Vanilla Crumb Pie

                          
Just recently I finished reading one of my Amish books. It was a Novella  'An Amish Second Christmas'  The last story in the book was about a mothers prize winning, secret recipe, which she hands down to her daughter. The recipe is 'Vanilla Crumb Pie' .The story made the pie sound so delicious I checked to see if they had included the recipe at the end of the book (as they often do), and they had ! So once I finished the story I decided to make it, and it was very good. I doubled the recipe and made two pies and invited family around to share it. Everyone loved it !

This pie was even nicer after it had been chilled overnight. The filling was set more and the crumb topping just a little bit softer. Recipe below is for one pie.

Vanilla Crumb Pie

1 x Pie crust

Filling:

3/4 Cup light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Flour

1/2 Cup light corn syrup

1 t cream of tartar

Pinh of salt

3 teaspoons Vanilla

2 eggs beaten

1 1/4 Cups Water

Crumb Topping:

3/4 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

Pinch of salt

90 grams of butter (3/4 stick)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 C degrees. Lay the pastry in the pie dish and flute the edges.

2. In a large saucepan combine brown sugar, flour, corn syrup, cream of tartar, salt, vanilla and eggs. Slowly stir in water and cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture boils and rises. (I stirred it until it was thickened too.)Remove from heat.

3. In a medium bowl, mix crumb topping ingredients until crumbly. Pour cooled brown sugar mixture into the crust to 3/4 fill the dish There may be some mixture left over. 

Note: Their was for me, so if their is any extra pastry a mini pie could be made too.

4. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top. 

5. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden and set.

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A video about a lovely Amish family

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hvn34

                                                               'My love for the Amish'

For those that know me well, its common knowledge that I love the Amish/Plain people. I distinctly remember the very first time I stumbled upon a book about the Amish in a library about 25 years ago while looking for a book for a project one of my children was working on. When I saw this book titled 'Amish'  (in the children's section) and saw people on the cover wearing old fashioned/unusual clothing, I picked that book of the shelf so fast and my eyes just lit up. I couldn't wait to get it home and read every word. I presumed they were probably religious, but didn't know such people even existed and reading about their lives was a real revelation to my heart. I found it hard to believe that people still really lived and dressed like that today.

That initial interest spread to all past &present Plain Religous/Christian People/Communities - Mennonite, Shaker, Quaker, Old Order Brethren, Hutterite etc etc. although the Amish & Old Order Mennonite see to be my main obsession .  Now I have quite the library of fiction and non-fiction books about their lives. As far as I know, there are no Amish or Mennonite people living in New Zealand.

People often ask me "What is it that interests you about these people? " .To be honest, I can't give a simple answer, other than that they seem to give me a quiet feeling of peace, just knowing that it is possible to choose to live a life quite differently to the way of the world.

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Early Autumn

Hello again,
ahhh Autumn..just the very word is lovely..
..before I know it, the rose bushes are looking bare, leaves are falling, mornings are cooler and there's a definite nip in the air. We've even had the wood stove lit on a few cooler days. This is all good news to me, as I love Autumn !! I start to get a 'hibernating' sort of feeling..stocking up the larder...planning soups and meals we'll be eating as the cold weather creeps closer. I saw a lady in the supermarket and she said "It'll be soup weather soon"..I had to laugh, as we've already had Potato & Broccoli soup twice !.

But for now my thoughts are turning to the firewood situation..do we have enough? As its our main source of heating for this big old house, its always a bit of an obsession for me. There's nothing that makes me feel all tucked up cozy for winter than seeing that stack of firewood grow higher and higher...and hearing my husband outside stacking wood or splitting it. ~ a true blessing :)

 Garden Update: In our little orchard, the summer stone fruits are all finished and now we're enjoying fruit from the apple & pear trees. Well I should say I am enjoying the apples :) I planted old fashioned varieties (Cox's Orange Pippin, Granny Smith & Sturmer). The Cox Orange is sweet-ish, with a tang. My husband thinks it's not sweet enough and the other two varieties are intended for cooking I however love a tart apple, that makes my face screw up a little bit :o) I think they're especially delicious eaten with some slices of cheese !  So I think I really need to plant at least one other sweet eating apple for my husband, so he too can be excited about the apple season. I'm sure he'll appreciate the apple pies though! being the sweet tooth that he is.

