved. And I am a happy, happy camper today. Chock full of turkey and nearly drunk on success.

Now, let’s talk a bit about the other highlights of the day.

Daniel and Tawni were here for Thanksgiving this year. Now that they are married, we are in the season of alternating holidays with them, so it was nice to have them here. As I mentioned yesterday, Tawni got to experience pie day at my mom’s house which even in this year’s scaled back version was mighty impressive to a two-pies-only person. She got to sample our assortment of favorite pies, and the cranberry orange custard is the clear winner. She loved that one just as much as we do and fully supports Daniel and Nathan in their plans to make more cranberry orange custard pies in the very near future.

Tawni was fascinated by my turkey ministrations, commenting that her mom’s prep is much simpler. But let me reiterate that I enjoy cooking. So doing a delightful butter and herb rub, stuffing the turkey with aromatics, and trussing the bird to allow a more even bake is just part of my routine. She has been educated on our whole “skin the turkey” routine and while, like most people, she just didn’t understand the draw, she is also one of those try-anything-once kind of people. So, she grabbed a fork and watched as my other children jockeyed for position, and then followed their lead as they dug in. And due to the previously mentioned butter and herb rub and the fabulous new old roasting pan, the skin was delightfully crisp and flavorful. And now she completely understands our compulsive need to eat that skin while it is crisp and hot. And I suspect in future she will gladly participate in the good-natured fight for the best bits that always happens.

The portion of our day not spent eating turkey and way too much pie was whiled away playing games and talking to Matthew. Kevin and I talked to him for a good long chunk last night, so today he focused his time on his siblings. Daniel, who loves jazz music just as much as Matthew does, played him a little snip of a jazz arrangement of the Harry Potter theme and Matthew was absolutely drunk on the music. Limiting his listening to only what is in Gospel Library has been harder than he expected. Music is how he expresses his joy and what he listens to corresponds to his mood and is often what he turns to when he needs a little emotional lift, so listening to his normal music has been one of the things he misses a lot. Daniel knows Matthew well and knew that just a little jazz would be a balm to his soul. 

Now, I need to make some further comments on the meringue. It was light, fluffy, voluminous, and delightful. It was not sticky, even though I made the pie yesterday. I have learned a couple of tips that solve that problem and the tips are the same for the egg-free version. The only fly in the ointment was the fact that the lemon filling got watery, so watery that the crust got soggy and collapsed. That has never happened with the Matthew friendly version, so I think next time I will try the allergen free filling with the egg-based meringue. But even a bit watery, the pie was delicious and the meringue was completely satisfying. And tall. So beautifully tall!

I am filled with gratitude today for all the blessings I have. I have an amazing family and spending the day with them was a joy. We all missed Matthew, but he is in the exact right place for now and will eventually make his way back home. Tawni has been such a wonderful addition to our family, and she makes Daniel incredibly happy. Malia is becoming a wonderful young woman who adds laughter to our home. Nathan comes home and plays our piano which gathers dust when he is away. Kevin does all the cleaning after I use every dish in my kitchen to create the lovely kitchen chemistry that becomes our holiday meal. And the covenants we make means that this joy can be eternal. My heart is full. I am truly blessed.

The Real Meringue

I’ve spent the past two decades learning how to bake without eggs and milk, which are in all reality the basic building blocks of so many confections. But out of need, I experimented and failed and tried again and over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at creating a variety of allergen free versions of cakes, cookies, pies, candies, etc. Most people never even know that the goodies that show up at ward events or bake sales are sans milk and eggs. And I’ve never begrudged the need to make such accommodations in my cooking. It was just one of my missions in life to ensure that Matthew never felt the sting of his allergies in his own home and to provide him with the childhood joys of enjoying a warm chocolate chip cookie, savoring a sticky sweet cinnamon roll, and blowing out the candles on a decadent birthday cake. 

Having said that, with Matthew away from home for a season, I’m happily taking advantage of the opportunity to use more traditional ingredients in some of my baking. I used real eggs in Malia’s birthday cake, made fudge with real butter, and am already thinking about what kind of cheesecake to make for my birthday. But the one I’m super excited about today is meringue made with real eggs. The bean juice works, which still kind of blows my mind, and talking about “bean juice pie” is always a fabulous conversation starter, but I have actually been a little bit giddy about being able to use real eggs so that I can get some of the stability and volume that is such a struggle with bean juice. I know some folks are making magnificent meringues with aquafaba from chickpeas, but since Matthew is allergic to those, I’ve been using the liquid from navy or great northern beans, and it just isn’t as stable. But it works. And the lemon meringue pie is one of Matthew’s favorites, so I’m happy to bean it up and I feel like I’m learning new things every time I try it. 

