Happy Pi Day!

Today I celebrated pi day. So did all the other math geeks in the world. It is 3/14, officially known as Pi Day. And if you're a math geek foodie then you also celebrated Pie Day.



I forgot about Pi/e Day last year. But this year I was ready. I debated for days about what type of pie to make for Pi/e Day. My favorite pie is always pumpkin pie. But it seemed out of season. My favorite fruit pie is peach, but as I noted last year at this time, peaches are not in season either. Apple is always a good choice, I thought about banana cream, discarded any thoughts of cherry or blueberry. Finally I settled on pear. It doesn't hurt that pear is also a homonym of another numerical term, pair.

But what kind of pear pie to make? A quick online search revealed that there were two main types of pear pies - a regular fruit pie and a creamy or custard pie. And there were two main types of toppings - a crumble topping or a pie crust topping. I figured a custard would mask the pear flavor so I decided to stick with a regular fruit pie. And who doesn't love a good crumble?




Look at that, most of the pie is already gone before I had a chance to take a picture! Pi/e Day puts people in a good mood, so don't forget to celebrate it.

Pear Crumb Pie

Thin sliced Bartlett pears (the super hard green ones), brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and lemon juice mingle to make a tangy filling. The butter, brown sugar, and flour makes an easy crumble. I am not tied to this crust, so use a favorite crust recipe if you have one. I served this with fresh whipped cream (1 cup cream, 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla).

Ingredients

CRUST:

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 tablespoons cold water

FILLING:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash ground nutmeg
• 6 cups thinly sliced peeled pears (about 5 pears)
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

TOPPING:

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup cold butter

In a bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Sprinkle with water; toss until mixture is moist enough to shape into a ball. On a floured surface, roll out pastry to fit a 9-in. pie pan. Flute edges. Combine filling ingredients; spoon into the crust. Bake at 400 degrees F for 35 minutes. For topping, combine flour and brown sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake 20 minutes longer. Cover edges with foil during the last 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary.

My Sunday in pictures (1 photo per hour)

So, since we came back from Berlin, we've been looking for a moment like this just for making a brunch day... and today was the day!! Good weather, good company and delicious food! Laia made the most great pancakes I've ever eat! By the way, she's making a similar post like this (but every half and hour), so chek her blog!!

13'00 pm: we met Laia near her house for our Sunday brunch!
(read more)

 

14'00: Ready to prepare our brunch.

15'00: brunch ready!!

16'00: Esther dying after our brunch...

 17'00: Coffee time...

18'00: On my way to the Japan Weekend.

 19'00: Lolitas on the rocks!!

20'00: Lovely girls in lovely kimonos...

21'00: on my way back home...

22'00: Carrot soup for dinner...

23'00: Some good music, blogging and talking with friends... 

How's been your weekend? I'll make for you the Florence's repot tomorrow!

The Virtues of Composting

In 1977 I bought my first house in Durham, North Carolina. Its primary asset was a well-established compost pile. It was about 6 x 4 feet with fencing attached securely to metal poles at each corner. I covered it with black plastic and marveled at the proliferation of banana slugs, pumpkin vines and, ultimately, compost. You can see the compost pile on the left of the quilted piece that I made in 1980. Since that initial pile, I am pleased to say that I have created compost piles in two more houses in North Carolina and two in northern California.

Compost is all about transformation. The mix of ingredients you put into the bin are ready at hand and by no means exotic: leaves you’ve raked up from the front yard or the street, grass clippings and garden trimmings, vegetable and fruit peelings (like cilantro, parsley, and celery that have gone yellow in the fridge), dead or dying houseplants, tea leaves and coffee grounds. I stay away from pasta, bread, bones and other kinds of protein; these can go into your yard waste container if your garbage people allow it. Avoid large tree branches or super-leathery leaves because they take too long to disintegrate. Sprinkle with water to keep the pile damp but not swampy. Cover it up. Stir it every so often. Wait for a while and, like magic, this assortment of ingredients turns into a dark, rich crumbly stuff called compost. Add it to your garden as mulch, fertilizer, and soil amendment all in one.

The first thing you need to do is to buy a plastic compost bin or create your own using wooden palettes or fencing and stakes mentioned above. Plastic bins are often available at a cut-rate price from your county’s waste management authority. Check out the resource list below. I put my bin in a side or back yard where it can’t be seen from the street.

The second thing you need to do is find a good way to collect the peelings in your kitchen. While I’m cooking, I keep a metal bowl next to the chopping area and put all the peels into that.

The bowl gets dumped into a blue plastic container with a lid (mine is from IKEA) which fits underneath the sink. I can easily empty it into the compost bin whenever it’s full or getting a little stinky and cover the contents with dried leaves already in the bin.







I am truly dazzled by what happens to this mixture of disparate ingredients. While making supper requires some effort from me, compost mostly cooks itself. I win in every way: my garden soil is greatly enriched, much less of my waste goes into the city landfill, and I get to feel so virtuous.

BUILDING YOUR OWN COMPOST BIN
I Googled ‘building a compost bin’ and got many responses. Among them were
www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/composter
www.backyardgardener.com/compost
REDUCED-COST COMPOST BINS
Bay area:
Alameda County 510-444-SOIL (the Rotline)
www.stopwaste.org
Central Contra Costa County Solid Waste Authority 925-906-1806
www.wastediversion.org
West Contra Costa County Integrated Waste Management Authority
www.recyclemore.com
San Mateo County RecycleWorks 888-442-2666
www.recycleworks.org
Santa Clara County Recycling & Waste Reduction Commission 408-918-4640
reducewaste.org
New York City area: (if bins are available in NYC, maybe they are everywhere)
For Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens Compost Projects
www.nyccompost.org/resources/orderbin.html
BUYING A COMPOST BIN
I Googled ‘Compost Bins’ and got a huge number of sites offering to sell me one. Some are inexplicably expensive. I think the least expensive was about $90. You might also check with your local nursery for availability in your area.
www.compostbins.com

Cute room ideas

Yesterday I was looking at our friends baby registry on babiesrus.com and I happened to come across these adorable baby room theme ideas. Here are a couple pictures! It is called Heaven Scent - boy and there is a Heaven Scent - girl too. It's nice to find something that is related to the Bible I think. :)

 

 

 

 And no I am not pregnant! lol 

Devotional Thoughts.

I read these two verses and quote this morning and I wanted to share them with all of you!

"For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you." "Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'this is the way, walk in it,' Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left." Isaiah 30: 19,21.

"If all would make the Bible their study, we should see a people further developed, capable of thinking more deeply, and showing a greater degree of intelligence, than the more earnest efforts in studying merely the sciences and histories of the world could make them." Christian Education, pg. 130.


This one especially hit home for me.

"Heaven is a pure and holy place, where non can enter unless they are refined, spiritualized, cleansed, and purified." pg. 133

How to Choose a Grocery Store: Food Tip of the Day - Sunday, March 14th, 2010

How to choose a grocery store requires that a great many factors be taken in to consideration. It is a fact also that different people will have different priorities in this respect. There are those for whom the location of the grocery store will be the top priority, others will consider the overall prices to be most important and others still will look to the grocery store's product range as being the prime consideration.

How to choose a grocery store is in fact about all of these points and more if the best decision is to be made. The article linked to below affords advice on how to choose a grocery store that will meet your most important requirements and ensure that you get the best out of your grocery shopping experience.

How to Choose a Grocery Store