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Archive for August, 2013

If you’re looking for a fast and easy dessert that fits the bill for something tasty… here you go!

raspberry pie plated

Individual Raspberry Cream Pies come together in a snap and taste like you’ve actually slaved away to make them!

(For those of you who do everything from scratch, cover your eyes and come back next week…)

Ingredients

Ingredients

Unfold pie dough then using a circle cutter/sealer to mark circles on the dough. Do not cut into the dough, just outline circles.

Unfold pie dough then using a circle cutter/sealer to mark circles on the dough. Do not cut into the dough, just outline circles.

Spread about a teaspoon of cream cheese inside each circle, trying not to get too close to the edges.

Spread about a teaspoon of cream cheese inside each circle, trying not to get too close to the edges.

Add a heaping tablespoon of raspberry pie filling. Keep it away from the edges as best you can.

Add a heaping tablespoon of raspberry pie filling. Keep it away from the edges as best you can.

Cover with the top crust and using the mounds below, cut using the cutter. If you don't have one of these handy little cutters that seal the edges, just use a drinking glass to cut out and then crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers.

Cover with the top crust and using the mounds below, cut using the cutter. If you don’t have one of these handy little cutters that seal the edges, just use a drinking glass to cut out and then crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers.

Aren't they fun?

Aren’t they fun?

Transfer to a baking sheet. I lined mine with foil because I'm lazy and don't want to scrub off any raspberry juice that may perhaps leak out.

Transfer to a baking sheet. I lined mine with foil because I’m lazy and don’t want to scrub off any raspberry juice that may perhaps leak out.

Top with a little sprinkle of Turbinado sugar.

Top with a little sprinkle of Turbinado sugar.

Bake about 15-20 minutes until crust begins to brown and, if you have a few unsealed edges (not that I ever have that problem), juice bubbles out.

Bake about 15-20 minutes until crust begins to brown and, if you have a few unsealed edges (not that I ever have that problem), juice bubbles out.

Serve with a scoop of ice cream. You might even think about sharing with others you really, really like.

Serve with a scoop of ice cream. You might even think about sharing with others you really, really like.

Raspberry Cream Pies

1 can raspberry pie filling

1 box pie dough

1 container spreadable cream cheese

Turbinado sugar (Sugar in The Raw)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

Bring pie dough to room temp and then unroll. Set aside one layer.

On the first layer, carefully mark circles, fitting in as many as you can. I managed to get eight and then rerolled the dough to get two more. Do not cut through the dough, you are just marking circles by lighting pressing either a cutter or drinking glass into the dough.

Spread a teaspoon of whipped cream in each circle, staying away from the edges. You can use any type of spreadable cream cheese, I just happened to have whipped handy.

Spread a heaping tablespoon of pie filling on top of the circles, again keeping filling away from the very edge. (You will have leftover filling, which is easy to freeze to top pancakes, scoop into muffin mix, spread on fruit pizza, or pour over ice cream.)

Place top layer of  crust over the top. Using the mounds beneath as your guide, cut out the individual pies. If you don’t have a cutter that cuts and seals the edges, use a drinking glass and then crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers. The reason for keeping the filling away from the edge is that if it is too close it leaks out everywhere when you are trying to seal it. Make sure your dough is sealed or be sure to line your baking pan (hence the reason I line mine because I always have a sneaky leak!)

Place on your baking sheet then sprinkle the tops with Turbinado sugar. Just a pinch will do.

Bake approximately 15-20 minutes until lightly browned and juices are bubbling (which is easy to tell if one of them isn’t properly sealed).

Let cool then serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The ice cream is essential. My Dad made it a rule long ago that all pie should be served with ice cream. Who am I to argue!

She Who Likes Little Pies (and Big Pies and In-Between Pies)

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sweetcorn

During the summer months, when fresh produce abounds, I try to buy as much as I can from local fruit stands. The other day I stopped at one I hadn’t tried before because I wanted some sweet corn and there were multiple signs advertising their selection.

Although there wasn’t an overwhelming about of produce to choose from, fragrant cantaloupes, lemony cucumbers, vibrant tomatoes and boxes of plums were set out in an appealing display.