So, it was a bit of a heady feeling to separate the eggs, turn on the Bosch, and watch the volume increase. I know that probably sounds stupid, but I enjoy baking. It is like therapy for me. Seriously, I was feeling anxious last week so I made bread. And it definitely helped my mood. And it is much cheaper than the hourly rate of most therapists. And as an extra bonus, it leaves a much better taste in your mouth. 😜 So yes, I’m not ashamed to say that today’s meringue filled me with glee. Piling it up high on top of the lemon filling made me smile. Creating the traditional peaks that held their shape in a most marvelous manner resulted in a ridiculous grin. And taking the final results out of the oven perfectly browned and still just as voluminous nearly made me laugh. I can hardly wait to taste my creation!

Other than the luscious lemon meringue, our pie menu is small this year. We have two pumpkin pies (plus a tiny one for Kevin’s parents), a cherry pie (which is Malia’s favorite), and a cranberry orange custard (which is Nathan’s favorite pie of all time). So, six pies in total, five for my own little crew. Tawni is flabbergasted by the whole pie thing. The thought of a full pie per person just blows her mind. She says they usually have about two pies and that feeds the entire extended family. However, my mom’s thirty-two pies still make my half dozen appear extremely moderate. And Tawni did get to experience pie day at my mom’s house, which is pie making on an entirely different level. 😂

With today’s baking done, I can turn my mind to the next culinary adventure-attempting to get my entire turkey cooked. And regardless of the outcome of that endeavor, I’m looking forward to the post-turkey pie eating!

Cherish the Pie Time

At Thanksgiving around here, the turkey is not the focus of the entire event like it is for most people. Thanks to my mother’s obsession with creating pies in absolutely obscene numbers (something we are trying to cure her of), the focus on pie is something I grew up with. And it has carried over into my own family just a little bit. It’s not that we don’t love the turkey, it’s just that we really, really love the pie! But while we really, really love the pie, we definitely like it in smaller amounts than those created at my mother’s house. 

As the years have gone by, there are favorite flavors of pie that have become staples at our Thanksgiving feast. Pumpkin, of course, is always on the menu. Nathan’s favorite is cranberry orange custard, of which I’m also a huge fan. Cherry is Malia’s pie of choice and while she has helped make the cherry pie the past few years, she was disinclined this year, so Nathan took over and learned how to make a lattice top pie. It turned out beautiful and he was very proud of his accomplishment.

The only other pie we made this year was what we all refer to as bean juice pie. In reality it is a Matthew friendly lemon meringue pie, but calling it bean juice is more fun. 😁 Of all our allergen free pies, it is the one that gets talked about the most. Because let’s face it, making meringue without eggs is pretty interesting. And the name of the pie is an attention grabber as well. This year’s bean juice ended up being less voluminous than usual and I’m not sure why. But I have been doing some research on the aquafaba meringue and picked up several tips that kept the meringue fluffy for days rather than turning sticky as it is prone to do. It is always a work in progress, I guess. 

When it was time to eat all the delicious pie, there was much frivolity like normal. When my kids all get together, they just can’t help themselves and jokes, puns, wise cracks, and laughter are plentiful. The three boys kind of ganged up on Malia in terms of jokes. It seems like their whole goal was to get her laughing and keep her laughing. And they succeeded. Honestly, with all of them working together, she didn’t stand a chance! And like usual, there were no pictures where all four of them looked normal. 😉

Now that covered all the aspects of our pies, let’s return to the turkey. My new skill for the year was trussing a turkey. It really isn’t all that hard, but it is something that I just never bothered to learn. But YouTube was a big help, and the bird ended up looking as good as it tasted. Unfortunately, the back of the bird was not cooked all the way through. The exact same thing has happened for about three years now, ever since I got my nice roasting pan. I have done a bunch of reading, have tweaked bake times and temperatures, lowered the rack in the oven, even started roasting the turkey back side up and then flipping it part way through the bake time. But still, the back is not cooking. I never had issues when I used one of those $2 disposable foil pans from the Walmart, so next year I’m going to go back to the cheap pan and see if it solves the problem. But I’m kind of bugged because I spent $60 on a roasting pan that was highly rated and raved about and now I can’t get my turkey roasted correctly. It is highly annoying. 😠

Turkey roasting woes aside, it was good to be together. I love these times. And the pie. And the kids eating the pie. And the laughter that happens as the kids eat the pie. I guess what I’m saying is that I cherish these moments with my kids.

