Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Owls and a-holes. Oh, and pie.

Oh goodness, being in NYC was such a treat last weekend. Highlights = my friends' wedding, Thursday night at Il Bambino with the Astoria crew, the cold (yet still delicious) Shack Burger on Saturday, and eating pizza in the conference room with all my old coworkers on Friday. Just like I never left. Lowlights = stumbling around on Saturday evening in the rain in the West Village trying in vain to find a friend's apartment, and - oh yeah - barfing my brains out Sunday morning. Whee! Apparently old age means I can no longer hold my drink. Or at least not practice safe-drinking techniques (such as not mixing one's liquors). What a dingbat.

Thankfully I did make my plane on Sunday afternoon and did not manage to barf on the way home. Possibly the best part of the trip was bringing cool weather home with me. Yes, I did that. You're welcome. I've slept with the windows open and the AC off for two nights now. Even the ceiling fans are off. And of course cooler weather means the kitty returns to the bed with me. He doesn't do that in the summer - too hot. But in cooler weather my bed becomes his favorite spot in the apartment. Guess that makes two of us.

Speaking of beds, have you seen this bedding at PB?



I'm like, "Great, new sheets!" but no, just duvet and shams. I hate it when that happens. I just love 'em. They don't really match any of my bedding, though. It's like, great for the guest bedroom, yeah? Oh right, I don't have one. Eh, oh well. I will simply admire from afar.




What is it with the f'n owls lately? I feel like they're so cliched these days. Do you think the polar bears will think I'm cheating on them? Oh well, I still love this, and it's on sale. Saw it on Whorange. This would be nice for my "back" door, ie the balcony. I do track a lot of dirt in there, come to think of it. But the front door belongs to my little astro-turf-with-a-daisy mat. I've had it for years and I love it to bits. It sat in front of my door in both Brooklyn and Astoria and is cheap enough that no one thinks to steal it. Great when you live in a building full of thieves (I'm talking to you a-hole who stole my shammy that I left out to dry after washing my car).

Okay, moving on from owls and a-holes. I figured I had better post this pie now. I made it a while ago and have just been sitting on it, not putting it on the blog. All the while realizing that that wasn't such a good idea because blueberries have a season (have a flavor too) and when it passes, this recipe isn't really helpful. On that note I should post that tomato tart recipe pronto.



I first made this pie last summer for a going away party and just thought it was the bees knees. So when mom arrived from Houston in August bearing one of these Costco-sized containers of fresh blueberries, I knew I was making the pie. I guess you could put any fruit on top, right? So long as it works well with lemon. Maybe other berries? Get creative, I say.



Blueberry-Lemon Pie (from some very old Target summer recipes flyer)

Crust (of note here - I am lazy and use store-bought, so I've never tested out the crust. Also of note, the first time I made this I bought whatever popular brand crust was out there. Not sure what brand but you'd find it in the baking aisle in any regular grocery store. It was awesome. The second time I used some fancy organic one from Whole Foods and it was so not as good. So make your own or buy the "regular folks" pre-made crust, you dig?)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg white
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons canola oil

Filling
1 can (14 oz) nonfat sweetened condensed milk (another note, first time I made this I couldn't find nonfat so used regular. Of course that makes it taste even better but probably isn't so good for you.)
2/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 pint fresh blueberries
confectioner's sugar for dusting (optional - you can see I never bother)

Heat oven to 350. Lightly coat 9 inch pie plate or springform tart pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and brown lightly, swirling so as not to burn. Remove from heat and set aside. Whisk egg white until foamy, then blend in cracker crumbs, oil, and browned butter until well combined. Press into your pan of choice and bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

In a metal bowl, whisk condensed milk, yogurt, lemon zest, and juice. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water; let soften 1 minute, then set the bowl in a skillet of simmering water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. Whisk gelatin into the lemon filling. Chill filling until it begins to set, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Spread filling into the shell, arrange blueberries on top. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

See, if you don't make the crust yourself, you don't even have to turn on the oven! This is a perfect summer pie, I say. Too bad it's fall already.

4 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Couldn't you just put some solid color sheets on your bed to use the owl duvet and shams? Those are cute.

amy merrick said...

Is it perhaps a tiny tomato tart recipe?

Elizabeth said...

Yes, we have the same birthday! How funny.

Anonymous said...

Chris and I have the owl doormat from Pottery Barn you showed here... it is the best ever!