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Everyone Loves Pie {Week 20}

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15 May

I hope you got to spend a little time with your mama this past Sunday, or at least called her up, or sent her a beautiful gift! We were all lucky enough to be with our moms this Mother’s day – we are so thankful for them!

When I asked my mom what kind of pie she would like for Mother’s Day, without hesitation she said “strawberry rhubarb.” This combination is definitely one of my favorites too. I might go as far to say that it’s my favorite fruit pie, period. I like any fruit pie that has a little bit of a tart side to it, and the rhubarb does it here. We got to talking about rhubarb, and I realized that it’s a vegetable. I never thought of it as one, maybe because I’ve only eaten it as an ingredient in baked goods, or jam or preserves. Is there any other way to eat it?

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Strawberry Rhubarb Lattice Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry for a 9 inch double-crust pie
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups chopped fresh rhubarb cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 cups chopped fresh strawberries, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
 

Directions:

 
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line the pie pan with crust, leaving a 1 inch overhang. Refrigerate top crust until needed.
 
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt and mix them well. Add the rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon juice. Mix very gently with a large spoon. Dump the filling into the pie crust, and distribute the butter bits evenly over the filling. Top the filling with a lattice crust.
 
Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any spills or bubbling over, and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Bake until the pink filling bubbles up and the pastry is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes more.
 
Place the pie on a cooling rack an let it cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve it warm or at room temperature – maybe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
 
:: Carrie ::

 

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Last Minute Preparations

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14 May

This past week has been spent doing last minute preparations for the National Stationery Show. There sure are a lot of details to think about, but I think we have it all covered. I think. Our to-do lists are getting shorter, at least.

Our new wholesale catalog came back from our printer and we couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out! There is a HUGE amount of work that goes into planning, designing, and producing all of those new products, so to see them all in one place is intensely satisfying.

We’ve been doing some last minute self-promotion. Keeping in touch with all of our customers is a top priority!

We’ve been making some pretty things to liven up our NSS booth.

We’ve been spending a little bit of time in the wood shop with some power tools.

And, we have been making some adjustments to our booth set-up so everything is just right.

We’ll be in New York in just a few days. We’re looking forward to the week ahead, and hoping that we didn’t forget something important!

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Everyone Loves Pie {Week 19}

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9 May

It has been a little bit of a whirlwind week around here. We are prepping everything for the National Stationery Show! This means making multiple trips to the hardware store to pick up something we forgot for our booth set-up, making sure our travel plans are all set, picking up our new catalog from the printer (and being REALLY excited at seeing it for the first time in person), and packing our huge crate with everything we will need for the show (and hoping and praying that we didn’t forget something). Oh yeah, and our new studio is almost finished, so we are trying to wrap our heads around what we need to do to make the move-in happen. In the midst of all of this, Karen’s mom has come for a visit! We are so thankful that she has made the trip up from Texas, to be here for Mother’s Day, to see Karen and Mike and the kids, AND to help out while Karen is gone with us to NYC for a few days. I found a little time this week to make a Lemon Chess Pie, and I dropped it off at Mike and Karen’s house as a “welcome to Missouri!” and “thanks for helping out!” gift to Karen’s mom.

This lemon version is a slight variation from the classic chess pie. It is simple, but delicious. I used the recipe from the book Southern Pies, by Nancie McDermott.

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Lemon Chess Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
2 cups sugar
2 Tbs. cornmeal
1 Tbs flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten well
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp grated lemon rind or zest
 

Directions:

 
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch pie plate with the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cornmeal, flour, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, lemon juice, milk and lemon rind. Using a fork, mix well, stirring and scraping to combine everything into a thick, smooth filling. Pour into the piecrust and place the pie on the bottom shelf of the oven. Bake until the edges puff up and the center is fairly firm, wiggling only a little when you gently nudge the pan, 35-45 minutes. Place the pie on a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.
 
:: Carrie ::

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New Studio Progress

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6 May

It’s getting close. So close to being done.