Family, Food, Fun, and Faith

This past week has been a good week and a hard week all rolled up into one. As part of my ongoing battle with the migraines, I began seeing a physical therapist last week Friday. He evaluated posture, pressed pretty hard on a bunch of places on my skull, evaluated my dentation, current headache levels, etc. When he was done, I was dizzy, something he said is pretty normal considering everything he did. The dizziness passed after about five minutes and I felt fine the rest of Friday and all-day Saturday, so I figured I was doing ok. But I was wrong, so wrong.

Sunday was when the effects of the PT really kicked in. I woke up dizzy and remained that way until midway through the day on Tuesday. For those unfamiliar with the ravages of migraines, the symptoms are far more numerous than the blinding pain most people are familiar with. Symptoms can include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, flashing lights or visual blind spots (aura), flashes of heat, extreme fatigue, shaky hands, inability to focus, feeling like the world is literally spinning, and the list could go on. 

For me, sometimes the dizziness is bad enough that I can’t get out of bed. This time it was milder so I was at least functional, but I was definitely not functioning well. I could manage things if I was upright and as long as I didn’t look up, down, bend over, change my position, etc. All those things increased the dizziness. And it was the week of Thanksgiving, so I had a lot on my to-do list. Luckily, my extreme tendency to prepare in advance meant most of our feast was already prepared and in the freezer. Otherwise, we probably would have ended up eating chicken nuggets for Thanksgiving instead of turkey. I knew going in that things are going to get worse before they get better, but there was no way for me to know exactly what the ramifications of this first appointment would be. If I had, I would have postponed it, but hindsight is 20/20, right?

Having given that preface, this week’s events can be sorted into four basic categories: family, food, fun, and faith.

Family:

This one is obvious. Daniel and Nathan came home on Wednesday. They came by way of pie day at my mom’s house. That was when we got to visit with my parents and sisters and the cousins. My kids don’t get to see their cousins as often as they once did, so that is always a treat for them. 

On Thursday, my fabulous foursome spent the day together, playing games, laughing, joking. Matthew and Malia miss their brothers and don’t get to see them as often as they like, so they spent as much time with them as they could over this week. I love that my kids have gotten to the point where not only do they like each other, they spend time together on purpose and stay in touch regularly via the amazing technology to which we have access.

Yesterday was our gathering with Kevin’s family. Again, the kids got to visit with cousins they don’t see as often as they might like due to busy lives all around. But I know that these young ones stay in touch vis digital means as well, so they just might talk more often than I’m aware of, which is great. We had lunch, shared a few family history stories, some highly entertaining ones involving some…colorful ancestors. We listened to some musical numbers presented by my boys and watched a video of one of my niece’s recent ballet performances, one that we unfortunately missed due to conflicting schedules. Daniel and Nathan both had responsibilities in their own ward today, so they headed straight back to Logan after the party with a goodly amount of food in tow. 

As always, being able to spend time with family in all its various permutations was one of the highlights of the week. The older my kids get, the more I appreciate the time we have together. It is finite and never quite long enough, but we take advantage of the time we get. I did miss out on most of the fun board and card games due to the fact that I was not feeling my best and that was sad for me, but there will be other days and other weeks and hopefully the PT will end up being helpful over time.

Food:

Let’s face it. Food is an integral part of Thanksgiving. We all look forward to enjoying the traditional turkey dinner with a generous helping of pie by the side. I did manage to get all the expected dishes ready to eat at the appropriate times, but there were some necessary concessions made due to my headache status. The first were the pies. 

Tuesday was pie making day for me and while I managed to get them all baked, thankful that all my pie crust was made ahead of time and frozen, the aesthetics of said pies were far below my normal standard. They still tasted delicious, but they looked pretty darn sad. Don’t look for pictures. I’m far too particular to take photos of less than picture perfect food unless it is so bad it is laughable. And this year’s pies were not that far gone. They were just a little…rough around the edges. I managed to haul myself to pie day at my mom’s house on Wednesday, but I was most definitely not running on full steam, and I did not manage to stay as long as usual. I came home before all my kidlets did, and I’m glad most of them are old enough to drive so they could stay and visit with their cousins.

