Look what we made

I've been reading the Amelia Bedelia series to Kennedy. She loves these books and all the silly things "that crazy Amelia Bedelia" does. But the books gave her an idea. On Saturday morning, Kennedy said, "Mom, I know what we should do today. Let's make a pie!" Seriously? A pie? I've never made a pie in my life - at least not one from scratch. Maybe it's about time. My grandma is an excellent baker and makes fabulous pies. The last times we've been up to visit, she made sour cream raisin (one of Pamp's favorites) and blackberry (to die for when it's warm with vanilla ice cream). We bought some apples from Costco last weekend that weren't very tasty, so I thought, why not turn them into a pie. This could be a fun kitchen project for us to do together.

First we had to go shopping for the ingredients. But that was after I took the girls to book group with me. Jake had gone to a car show with Uncle Ben, and luckily my mom was hosting. They were both on their best behavior (Macy took a nap and Kennedy watched a movie) while we chatted and discussed the book ("Cutting for Stone" which I didn't have time to read - I didn't even get a copy because I was 76th on the hold list at the library!)

When we got home I made lunch and then did a major cleaning of the kitchen and dining room, also in preparation for the pie making. Was I stalling? Kennedy helped Jake and Ben build a shelf for the shed, and Macy was napping again, so I figured I should take advantage of the time.

Finally we headed off to the store for the ingredients plus something for dinner. By the time we made it home, it was too late to make a pie, and I couldn't find a box of powered milk that wasn't sized for a family of 10. Really, do people drink that stuff? And is it an essential ingredient for pie crust anyway?

Sunday I went for a jog and came home to the girls making blue Swedish Pancakes with daddy. After breakfast, Jake went to Home Depot for more shed project materials, so I asked him to check at Target for a small box of dry milk. He couldn't find any, but came home instead with non-dairy coffee creamer.

While Macy was napping, Kennedy and I got to work. We creamed the fats (four of them in this particular recipe: butter, margarine, shortening and lard), added the sugar, salt, non-dairy creamer (why not?), baking powder, flour and water. The best thing about this is that it's done all in the mixer. Then we had to add more flour - a couple of times - before it could be rolled. But that was the fun part. Kennedy was a great helper, sprinkling the flour, taking turns rolling, laughing with me when it stuck to the counter, trying again, getting the pie pan under the dough, trimming the edges... Her favorite part was working with the dough. I gave her all the trimmed off parts and she rolled, patted, molded and cut it to her heart's content. She made a smiley face, a snake and a baby long neck dinosaur in an egg.

I assembled the apple filling and poured it over the crust. Then we rolled out the top crust, put it all together and got it in the oven. We made little pie crust cinnamon and sugar cookies with the extra dough, too (not the play dough) - this was also a test to make sure the crust was edible before we cut into the pie!

Jeff came over to show us his new car, and asked that we bring the pie to dinner. I was a bit nervous about sharing my first attempt, but what better testers than family, right? Well, it was a success! Kennedy and I are now on our way to master pie baker status. She kept asking everyone, "Do you like the pie? Isn't it delicious?" And then, "We should all say thank you to the dessert makers!" Jeff also made a really good Dutch oven pear cobbler. So thanks to all the dessert makers and to Amelia Bedelia. I'm glad Kennedy talked me into this.

Then there was this feast prepared for all the animals. I love seeing the girls playing together! They both have a great sense of imagination, that's for sure.

Kennedy has now changed her mind about what she wants to be when she grows up. No more ballet dancer. Now, she wants to own a restaurant and be a chef. "The restaurant will be called Casa because it's Spanish for house, and my restaurant will look like a house. It will be open all the time, except for when I'm sleeping. And mom, you can work there too. Maybe you can make some curtains so we can close them at night. Then people will know that we're not open. And we can write on the door with a special marker when we are closed. It will be our restaurant and we have to wear our white suits and our white chef hats. It will be so great!"