Gathering up a few things, I looked around for the corn and didn’t see any. Asking the man running the stand if he had any, he smiled and nodded his head of white hair. At this point, all he needed was some funky sunglasses and a T-shirt to confirm he had not quite left behind the haze of the 1960s. Both his speech and laid-back body language assured me of this.

Turning around, he pointed to a huge barrel and removed the lid where sweet corn hid beneath a burlap covering. Pulling out a few ears, he showed them to me, describing his “beauties” as “elegant and lovely” before bagging a half dozen ears for me.

Seeing the corn man, along with those burlap bags took me hurtling back to the summer I was seventeen when my parents decided my divine torture for the summer would be helping them sell sweet corn. Although I’m sure it was probably just a few acres they planted, at the time it seemed more like hundreds. For a few weeks that summer, it seemed like all I did was pick corn (which caused my asthma to go into overdrive), shuck corn (which caused my whining to go into overdrive) and bag the shucked corn for customers. Some corn we delivered and others we sold right from the front yard, where huge piles of corn husks sat until yours truly got the privilege of hauling them off to the garbage.

To this day, I hate shucking corn although I do enjoy a good ear of sweet corn.

Thanking Mr. Corn Man for the produce, I begrudgingly shucked the corn for dinner that night.

Although I had my doubts, the corn man was right – those ears were not only sweet, but elegant and lovely, too.

She Who Needs to Go Back to the Fruit Stand

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I’ll freely admit it – I’m a sucker for mason jars.

You can use them for so many fun and unique purposes (and jars, turned blue with age are my favorites!).

mason jar crafts book

Lauren Elise Donaldson has a book out called Mason Jar Crafts that features an array of interesting ideas for using mason jars. Everything from gifts and decor to storage ideas and lighting are included in the book.

mason jar drink jarNot only does she give you great ideas (personalized drink glasses for a party – love this idea!), she also provides step by step directions for completing the project.

Mason Jar treatsHere’s another fun party idea. I can picture these at a tailgate party or an autumn gathering.

Mason Jar Piggy bank

This piggy bank is cute and a project simple enough to do with your child. You have the opportunity to teach your young one a craft, but also some “dollars and sense” about money.

Mason Jar christmas cranberry

The holiday section, in particular, tickled my fancy. Love, love, love these jars with cranberries and vintage art. So festive!

The book, available through Ulysses Press retails for $14.95 and can also be found on Amazon.

The author is a photographer, stylist, and design blogger in Los Angeles. For additional crafts and ideas for creative living, visit her blog at LaurenEliseCrafted,com

She Who Needs to Make Something with a Mason Jar!

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Captain Cavedweller had a rare weekend off from work so we spent it driving all over the countryside, eating things we know we shouldn’t, moving some well loved “junk” to storage, and in general enjoying time well wasted.

Our weekend together also helped me remember a few important details about my husband.

The first jog in my memory occurred when he emerged from the bathroom the first morning of his weekend off sporting a goatee. He’s been sporting scruff on his face for a few weeks and from past experience, I’ve learned to not complain about it too much or too loudly because that just prolongs the suffering. The last thing I expected was to see his snappy goatee, which, by the way, I love.

CC is always game to go for a drive, as long as there is something interesting to see along the way. Apparently 207 miles of dirt, harvested wheat fields, rocks, more dirt, winding mountain roads with no guardrail, and one deceased porcupine did not qualify as interesting.

Also, after spending the better part of a day driving 207 miles round trip to the middle of nowhere so I can take photos of a town that no longer exists, CC just wants to be fed (and gas station food does not count.)

While he seems to have challenges remembering details like the wedding we are supposed to attend, the name of my cousin’s new baby, or what time we need to leave for an appointment, he recalled with startling detail the exact location of a new restaurant he was most interested in trying after I mentioned weeks ago it was opening.

When CC decides he is completely and totally done with a project (like moving well-loved junk), it means he is completely and totally done right now.  Not five minutes from now, not “wait, let’s just…”  – all done. Right. Now. Which turned out to be a good thing, because I was ready to be all done, too.

She Who Is Now Remembering Many Details…

 

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