When I woke on Thanksgiving, I had taken another downhill slide headache wise. I wasn’t dizzy, but I felt pretty terrible. Since our inaugural Thanksgiving dinner at home in 2020, it is something we have come to love. One of the big reasons is the fact that everything on the table is safe for Matthew to eat, something that rarely happens elsewhere. There have been years when all he could eat was turkey and the rolls that I baked, and that is pretty sad. The downside to our smaller gathering this year is that cooking the whole dinner alone and with migraine symptoms is hard. But with the help of my fam, I managed the bare necessities foodwise which was roast the turkey and reheat all the previously frozen dishes. Once again, prepping in advance worked very much to my advantage this year. Due to my headache induced malaise, we simplified and ate buffet style rather than pulling out all the serving dishes for a nice, sit-down dinner, but being a little more casual this year was good and did nothing to diminish everyone’s enjoyment of the much-anticipated feast.

Fun:

As previously mentioned, as my kids have gotten older, they have come to value the time we have together more than they did when they were little. That is normal though, as they grow up and move out. At least, it is normal for families in which the siblings get along and actually like each other, and that is exactly what has happened for us. There were card games and video games (although not as many as in years past) and jokes and laughter and enjoyment all around. Sometimes it feels like my house is the location of a giant pun war and/or the residence of every bad dad joke in existence, but yes, that is fun too! Personally, I did not find this week as fun as I normally do, but that was another casualty of the headache. I hate missing out on the board games, but I was really not up to most of it this week. I am glad that the rest of my family still had a good time though. Matthew and Malia miss their brothers when they are away, so I know these times together are precious for them as well.

Faith: 

Friday morning was spent at the temple doing baptisms for the dead. That is another thing we have come to love since Malia was able to join us at the temple at the beginning of this year. Being in the temple as a family is always a reminder to me that one of the big purposes of the whole plan is just that: to bind us together as families. And remembering that the work we do in the temple allows other families to be sealed gives me such a sense of purpose as we serve there. I love that my kids love the temple as well. On Saturday morning, my boys spent another morning in the baptistry of another temple. It was a very early appointment and Malia really needed to sleep, so she did not join them, but that is ok too. Sometimes my boys need time with just their brothers. 

Our faith is an important part of our lives and being able to spend time together in spiritually focused activities is a blessing. While my older boys were not on hand early in the week when Kevin gave me a blessing related to my abysmal headache status, there have been times in past when we have had all three Melchizedek priesthood holders rotating to give blessings to each other, to me, and to Matthew and Malia. On those occasions, the Spirit is even stronger than normal in our home, and we grow even closer together and stronger as a family.

I suspect I will need to lean on my faith often as I continue down the PT path. I have been told there is help to be found through doing so, but if this week is any indication, it may be a rocky road to get there. I also know that these trying times can strengthen my faith if I allow them to do so, and that is one of the things I hope I can gain from this: increased faith in the Lord as I pray for ways to lessen the headaches and reclaim parts of my life that have become casualties to the migraines.                      

To sum it all up, this week has been a challenging one for me, but overall, the good eclipses the bad. I have been actively trying to simplify my life as I often make things much more complicated than they need to be. Being forced to simplify due to headache was not a great reason to do so, but the end result was good. It led to a relaxed, calm, enjoyable holiday where we were able to enjoy the company of our family in all its permutations, consume not quite obscene (but fairly close) amounts of food, laugh and joke and have fun with each other, and cap it all off by finding strength to do all things through our faith.

Give Thanks

 Now thank we all our God

With hearts and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things hath done,

In whom his earth rejoices;

Who, from our mothers’ arms,

Hath blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love

And still is ours today.

Oh, may our bounteous God

Through all our life be near us,

With ever-joyful hearts

And blessed peace to cheer us,

And keep us in his love,

And guide us day and night,

And free us from all ills,

Protect us by his might.

Joyful Noise

With both Daniel and Nathan away at school, the house has been quieter than it has been in years. Yes, Matthew and Malia make their share of noise, but with just two of them bouncing around the house, the noise level is automatically diminished. Factor in the piano and the saxophone, and the decibel level around here has been markedly lower. I appreciate having a quiet house on a regular basis as the quiet gives me a chance to gather my thoughts and mentally rejuvenate but having all the big bodies and the accompanying big voices and big noises around has been nice. Malia has been looking forward to a joint Chicken Invaders game like they played last year and that was most definitely not a quiet way to spend an afternoon. There was much laughter and conversation involved and I believe the quote of the hour was uttered by Daniel: “Matthew, I can’t see past your bacon!”

