There are a number of things ( and pictures) I have neglected to add to the blog this week due to either busy video editing, filming, ranting, or "other things" that kept me from the unusually interesting but otherwise boring routine activity. Does that sentence make sense? Ah well... I'm leavin' it.
So... Pie! Cheryl has been baking. Three pies now and all of them were awesome. Each one seems to improve in at least one area. As I write this, I'm currently eating the Raspberry pie that she made yesterday. Bu before I get ahead of myself.... First was the Mulberry pie wih the butter crust. Great! But the crust was a little tough. Next was Mulberry pie number 2. She worked on the filling and tweaked the crust a little.
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| Red Raspberry Pie! |
The inside improved with a firm jelly like filling, still tasty! But the crust was still a little too firm. The taste was great! And the top layers were nice and flaky, but the bottom was still tough. ( You could pick it up and eat it with your hands... Which is kinda cool if you think about it...)
But then came the Red Raspberry pie. She used oil instead of butter and the crust is soft and flaky. She complained it was a bear to work with, but I think any crust I can cut with a fork with little effort is a winner in my book. The filling is good too. However, she believes the oil based crust does not taste as good as the butter ones. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in a pie.
We continue to pick Mulberries from the same tree. Every day the berries continue to get bigger and sweeter. We have had rain the last two days and I think the berries enjoyed the moisture. Black Caps are coming on line now and Cheryl wants us to pack a bucket on our morning runs to gather what we can as the come out. Her hopes, I think, are to make either an ice cream or a full pie out of them exclusively. That will require a lot of berries!
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| Tiger Moth. |
The warmer humid weather has been bringing out the bugs! A colorful Tiger Moth found its way into our apartment and I just had to take its picture. It looks dead, but that is only a ruse.
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| Moth plays Dead! |
They expose the red under wings so birds will think they are toxic and not eat them. I released him?her outside and hope they are able to enjoy the great outdoors without being someone's lunch.
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| Back to the outside! |
The neighbors upstairs have moved out! Cheryl predicted that the Lockdowns were going to cull the relationships that were destined to fail. Being locked up together 24/7 will either bring you closer together or tear you apart! The young couple upstairs would yell at each other from time to time, but I did not think they would actually break up. Ah! To be young again.... ( Not really) Life must be so tough these days.... I can only hope the Landlords find quieter people for the upstairs apartment. I would help us all out a great deal.
And finally, Muscatine today. The rain brings humidity, but the river was cool enough to get 7 miles in. our normal Tee's visit and weekly grocery store visit was graced with a visit to JoAnn Fabrics, where they have lightened up on the insanity and now let people inside, without masks, and not limit the number of shoppers in the store at a time.
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| Running with the Train! |
I did not want to submit to those rules as most of the time we drift around and shop at our leisure. I would hate having a line form outside for people waiting for me to hurry up. Perhaps JoAnn figured out that most of their customers were not eager to shop like that either.
I should also add that the wildlife sightings were unique as well. We saw a baby skunk.. ( So Cute!) and an OTTER! You don't see otters everyday in Iowa... and Especially on the Kewash trail. I would imagine they might be common near the Mississippi, but not in the interior. He was splashing by the bridge as we passed by. I first thought it was a muskrat, but he stuck his head clearly out of the water. Too bad I did not have the camera handy for the shot.
Well, time for another piece of pie and a tasty beer. The Voodoo Ranger IPA is wonderfully bitter and refreshing. Funny how my adult tastes have changed as I continue to get older. It is the perfect analogy for getting old and maturing. As a kid, everything is sugar and sweetness. But as you age, you appreciate the bitterness of foods and drinks rather than disregard them outright. Too bad we have to wait until we are 50 to gain that insite. Thanks for stopping in.
There are a number of things ( and pictures) I have neglected to add to the blog this week due to either busy video editing, filming, ranting, or "other things" that kept me from the unusually interesting but otherwise boring routine activity. Does that sentence make sense? Ah well... I'm leavin' it.
So... Pie! Cheryl has been baking. Three pies now and all of them were awesome. Each one seems to improve in at least one area. As I write this, I'm currently eating the Raspberry pie that she made yesterday. Bu before I get ahead of myself.... First was the Mulberry pie wih the butter crust. Great! But the crust was a little tough. Next was Mulberry pie number 2. She worked on the filling and tweaked the crust a little.
The inside improved with a firm jelly like filling, still tasty! But the crust was still a little too firm. The taste was great! And the top layers were nice and flaky, but the bottom was still tough. ( You could pick it up and eat it with your hands... Which is kinda cool if you think about it...)
But then came the Red Raspberry pie. She used oil instead of butter and the crust is soft and flaky. She complained it was a bear to work with, but I think any crust I can cut with a fork with little effort is a winner in my book. The filling is good too. However, she believes the oil based crust does not taste as good as the butter ones. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for in a pie.
We continue to pick Mulberries from the same tree. Every day the berries continue to get bigger and sweeter. We have had rain the last two days and I think the berries enjoyed the moisture. Black Caps are coming on line now and Cheryl wants us to pack a bucket on our morning runs to gather what we can as the come out. Her hopes, I think, are to make either an ice cream or a full pie out of them exclusively. That will require a lot of berries!
They expose the red under wings so birds will think they are toxic and not eat them. I released him?her outside and hope they are able to enjoy the great outdoors without being someone's lunch.
The neighbors upstairs have moved out! Cheryl predicted that the Lockdowns were going to cull the relationships that were destined to fail. Being locked up together 24/7 will either bring you closer together or tear you apart! The young couple upstairs would yell at each other from time to time, but I did not think they would actually break up. Ah! To be young again.... ( Not really) Life must be so tough these days.... I can only hope the Landlords find quieter people for the upstairs apartment. I would help us all out a great deal.
And finally, Muscatine today. The rain brings humidity, but the river was cool enough to get 7 miles in. our normal Tee's visit and weekly grocery store visit was graced with a visit to JoAnn Fabrics, where they have lightened up on the insanity and now let people inside, without masks, and not limit the number of shoppers in the store at a time.
I should also add that the wildlife sightings were unique as well. We saw a baby skunk.. ( So Cute!) and an OTTER! You don't see otters everyday in Iowa... and Especially on the Kewash trail. I would imagine they might be common near the Mississippi, but not in the interior. He was splashing by the bridge as we passed by. I first thought it was a muskrat, but he stuck his head clearly out of the water. Too bad I did not have the camera handy for the shot.
1 comment:
Hand pies! I think that is what they call a stiff crust pie. Wow it looks like Cheryl could open a bakery! I think ice cold butter makes the crust flaky,,,but I have not made a crust in a long time:)
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