Tuesday, May 15, 2012May They Always Be This Good
I never really talk about Mothers Day because it's just not my sort of thing. I make sure all the moms in our lives are taken care of and know they are appreciated and all that, but I really don't need a day that's all about me. Every day is all about me, if we're being totally honest. That's what happens when you're the grown-up. You can decide to eat Strawberry Pie for lunch and there's no one to stop you.
I just don't need a Hallmark holiday to give me permission to enjoy a day to its fullest or to know that Alexis appreciates me. I know she does.
But now that Alexis is old enough to understand Mothers Day, she's super invested in making it a big deal. She woke me up Sunday morning all sorts of upset because Mr. Husband was at work so she didn't have a co-conspirator to help her make me breakfast in bed.
The kid has a good heart. Fortunately, her good heart found its happy again when I told her I really wanted a bowl of cereal. Cereal is one thing she can handle all by herself.
And then the kid reached into my chest, grabbed hold of my heart, and filled it with her special crazy brand of love. "Momma, I have $3.29. I want to take you somewhere special but I don't know where we can go."
That kid. Man.
Obviously, $3.29 doesn't go very far, but I had a idea. We have a Zoo membership and I am currently in possession of a fun toy. It's a Tamron 70-300mm lens which I have to give back after Alexis' dance recital next week, but until then? I WANNA PLAY!
The Zoo is a fantastic place to play with a long lens.
Good heavens I wish I could keep that lens. Anybody want to give me $350 so that I can? No? ::sigh::
The other thing about the Zoo is that it's a really fantastic place to spend a few hours with my most favorite kid in the whole wide world.
(Best photobomb by a shark ever? I think yes.)
I don't know when or how it happened, but somewhere along the line, Alexis has turned into a pretty amazing little human. She's fun to be around, especially when she's not running her mouth so much that I'm trying to figure out ways to weave her toenails into thread and sew her lips together. For Mothers Day she kept her mouth under control, though, so there was no fantasizing or plotting or scheming or asking her to go make noise somewhere far away from my ears.
There was just fun and good conversations and a few hours of me hanging out with my kid.
I don't think it can get any better than that.
Strawberry Pie (Not Gray's. BETTER.)
Soooo...am I the only person who has noticed that strawberries are crazy inexpensive this year? No? Good. Because they are. I've been picking them up for under $1.50/quart.
Picture me doing the Dance of Joy right here. Because I am.
I have one of those kids who can go through $20 worth of fruit in one sitting and then do it again a few hours later, so it's really very nice being able to ply her with strawberries without having it hurt my wallet too badly.
And then there's the fact that inexpensive strawberries leads to mastering new desserts.
Strawberry Pie ZOMGYESSSSSS.
I've been trying for a few years to replicate the Strawberry Pie that we get at a place in Mooresville, IN called Gray's. I kind of hate the place because it's cafeteria style, but then they have this Strawberry Pie that is out of this world. I can forgive mushy green beans when I have Strawberry Pie to keep me company.
Uh, I didn't replicate Gray's Strawberry Pie. I kicked its ass. This recipe? IS BETTER THAN GRAY'S.
I dare you to find out just how good it is yourself. It's really very easy.
I started by baking a pie crust. I cheated and used a pre-made crust. Be smarter than me and stick to Pillsbury or go homemade, by the way. I went with generic. While it tasted fine, it looked hideous.
Oh well. Pretty is overrated.
While the crust was cooling, I made strawberry sauce. It happens to be the exact same sauce I used for the Strawberry Short(cup)cakes. Don't mess with perfection, folks.
While the strawberry sauce was cooling, I plopped a few strawberries into that crust. Like so.
And then when the sauce was nice and cool, I poured it over top.
Top it with some whip cream, and you have heaven in a pie pan.
You don't have to take my word for it, though. I asked Alexis what she thought.
She totally gave me the "You just wait" finger.
And then shoved more pie in her face without answering.
I think that means she liked it. A lot.
Strawberry Pie
1 pie crust (go Team Pillsbury) (or homemade) (honestly, homemade is better but I'm lazy sometimes)
1 quart strawberries
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
3/4 cup water
Whip cream (I like *a lot* of whip cream, personally)
1. Prepare the crust according to the instructions in your recipe or on the package.
2. Wash and hull the strawberries.
3. Pick through the strawberries and select several that are similar in size. Ideally they should be about 1" tall. You'll need enough to fill your pie pan like the photo above. Set them aside. (Note: While I used one quart of strawberries total in the pie, I picked from two different quarts so that I could get enough strawberries that were just the right size.)
4. Dice the remaining strawberries.
5. Dissolve the corn starch in the water.
6. Cook the corn starch, water, sugar, and diced strawberries in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the strawberries are soft (about five minutes), use an immersion blender or potato masher to mush up the strawberries as much as possible. Allow to gently boil for about five more minutes, stirring occasionally. You should end up with a nice thick strawberry sauce.
7. Allow the strawberry sauce to cool completely.
8. Place the whole strawberries that you set aside inside the cooked pie crust. Once the strawberry sauce is cool, pour it over the whole strawberries. Use a spatula to nudge the sauce into all of the nooks and crannies.
9. Place the pie in the refrigerator for at least four hours so that it can set completely. Or, be impatient like I was and eat it right away. Just know that if you don't wait, it won't be quite as pretty.
Pretty is overrated, by the way. GIMME MY PIE.
10. Top with whip cream immediately before serving.