It makes me smile to hear my four kiddos laughing and joking together. While they all have their moments when they need a break from each other, they do actually get along pretty well nowadays. Having Daniel and Nathan staying here only periodically means the opportunities to get on each other’s nerves are greatly diminished. Add to that the fact that it takes a lot to ruffle Daniel’s feathers and his personality is naturally non-confrontational, and the presence of the college kids has been really nice. It has created a buffer zone of sorts between Matthew and Malia so that they get a bit of a break from each other. Like all siblings, the times when they get along are peppered with moments of conflict and adding the two older boys back into the mix changes the dynamic. There has been a remarkably small amount of bickering today.

There is also music. Oh, how I have missed the music! Matthew plays his trumpet and Malia is just starting to pick at the piano, but the days when I was bombarded with a cacophony of sax from one room, piano from another, and the trumpet interspersed are mostly gone. Daniel practiced for a couple of hours yesterday and it made me smile. Even the scales. Nathan sat at the piano and sight read through a bunch of music this morning and that was wonderful as well. The three boys all got out their instruments after lunch today to arrange some joint music numbers for our gathering with Kevin’s family on Saturday and it made me so happy to hear them all playing together. Malia has been learning to play the ukulele at school this year and Nathan got out his ukulele for her so she could add to the music as well.

As I ponder today on how thankful I am for the multitude of blessings that are mine, the joyful noise created by my children is a concrete reminder that of all the things that fill my heart with gratitude, my family is right up at the top.

Turkey for Breakfast

I’ve never made Thanksgiving themed pancakes. I don’t know why since pancakes are one of my fun food staples, but it just never occurred to me. For some reason Thanksgiving has been overlooked in all my themed food endeavors. Maybe it’s because I’m so laser focused on pie that I don’t think about anything else. Of maybe it’s because food is such a huge part of the holiday that I never thought to branch out from the traditional offerings. But whatever the reason, Thanksgiving has been sadly overlooked where fun food is concerned. This morning was flex Friday which meant Matthew and Malia didn’t have to go to the actual school building, so it seemed like an opportune time to rectify my oversight with some fantastic turkey pancakes. No, they did not have any actual turkey in them. That would be…weird. And a fine way to ruin a perfectly good pancake. Unless it was a potato pancake or a crepe and then maybe…but I digress. Turkey pancakes. Good times. Gotta love fun food. 😊

Gratitude

 See the beautiful herb encrusted turkey swimming in its own delectable juices.

 See the vultures, forks in hand, prepared to deface said beautiful turkey.

See the feeding frenzy commence. 

 

See the naked, yet still delicious, turkey.

Now, you may ask, what kind of mother would let her offspring attack the delightful end-result of a week of defrosting, brining, prepping, and roasting? That would be me. And why in the world would I do that? I learned it from my own mother. 😉 And to be completely honest, I had the camera in one hand and a fork in the other. There is no way I’ll let my children desecrate a turkey without me.

As with all things since March, our Thanksgiving looked a bit different this year. Instead of having a crowd for dinner at my folks’ house, it was just six us of for dinner at home. We spent the day relaxing, smelling the roasting turkey, playing games and anticipating pie. The kids even had a marathon multiplayer Chicken Invaders game going in the afternoon.

It was much calmer, quieter, more peaceful than our usual celebration. And it made me think. We are at the point where our kids are growing up and moving out. In the next ten years, I suspect we’ll be seeing a few new faces at our table. As we’ve done with Christmas, I think it’s time to start creating some Thanksgiving traditions of our own. I love gathering with my family. And because Kevin’s mom always schedules her celebration for the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we’ve never had to alternate between families. But in coming years, it is going to become important that we have our own traditions in place. When Kev was growing up, Thanksgiving and Christmas were both celebrated with his grandparents. It was fun and all, but his mom has expressed some regret over the fact that she never established traditions for her own family. I don’t want to have those regrets twenty years from now. So in the next year, I think we’re going to be making some decisions. Pie day with my mom and my sisters is always a chaotic, crazed mess…and so much fun. So maybe it’s pie day with the extended fam and turkey day at home with our own little clan. I’m not sure yet. But we’ve got time to figure it out. We’ll counsel with our kiddos and see what they think as well. Their preferences are an important part of this equation.

