Online beauty time

Pie.

I remember, as a child, helping my Mum to make apple pie.

rolling the dough, slicing up the apples..

she always let me seal the top and bottom crusts together, working the dough like clay.

smelling the pie as it baked, and then waiting as it cooled - "I think it's ready NOW, Mum!"

She had learned to make pastry from her own Mum,

 who often made apple pie when she came to visit, 

always served with a slice or two of cheese

 ("Apple pie with out the cheese is like a hug without the squeeze!"

As an adult, although not always keen on cooking meals, I love to bake.

Cookies, muffins, tarts, squares, you name it - but never pie.

Something about making crust intimidates me!

Today we are headed over to friends home for an-end-of-summer BBQ.

 I am bringing dessert. Pie.

 It is about time I share these memories with MY daughters -

who always appear into the kitchen, gleefully grabbing their aprons,

when the flour tin hits the counter.

source

After raiding Martha's site for the most reliable crust recipe,

and her classic apple pie, we gave it a whirl.

It was actually not that difficult - except I would not try to roll out the crust between layers of parchment again, my arms ached!! The top crust was rolled out the traditional way, with a little flour...

Not the prettiest pie,
but it smells fantastic, if i do say so myself!
We added a couple of pears into the mix because I had some that were quite ripe.
Hope it tastes as good as it smells ..

Now that I have done it once, I think I may start experimenting a tad..
If I find any outstanding recipes I'll share.
Is there any pies you would recommend?
I'd love some suggestions!

Three very jittery kiddies here as school starts tomorrow..
all hoping they get a certain teacher at school,
wishing their best friend will be in the same class,
wondering if there will be any new faces..
The shopping binge has paused, thank goodness!
3 backpacks - bulging with supplies, 3 lunchbags, 10 pairs of jeans, countless t-shirts,
6 new hoodies, 6 pairs of sneaks, and two new dresses, for Coco, of course.
We even found boots and some ski gear already - mayhem!

I have some really outstanding bento box lunches to show you this week,
 done by a really clever Mum I've met on twitter.

What are you all up to today?

til next time..