I would like to take this opportunity to thank my producer, agent, speech coach, set designer, and director without whose support and constant belief in me, this groundbreaking documentary would never have been possible.
December 03, 2009
November 22, 2009
“Who wants pie?”
Have you ever seen any of the old Jimmy Neutron episodes where Jimmy’s father, Hugh, wiggles out of an uncomfortable moment—in which he’s invariably reprimanding Jimmy for something or another—by saying (in his ridiculous voice): “Who wants pie?” Well, I can’t seem to serve my pies without copping Hugh’s accent but luckily, in my house, everybody wants pie.
The most remarkable Yael, of FabricCrafts and Pazzapazza has encouraged me to share my recipe for apple pie and since Sheva has also blogged about one of our favorite recipes this week, I thought I’d chime in with the details. We did have all those apples, you know.
The Crust
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups of shortening
8-10 tablespoons of cold water
Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the pieces are pea-sized. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over the mixture and gently toss with a fork. Repeat this using 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dough is moistened. Divide dough in half and form each half into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, flatten 1 dough ball and roll it flat until it forms a 12-inch circle. To transfer it to the pie dish, drape it on a rolling pin and trim it evenly with the rim of the dish. Roll out the 2nd dough ball the same way. Cut slits (or fancy schmancy shapes like I did) so that the steam can escape during baking.
After the filling is in the pie (see below), drape the top crust on top and trip it to 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the pie dish. Fold it under the bottom pastry and crimp the edge to create a fluted edge.
The Apple Filling
7-9 ripe apples
3/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Peel, core, and slice 6 cups worth of ripe apples. In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apple slices and toss until coated. Fill pie crust and cover with remaining pastry as explained above.
To prevent the pie from burning while cooking, cover the edge of the pie with aluminum foil. You can simply fold the foil in half and rip off a smallish half circle right at the fold and then drape it over the pie. Bake covered like this in a 375° oven for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes until the pie finally looks like a pie.
Enjoy!
November 16, 2009
Inaugural Giveaway – glazedOver Tiny Tea Bag Bowls!! CLOSED
And the winner is…..(chosen by random.org)
Min:1 / Max:72
Result: 42 = CaitThroop!
Congratulations, Cait, and thank you to everyone who entered!
******************************
For months, I’ve been mulling over the idea of doing a giveaway here on my blog. I’m here writing this and you’re here reading this, so that must mean that I’ve decided to go ahead with it. So here goes!
I’m starting with a giveaway of something of my own, but I’d like to branch out to feature other artists as well. If you are interested in being featured, please convo me at my glazedOver shop.
WHAT’S UP FOR THE TAKING?
Four tiny tea bag bowls in my Hawaiian Coconut glazing pattern.
They’re the perfect size for spent teabags...or for soy sauce for the sushi, or to use as prep bowls for spices, or for giving a small portion of M&Ms® to the little ones, or even to dole out the meds. These much beloved little guys are a fun and handy addition to any kitchen collection.
Speckled stoneware clay and speckled white food safe glaze (so they're SUPER speckled!). Each bowl measures approximately 2¾" in diameter x ¾" H.
And yes, they are dishwasher safe (I perch mine atop the silverware tray).
HOW TO WIN:
Visit my glazedOver shop and comment here below letting me know which item is your favorite or something you would like to see me create.
FOR ADDITIONAL ENTRIES
(1) Tweet this post
(2) Blog about this contest with a link back to this post
(3) Follow my blog
In your comments below, let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.
DRAWING:
Midnight on November 22nd – just in time to use as a hostess gift on Thanksgiving!
October 27, 2009
Primordial Fire
It is an eerie sensation to walk into the studio when the kiln is ablaze. I can’t resist conjuring up imagery from Dante’s inferno. I know that if I lift the lid, all sorts of demons will pop out. This is my Pandora’s Box, but mostly good things come out of it.
As I’m writing this, the kiln is at 2150° Fahrenheit and still climbing. It is truly a mysterious process, difficult to fathom. I put in ceramic pieces coated with various drab looking liquids that have dried on the surface, and out they come with beautiful and vibrant glassy surfaces. It’s a true metamorphosis.
October 15, 2009
How Do You Like Them Apples!
It’s apple picking season here in New York and once again, we took the girls to our favorite apple orchard. The farm management got savvier this year and made the apple buckets a wee bit bigger and adjusted the price accordingly. But that’s ok, I’ll just make 16 pies. And strudel, and cider, and baked apples, and apple sauce, and apple fritters, and apple turnovers, and…
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We had to walk quite a distance from the entrance to find some trees with apples still on the branches (rather than rotten or half eaten and lying on the ground).
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| Apple Girls 2008 | Apple Girls 2009 |
Some people do the age progression photo album assembled from school pictures. We do the hatchback-pose-with-the-apple-bucket age progression album instead.
We’re so clever.
October 10, 2009
A Custom Order for Vered
Perhaps you have come across Vered Skolnik’s exquisite Etsy shop, veroque. All of her work involves intricate woven bead creations that are as much a marvel in design as they are a delight to behold. My daughter and I can spend forever just clicking through her entire shop. And she recently launched a second shop, ByTheBelt, which is no less impressive.
A few weeks ago, I was tickled positively pink to get an email from Vered asking me to make her a ceramic dish that she could use to hold beads as she works. She said she was flexible in the design and left it to me to come up with something, as long as it had a few sections to keep the different colored beads separate from each other. She gave me full creative liberty, what a bunny!
Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. Of course, the glazing can bubble up during firing, another piece can fall on it in the kiln and smash it into tiny, tiny pieces, I could accidentally drop it on the floor taking it out of the kiln…anything can happen. But so far, right now, today...it's the cat's MEOW!!
October 06, 2009
The Kid with the Halo
This past weekend, my daughter stumbled upon my kindergarten report card. I had Dr. Maas for a teacher (my parents were convinced that she went for the doctorate only because without it, we’d all have to call her “Miss Maas” which was just too much to ask of a class of kindergarteners).
I remember only certain (and mostly questionable) things about being in her class. By today’s pedagogical standards, her discipline tactics would force a gasp to leap off your lips quite involuntarily. Judging from her comments on my report card, though, it seems she had her finger on my pulse quite accurately.
She wrote…
“As you know, Jill is doing superior work. She sets extremely high standards for herself and may become distressed if she feels she is anything less than perfect. Jill responds well to praise and encouragement, however, so her own successes seem to have built a bulwark against the tension you were concerned about earlier. Jill is highly individualistic, and I suspect she will derive much satisfaction from grades 3 and 4 upward when she will be both ready and eager to plunge into sustained individual projects.
“I feel sure Jill will be able to forge ahead in first grade and achieve a superior level of success if she is not permitted to lapse into disproportionate negative emotions over small events. Your attitude was most helpful this year in this regard. Your continued cooperation will be beneficial.”
Funny how key character elements can be manifested at such a young age, and how apparent that can be to the observer.
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