 

As I ponder today on the many things for which I’m thankful, I can see that my family and I have been greatly blessed this year. Yes, we’ve had challenges and disappointments. Yes, we’ve had to change our life plans on numerous occasions. Yes, we all wish COVID was not a thing. But still, we can all see the multitude of tender mercies that we have had as well. I have much to be thankful for and in fact, Kev has encouraged all of us to allow our troubles to be swallowed up in increased gratitude for our many blessings. And you know what? It works. Focusing on all the good the Lord showers down on us helps us deal with the bad a bit better. My heart is full today as I ponder on all the ways in which my family and I have been blessed.

 

It has been a good day. A peaceful day. A day full of gladness and gratitude. And by the way, the bean juice pie is delicious. It tastes just like the real thing. Weird but true.

Pumpkin, Apples, Berries and Bean Juice

Today was our annual pie day. Pie day is usually a marathon pie making extravaganza in my mother’s kitchen, but COVID forced us to bake separately this year. Nevertheless, numerous pies still came into being today. My siblings and I all shared pics of our pies and my mom kept a running tally, just like she always does. Our contribution was eight pies-apple, raspberry, banana cream, lemon, lemon meringue, cranberry orange custard and two pumpkin. And only one of those pies was not safe for Matthew. More on that later.

Each of kids selected their favorite flavor of pie. Malia chose raspberry and except for some advice and help transferring the pie crust to the pie pan, she made the entire thing herself. My role was supervisory. I am so pleased that she has a desire to learn to cook and is becoming proficient. I admit that I’ve been a bit slow to teach her, but a lot of that is because her interest has been limited of late and I’m not willing to fight with her about it. But her desire to learn has started to reemerge and I’m really glad. Her pie is beautiful, and I’ll bet it tastes good too. 😉

While the creation of Malia’s pie was drama free, not so for the apple pie. I’m generally a careful cook, but I was a bit off my game where the apple pie is concerned. I made my own pie filling back in the fall, so once the crust was ready to go, I dumped in the filling. Unfortunately, I forgot to drain off the liquid so I could thicken it. I didn’t want to pour it out of the crust once it was in because that would make the crust on that edge more likely to scorch in the oven, so I called the turkey baster into action a day early and sucked the liquid out. I thickened it and then proceeded to assemble my pie. I got my top crust in place, perfectly vented and creatively crimped…and then looked over and realized that I had forgotten to put the thickened liquid back in. I didn’t want to destroy my beautiful crust by pulling it off to add the liquid, so I reached for the turkey baster’s smaller brother and used a medicine dropper to squirt it back in through the vent holes. I was as gentle as possible and tried to distribute the liquid as evenly as I could. At the end of the day, the pie looks pretty darn good despite all the trauma involved in its creation.

Daniel asked for lemon meringue pie, thinking that would be impossible to do Matthew friendly. But I’ve been cooking egg and dairy free for over a decade and in that time, I’ve seen a lot of different things. One of the egg substitutions that has started making its way around the internet in the past few years is using aquafaba, or the liquid from a can of beans, generally garbanzo beans (chickpeas). It’s something I’ve been wanting to try, but I’ve been holding off because Matthew can’t eat chickpeas. Because he is allergic to peas, there is a high risk of cross reactivity with chickpeas. And I couldn’t find any info on whether or not aquafaba from other varieties of beans would work the same. But I decided it was high time I just tried it out to see what would happen. I used the liquid from a can of great northern beans since they are light colored and mild in flavor, hoping it would work out the same. And guess what? It whips up just like egg whites. It’s so cool! It looks exactly the same, has the same gloss from the sugar and the same stiff peaks! The only thing I did differently was add a bit of zantham gum to help stabilize the meringue. Unfortunately, I waited a bit too long to get the meringue on the pie, so it lost some loft and doesn’t look as pretty as it did when it was freshly whipped. But still, egg free meringue is a reality in our lives! I can hardly wait to taste the pie tomorrow.

Now, about that one pie that is not safe for Matthew. The one he can’t eat is the cranberry orange custard. Egg free custard simply doesn’t have the same silky texture as an egg custard and this particular pie is Nathan’s favorite (one of my favorites too), so we used real dairy and eggs. Since Matthew has his favorite dairy free banana cream pie to look forward to, he doesn’t care a bit about the custard. And as always, Kev is a pumpkin pie man through and through.

I can hardly wait to cut into all these delights tomorrow. It will be a challenge to choose which one to taste first!