Happy Father's Day!
Again, I'm a little late with this, but happy father's day to my dad and all the other fathers in my life! I hope you all had a wonderful day.
I even got to do some baking for father's day! I traditionally make dad a strawberry-rhubarb pie for father's day. And I mean, it's supposed to be a secret. But when the strawberries appear in the fridge and the same day, rhubarb mysteriously appears . . . well, it's not so much a secret anymore. Silly rhubarb plants. If only we could grow our own, it wouldn't be a problem.
But that's ok. Secret or no secret, dad enjoys it. That's what counts.
I did make my own crust this year. Hooray! It was fun. And while it was chilling, NES helped me chop the rhubarb for the filling.
Instead of mixing it all together, like I did last year, I layered it (half the strawberries and rhubarb, half the sugar/flour/tapioca mix, other half strawberries and rhubarb, rest of the sugar/flour/tapioca mix). The only problem with this is that I ended up with some places where the sugar never got dissolved and looked white in the holes in the lattice. Oh well. It still tasted good!
I also used A LOT more rhubarb and strawberries than called for. Like 3 cups of strawberries and probably 4 cups of rhubarb. Pies are only good when they are full enough! Can't have any skimpy pies around here.
This year the tapioca didn't quite cut it though. It came out really juicy. So, I think I'll add more tapioca next year. 1 tsp. just doesn't seem like much. I think PS (who was also making a strawberry-rhubarb pie for father's day) said her recipe called for 3 Tbsp. So, I think I can deal with adding a little more. And then maybe it won't be quite so . . . well, drippy.
But because I made my own crust, I even had enough for curlicues!
They might just be my favorite part of making a pie. Mmmm.
But besides dad's traditional pie, mom and I were also trying to think of a meal that dad wouldn't have to grill on father's day. We ended up not finding one, but we figured if he chose it, it was fair to ask him to make it. But mom and I did make all of his requests to go with his grilled meat. Mom made a big crockpot full of baked beans, and I made brown bread.
Well, I made most of it. I put it together, and dad had to stick it in the oven while mom and I were at church. So much for dad not having to make his own father's day meal.
I've talked about this brown bread recipe before. It's actually my great-grandmother's recipe. And this time, unlike last time!, it actually worked!
And this time, it was super special, because I had my great-grandmother's own coffee can to make it in. It was really cool to know that can had so much history to it. I'd love to know what brand of coffee it was, but all the can really says now is a faint "coffee".
The other thing the can added was the concept of covering the bread. I don't think I remembered to do it last time, which is why it took so long and never really cooked. It's generally steamed, so I don't know why I didn't think to cover it before.
But apparently the can is magic, because it came out perfectly. I think it was all the love my great-grandmother and grandmother baked into that can over all these years.
I even got to do some baking for father's day! I traditionally make dad a strawberry-rhubarb pie for father's day. And I mean, it's supposed to be a secret. But when the strawberries appear in the fridge and the same day, rhubarb mysteriously appears . . . well, it's not so much a secret anymore. Silly rhubarb plants. If only we could grow our own, it wouldn't be a problem.
But that's ok. Secret or no secret, dad enjoys it. That's what counts.
I did make my own crust this year. Hooray! It was fun. And while it was chilling, NES helped me chop the rhubarb for the filling.
Instead of mixing it all together, like I did last year, I layered it (half the strawberries and rhubarb, half the sugar/flour/tapioca mix, other half strawberries and rhubarb, rest of the sugar/flour/tapioca mix). The only problem with this is that I ended up with some places where the sugar never got dissolved and looked white in the holes in the lattice. Oh well. It still tasted good!
I also used A LOT more rhubarb and strawberries than called for. Like 3 cups of strawberries and probably 4 cups of rhubarb. Pies are only good when they are full enough! Can't have any skimpy pies around here.
This year the tapioca didn't quite cut it though. It came out really juicy. So, I think I'll add more tapioca next year. 1 tsp. just doesn't seem like much. I think PS (who was also making a strawberry-rhubarb pie for father's day) said her recipe called for 3 Tbsp. So, I think I can deal with adding a little more. And then maybe it won't be quite so . . . well, drippy.
But because I made my own crust, I even had enough for curlicues!
They might just be my favorite part of making a pie. Mmmm.
But besides dad's traditional pie, mom and I were also trying to think of a meal that dad wouldn't have to grill on father's day. We ended up not finding one, but we figured if he chose it, it was fair to ask him to make it. But mom and I did make all of his requests to go with his grilled meat. Mom made a big crockpot full of baked beans, and I made brown bread.
I've talked about this brown bread recipe before. It's actually my great-grandmother's recipe. And this time, unlike last time!, it actually worked!
And this time, it was super special, because I had my great-grandmother's own coffee can to make it in. It was really cool to know that can had so much history to it. I'd love to know what brand of coffee it was, but all the can really says now is a faint "coffee".
The other thing the can added was the concept of covering the bread. I don't think I remembered to do it last time, which is why it took so long and never really cooked. It's generally steamed, so I don't know why I didn't think to cover it before.
And it all was wonderful! Thanks PFM and LBM!
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