Strawberry Pie
It is such a beautiful day outside, and the weather is supposed to stay like this for a while. I love spring time. It makes me feel like we will be at the beach in no time at all- which of course is a wonderful and horrifying thought all at the same time. Everything is so fresh and bright, and a strawberry pie pretty much describes my mood and this weather exactly. Here is a favorite easy recipe that will put you in a good mood even if winter is trying to hang on in your area!
Strawberry Pie
Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions:
Arrange half of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of whipped cream.
In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of whipped cream.
For some reason this year, I don’t feel like Valentine’s Day has been hyped or celebrated (at least in my family) at all. Maybe it is because of yet another fake snow storm that closed schools and bridges Wednesday and Thursday. Maybe it is because Corby’s birthday is this weekend, and I am focused more on that. Really, I think it is because Walker’s class did not have a Valentine’s Day party, and so we did not make Valentine’s for his classmates. He did insist on wearing a pink tie to dancing school on Wednesday night though which was pretty cute. Anyway, it doesn’t really feel like Valentine’s Day to me especially since we are celebrating Corby’s birthday with my parents tonight with take out and the new season of House of Cards (so ridiculously excited to watch it). So, to get in the Valentine’s Day mood, I thought I would try making some chocolate fudge this afternoon as a little Valentine’s Day treat (granted it won’t actually be eaten on Valentine’s Day as the recipe calls for it to sit overnight, but better late than never). This recipe looks delicious,and I can’t wait to try it!
As this is a baking blog, I am not sure if I have mentioned my preferences in alcohol. I like beer. Light beer. Ultra-light beer. That’s about it. I will occasionally drink red wine and perhaps a glass of champagne, but I have never enjoyed liquor. I, of course, tried shots of liquor in college when that seemed like a fun thing to do, but now on the very rare occasion that I am offered a shot of something, I generally turn it down because I do not like the taste of liquor at all. This little strawberry recipe however, I can get involved with, and it is a really cute idea for a Valentine’s Day cocktail party treat.
I think I have said this before, and it should really come as no surprise since I am in love with baking and desserts, but I have a ridiculous sweet tooth. This attribute fortunately did not get passed down to my son Walker. He likes candy, but he could really go either way on it. I will occasionally buy him a Kit Kat at the gas station, and while he seems excited and very appreciative, sometimes he will just hold onto it and I will find it not eaten in his room later. If you give me candy, it is eaten immediately. Walker also usually sticks to one thing that he likes for a while and then moves onto the next. He was a big fan of oreo Hershey bars for a while, and then Kit Kats. The other day in the grocery store I asked him if he wanted anything, and he came back with a Butterfinger bar which was a little surprising since he has never chosen that before. I love Butterfingers but only the little bite ones- I can’t eat a full bar- well ok I could but would prefer something else. However, in high school, I used to get soft serve with Butterfinger all mixed together in one of those “blasts”- it was my favorite thing for all of junior year. I came across this wonderful blog Cookies and Cups (www.cookiesandcups.com) and they had posted a recipe for homemade butterfinger bark. It uses candy corns which is really awesome, so I can’t wait to try it!
Everyone has been talking about this Polar Vortex that is causing the ridiculous cold all over the place. It is something crazy like -15 degrees in New York- here is a picture of my adorable niece on her way to school. It is 20 degrees in Charleston today, and it feels like 9. And compared to New York, I shouldn’t really complain, but guess what, our heat went out. I waited for the heating guy to come this morning, fully dressed, under the covers of my still-warm bed, with gloves on, playing Candy Crush on my phone. Fortunately, he was very speedy, and the heat was returned to our house. When I used to live in New York, occasionally we would run out of oil on a very cold day, and I would wait with Walker, and both dogs huddled in bed, but the difference is that we had a fireplace in our bedroom back then, and that made a significant difference. I was thinking fondly of that fireplace this morning as I waited, and I also started thinking about turning on the oven and sitting next to it while I waited, but decided that might not be the best idea. However, thoughts of the oven and Candy Crush did inspire me to look for warm dessert recipes, and this caramel and pear pudding recipe from Taste of Home that you make in a slow cooker is just the trick for a cold, cold day!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I feel like I have been eating non stop this holiday season, and it has been wonderful. We spent Saturday night with a bunch of friends and one of the many yummy nibbles served were Rolo pretzel bites. Such a simple yet awesome snack- salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy- they have everything you could want. I know I will be making lots and lots of these!
I have always wondered about figgy pudding- what is it? I do very much like the line in the Christmas carol about it, demanding figgy pudding is just kind of funny to me. So, of course, I googled it, and while I don’t think it will make it into the holiday repertoire of traditions, it does sound interesting.