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.
One of the easiest and best breakfasts is to make a German pancake. First they are delicious, second they poof which is fun to watch at any age, but especially for kids (I am talking really poofy if you are lucky), and third you can serve it with anything- fruit, syrup, powdered sugar, nutella etc. We did try to make one once when we were up in the mountains, and the altitude was a problem and the pancake did not poof which was rather disappointing. However- if you are not way up in the mountains, this is a fun tasty breakfast idea.
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.
Tomorrow morning I am running my first ever race, the Folly Beach “Save the Lighthouse” half-marathon. Here is a picture of the lighthouse- who wouldn’t want to save that! I am getting fairly nervous as it has been snowing and icing since Tuesday, which means that I have not gone for a run since Monday, which actually is not really a big deal- more to the point, I am nervous about running and being able to complete 13.1 miles without crawling/crying across the finish line. I have been googling all morning race day preparations, and a lot of websites and blogs suggest eating a banana and some toast for breakfast pre race. Well, that is not much of a recipe so I thought I would share a great banana bread recipe instead, and while I will not eat this tomorrow morning, I will look forward to it on Sunday morning- if I can actually get out of bed. Will keep you posted on how the race goes- wish me luck!
It is supposed to snow in Charleston tomorrow. People are initiating emergency guidelines. We are preparing for total shut down for the forecasted one inch of snow. I haven’t heard anything yet about potential school closings, but I am getting prepared to have a rambunctious 10 year old home from school either tomorrow or Wednesday. And what better way to spend the day than making soft pretzels! My only concern about this is it being so cold in the house that the dough won’t rise properly, but I will keep you posted on that when we make them. This is a picture from a long weekend up in the mountains last February- I seriously doubt that we will get anywhere near that much snow- but the kiddos sure did have fun!