Here's a recipe for Apple Gingerbread, an old favorite of mine in Autumn.

'Cox's Orange Pippin' ~ sweet blossom in the Spring'

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Apple Gingerbread

This is a lovely light and moist spicy loaf.

I normally double the recipe to make 2 loaves.

Heat oven to 180 C.

 1 x Granny Smith Apple (peel, dice small)

 60g soft butter

 2/3 rd cup brown sugar

1 x egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ Cup Buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 t white vinegar stirred in)

2 cups plain flour

 1/2 t salt

1 & 1/2 t baking soda

 1 & 1/2 t Ginger & cinnamon

 1/2 t mixed spice

90g chopped walnuts (optional)

Method:

1. In a good size bowl - beat the butter and sugar to a nice soft cream.

2. Add the vanilla essence & the egg and beat again until fluffy.

3. Sift all the dry ingredients. 

4. Add the apples, buttermilk & creamed mixture to the dry ingredients. Add walnuts if using and mix all gently until well combined. 

5. Spoon into a largish, lined loaf tin. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes. Test with a skewer.  Serve thickly sliced and buttered. 

Note: This can also be served as a lovely Winter pudding. Bake in a round dish. Serve warm with custard and ice cream.

                                                     and delicious with a cup of tea :)

            

                                                                                ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ 

Another meal that we enjoy during late summer and early Autumn is Enchilada's. These are made with re-fried beans, cheese, extra beans and a fresh salsa. I took pics of the recipe as I made it and hope you'll try it. Its very very delicious and quite economical too. We find one can of re fried beans, a cup of cooked beans, salsa, cheese and the tortilla's will make at least 8 good size enchiladas. I roll them up, lay them in the oiled dish, and spoon over extra salsa and grated cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes at 180 C. Serve with a salad.

this is not included in the recipe ..but my husband said "Why don't you take a picture of the book I'm reading out loud to you, whilst you cook?" and I said "Go on then :) " We enjoy Paul Washers teachings ..anyway back to the recipe. 

Recipe: Enchiladas with Salsa Picante

1 x Can Refried Beans

Cheese - Edam, Tasty  & Parmesan - mix

Cooked Black Beans - 1 1/2 Cups (or Pinto etc)

Salsa Picante - recipe below or Jar salsa

Salsa Picante

1 medium onion - diced small

1 Green Pepper - dice small

6 - 7 tomatoes - chopped

1/2 t Cayenne Pepper

3 - 4 T Cider Vinegar

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 Tablespoon freshly chopped Parsely

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

1/4 Cup Tomato Sauce (Ketchup)

1 - 2 Sugar

Salt & freshly ground pepper

Method:

Prepare the Salsa Picante and assemble the enchiladas. Bake at 180 C (moderate oven) for around 40 minutes. Serve with a green salad. A perfect summery meal !

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Above is a picture of some soaps I've made over the last couple of weeks. They're all cut and curing now. 2 days ago I made one of my favourite soaps: "Lavender & Lemongrass Goats Milk Soap" - big fat chunky bars. I cut those today. Now my curing shelves are full. I have a market coming up in a few weeks time, so they'll be many busy days and nights wrapping soap and preparing products.

I hope everyone who reads this will gather something from this post to refresh a desire to cook or bake something delicious for yourself or your family. Blessings to all ~ Linda

Abundance

Hi again,
I just wanted to pop on quick and share a few things. I've been packaging up soap today and I'm very happy with the results. Its the Lavender Honey Soap, that' s shaped like honeycomb.  I shared a few pics of it a few posts back..Here's a pic of it all packaged up.