The last I left you I think our new workspace had some interior walls framed, and they had begun spraying in the insulation. We’ve come a long way since then. Here’s a little peek at what has been going on…

We have an awesome new staircase.

When we first talked to our builder and told him what we envisioned for our new space we emphasized that we wanted to retain the character of the barn, but we also stressed that we are on a tight budget. He understood perfectly, and we have been amazed at his resourcefulness in finding amazing materials at a low price that are just what we need. We picked the right guy for the job, definitely. For the staircase, he found a local amish guy who cut these huge oak planks that might just be sturdy enough to hold up an elephant. It definitely means business, but it fits in perfectly with the architecture of the barn. We love it.

A couple of weeks were spent installing the panelling on the walls that covers up the insulation. It was a sawdusty mess for a while. Just imagine the loud grinding of the table saw and the buzz of the miter saw, set to the background music of Blake Shelton and all his country music friends blaring on the radio. And the guys yelling out measurements to one another over the sound of it all. A real construction workers environment.

One of the biggest surprises so far is how BEAUTIFUL the floors have turned out. We did nothing to replace any of the old existing floor – they simply fixed a few boards that were broken or seemed weak, and then they sanded the whole thing down a little bit. Then, they put a couple of coats of polyurethane over the whole thing, and it instantly brought out so much COLOR! I wish I had taken some better photos of the floor before, because it is a huge transformation. Also, I can’t believe that I can walk barefoot on those floors now. Unbelievable.

This past week they spent some time cleaning up the big beams and spraying them with a coat of sealer. Next week they will start installing the ceiling, and the painter is coming to begin painting the walls. Things are really going to feel close to being done when that happens. We are busy tracking down furniture for the new space, and picking out light fixtures, and fans, and faucets for the bathroom sink, and all of those things that go with building something new. Or, in this case, giving new life to something that is old.

We are hoping to be able to move in within the next few weeks. Hopefully. We also have the National Stationery Show coming up about two weeks from now, which means we are scrambling to get a bunch of new products finalized and get everything packed and shipped off to NYC. It’s definitely an exciting time!

:: Carrie ::

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What’s Growing Now

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2 May

There is maybe a two week time period every spring when all of the fields where we live turn bright purple. To be more accurate I might call it magenta, or fuchsia. It’s real pretty. Some years it is brighter and more wide-spread than others. The little plant that’s responsible for this sea of color is called henbit. It looks like this…

(There are also a lot of these white blooms, but I’m not sure what those are called.) Henbit grows wild, it’s not planted, and it’s really classified as a weed. Here is something interesting – over the course of the past several years it has become really obvious that there is more and more henbit growing in the fields in our part of the world. That’s because most farmers have adopted the no-till method of farming. No-till farming means that instead of plowing the fields each spring, turning over the dirt to prepare it for planting, farmers are skipping that step and planting their crops into soil that hasn’t been disturbed. I won’t go into all the nitty-gritty details of this method, but it reduces the amount of soil erosion, and increases the amount of water and nutrients in the dirt. Both good things. And, I guess one of the side effects is that wildflowers, or weeds, like henbit are more able to thrive and spread. That’s an added bonus, in my opinion. So, now when you see one of those fields covered in tiny purple blooms, you know why!

And, guess what else is growing right now?

Yep, it’s morel season. Morel mushrooms.

They look kind of strange, but roll them in a cornmeal batter and fry them in a little oil, and you won’t care what they look like. They’re good.

Last weekend I went along on a little mushroom hunt at our favorite mushroom hunting spot. I can’t tell you where that is, it’s a secret. Really. A few of my family members may have me taken out if I reveal the exact location. All I can say is that it’s a little bit of a hike. Over some fences, across a pasture, jump a little creek, and you’re there. Wear your boots, because it can get messy.

Morels can be tricky. They have a very short growing season, and you have to time it just right. I like to eat them, but I think the best part is going out to find them. It ended up that we picked a pretty good day. Successful hunt.