Plus a few other things and thoughts to share..

This year has been a busy year for several reasons - just over a year ago we were just about to redecorate a spare bedroom and then our middle son asked if he could move back home for a while. As it was all so sudden we didn't get around to doing any painting..and so the tin of paint sits :) Anyway having Lou home with us again was great news, as we didn't get to see a whole lot of him or  his son Alex (our grandson), who comes to stay every second night. This all meant quite a bit of adjustment for all of us (them included). As for me, it meant more cooking, cleaning, laundry etc..but so much joy along with it all. So its been about a year or so now, and our son is planning on getting his own place again soon-ish :) We will miss them all terribly when its time for the next chapter in their life !!

Little Alex (about 3 years)

When I was down in the garden today, picking yet more tomatoes..so many in fact I had to go back up to the house and get a container.. (You may think - "Oh no, here she goes, on about those jolly tomatoes again"!!! :) but its true, there were so many tomatoes, I couldn't fit them in my hands. So as I was on my way to get the container I passed the plum tree, which I had assumed had no more plums..but lo and behold there were still more !!! so I picked a few..and as I got to the end of the row I saw 2 beautiful scented roses - a lovely deep red. They were well opened and the petals about to fall, so I just gathered them all in my hand and went and put them in the dehydrator. I love to use the petals in face masks, bath bombs, soaps etc

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Our apples and pears are beginning to ripen and fall from the trees.

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Anyway as I was picking those tomatoes I was reminded of the whole story behind this summers abundance. For the past 3 years I had not been able to grow very many tomatoes and would end up having to buy enough to make Salsa for bottling. The tomatoes either didn't yield much or they got some sort of disease. I was so discouraged by it all that I even considered not planting any this year. 

So one day while I was out in the garden sighing and trying to think what to do..I felt the Holy Spirit guide me and suggest planting them down the back of the section by the church shed, where nothing but weeds, an Elderberry and a Sturmer Apple tree were growing. 

Now some may think this is a bit 'kooky' ...being guided in the garden !!! well its not the first time, so I know to listen as the results are always good. So even though I doubted that it would make much difference with the tomato problem, I chose to be obedient and went ahead and purchased several different varieties. 1. A Yellow Beefsteak. 2. A no acid pear shape one. 3. A couple of different sort of Cherry tomatoes. 4. One other sort :) which did okay up on the top section area, even though the plants themselves look somewhat stunted. 

All summer I've been able to see that garden by looking out my kitchen window. I noticed a large amount of green tomatoes growing very well in the new spot..so I was pleasantly surprised !! Now that summer is coming to it's end they continue to ripen and I have managed to make everything I ever wanted to from those plants - salsa, relish, some for freezing and maybe even some pasta sauce. 

 As I was picking them today and feeling so blessed by the abundance, I remembered the Lord comforting me a few years back when money was a  bit lean. He assured me then that everything I needed was close at hand. I was to be reminded of that promise time and time again. as I was able to do quite a lot of foraging and preserve food that grew very close to home.  And this Summer has been no different. So I just wanted to share this little story about abundance and the Lord's leading. He also placed this scripture on my heart a month or two back. 

Proverbs 3: 5 - 6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge Him

and He shall direct your paths.

In sharing this story of his leading, I feel I am acknowledging Him and giving Him the glory, as so often my trust and faith is dependent on what I can 'see', what I 'think' will happen and not leaning on HIM !! where I should be resting.

Bye for now ~ Blessings to anyone who read this (Linda)

P.S. My magazine Bruce brought me as an extra little gift for our anniversary. Its my favorite and I have been saving it for well over a week without reading it. Its too special to read - silly I know. I love these magazines, because they don't really date. They have wonderful recipes and are full of gardening tips and pretty cottages..just perfect. I'm waiting for just the right moment, when I know I can read un-interrupted  with a cup of coffee and a slice of something yummy, hopefully this weekend!!!