:: Carrie ::

 

 

 

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Everyone Loves Pie {week 18}

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1 May

This pie is going places.

It’s a peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookie pie, and it’s currently on it’s way to Brooklyn, New York to the awesome folks at the Etsy headquarters. It is absolutely true that we wouldn’t be doing what we do, or have been able to grow our business to where it is today without Etsy. When we opened up our little shop on the Etsy website several years ago I never dreamed that it would lead us to where we are today. Beth would tell you otherwise – she had this vision all along! I guess she was right. Being able to sell our creations to people all over the world has opened up so many doors for us, allowed us to quit our “real” jobs, and has made the dream of making a living on our art a reality. It’s pretty awesome that Etsy has given that opportunity to anyone and everyone who wants to take it.

Parts of our business have definitely expanded beyond the Etsy world, which we always wanted to happen. We have a booming wholesale business now, and we are doing custom design work for other companies, but Etsy will always be a part of what we do. In the past couple of years we have been honored to be the Etsy Featured Seller, and this past January they featured our story in the Quit Your Day Job section of the website. They have reached out to us for suggestions on improving the ins and outs of the site, which we thought was great. Not too long ago, Beth had a nice little phone conversation with the CEO of the company about our experience as an Etsy seller. And, just this past week, they featured our Best Mom card on the front page as the link to a whole selection of Mother’s day gift ideas. All of these little things have added to the wind in our sails, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

So, to all you guys and gals at Etsy, thanks for all that you do, keep up the great work, and enjoy the pie!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Pie

Ingredients:

1 single pie crust
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup shredded coconut
2 Tbs flour
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp. vanilla
 

Directions:

 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the pie crust and fit it to a 9 inch pie plate. In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, sugar, corn syrup, and butter with an electric mixer, for about 30 seconds. Stir in the oats, coconut, flour, pecans, vanilla, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips and mix well. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes at 375 degrees, and then rotate the pie 180 degrees and reduce the head to 350. Continue baking for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the center is set. Give the pie a nudge to check – the filling should not move in waves. Cool thoroughly before slicing.
 
:: Carrie ::

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Don’t Forget Your Mama

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30 April

Just a little friendly reminder that Mother’s day is coming up on Sunday, May 12th!

We wouldn’t want you to forget to do something a little special for your dear sweet mom who raised you up to be such a thoughtful and caring adult. She really did a fantastic job, you know. It really is true. She is the Best Mom in the History of the World.

If you are looking for that perfect card, you can find our favorite right here. They have been FLYING off the shelf. Make sure your mom isn’t left out!

 

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Everyone Loves Pie {week 17}

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26 April

This week I made a pie for my Aunt Debbie. It was her birthday! She’s the aunt who is always up for a good practical joke, who LOVES the Beach Boys, and who is really proud of her Girl Scout heritage. Yes, she will stop and sing one of her Girl Scout campfire songs for you at the drop of a hat. “Oh I wish I was a little bar of soap! Oooohhhh, I wish I was a little bar of soap! I’d go slidey slidey slidey over everybody’s hidey, oh I wish I was a little bar of soap!” There are many more verses to this song, but I’ll leave it at that. She’s a lot of fun, and the pie I made for her has kind of a funny name.

Have you ever heard of Banoffee pie? Maybe you are familiar with it, but I wasn’t until a few days ago. Ban- for banana, and -offee for toffee. Banoffee. Apparently this pie is pretty common in the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world, but it has yet to make a big mark here in the good ol’ USA. Ladies and gentlemen, consider this your formal introduction…

Banoffee Pie

Ingredients:

 
for the crust:
9 oz. of graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
1/2 cup butter
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
 
for the filling:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
3 bananas
1 container of cool whip
 

Directions:

 
Place the crushed graham crackers into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, salt and cinnamon and stir it all together.  Melt the butter and pour it over the graham cracker mixture. Mix well. Press into the bottom and sides of the pie plate and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
 
In a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt the 1/2 cup of butter. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar and cook until bubbling, stirring frequently. Add the condensed milk and continue cooking until bubbly and thick. You just made toffee! Pour into the bottom of the graham cracker crust and spread it evenly. Refrigerate until cool. Slice the bananas and arrange them on top of the cooled toffee layer, and then top the pie with the whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 :: Carrie ::

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“Hey! What kind of pens do you use?”

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24 April

I’ve been asked this question many, many times, so I thought I would just spill the beans.

Actually, it’s no closely guarded secret. It’s not like I have some magical pen with super-powers. I’m still looking for that one, so if you know where I could get it, please tell me about it.

These are the four that I use the most, and I like them all for different reasons.

The Uni-ball vision and I have been tight for a long time now. It’s a ball point pen, and it draws a nice clean, fine line. It’s also waterproof, so you can paint overtop of it with no bleeding, if you want to.

The Zig Real Brush pen is new to the line-up, and I’m growing to love it. It has an actual brush, like a paint brush, for the tip. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty great. The best part is that the tip never wears out, as long as you take care of it. That’s a big plus. I’ve been using it quite a bit for lettering, especially for fancy script lettering. It makes some good curves with varying thicknesses.

For drawing on a little bigger scale I like the Faber-Castell brush pens. They are really easy to control and they produce a nice line quality. I also like them for lettering of all kinds. What I DON’T like about them is that they wear out SO quickly. They have a felt tip, which means they are really awesome when they are brand new, the tip breaks down really fast. I go through these like crazy.

For drawing and writing on an even larger scale I love the Prismacolor Premier brush marker. I usually only use black, but these come in a whole rainbow of colors, if you are interested.

What are your favorites? I’m always looking for better ones. I’d love to hear some suggestions!

:: Carrie ::

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Everyone Loves Pie {Week 16}

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20 April

This past week I shared a pie with some of my best friends in the whole world.

Even though it’s been more than ten years since I graduated from college, I still get the “Are you in school? What are you studying?” question, and on occasion, “I’ll just need to see your ID.” I guess that’s not a bad thing, but my college days are starting to feel like they happened a long time ago. Like all of you, I’m sure, those days come with some GREAT memories, and I’m pretty positive that I hit the jackpot when it comes to the friends that I made in college. Beth and I met when we were like twelve years old, but Karen is one of those friends I made at Mizzou, and she ended up marrying my brother. Score!

It’s true, or at least it is true for me, that the bonds that you make with people during this stage of life will last forever. I guess living together, experiencing the same things, and transitioning into adulthood together will do that. A few days ago some of my (and Karen’s) former roommates from college came in for a little reunion. We are scattered all over the world now, literally, and this doesn’t happen very often, so it was a real treat for all of us! I love that when we get together we don’t miss a beat, and even though our lives are a lot different now than they were, it’s like nothing has changed.

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Apple Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

Recipe for a 9 inch double crust pie 
3 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into slices
2 cups blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup natural cane sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

Mix up the dough for the crust. Divide it in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 500º and position the rack to the lowest part of the oven. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack so it can preheat. Remove one of the doughs from the refrigerator and let stand until malleable. Roll the dough on a floured surface to a 12 inch circle. Transfer the flat dough to a pie plate. Gently ease the dough into the plate corners and place in the refrigerator.

For the filling, toss the fruit with the lemon juice. In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, salt, and spices. Toss the sugar mixture with the fruit and turn the whole mixture into the chilled pie crust. It will mound up a little in the center.

Roll out the second disk of dough to a 12 inch circle. Transfer it to the top of the fruit mixture and trim the top and bottom crusts to 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the plate. Crimp edges together however you’d like so that the two crusts seal. Cut four slits in the top (or use cookie cutters to create something way more cute) to vent and brush the entire crust with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar.

Place the pie on the baking sheet and reduce the temperature to 425º. Bake until the top is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate the pie and reduce the temperature to 375º. Continue baking until the crust is deep golden brown and yummy fruit juices start bubbling, about 30 minutes more. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

:: Carrie ::

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