Can She Make a Cherry Pie, Charming Billy?*

Can you smell the cherry filling and the golden-brown butter dough?

It's 3:23 p.m. on Friday, a blue-sky summer day. Yesterday, Dan and I came over to this house, owned by his brother John in Belfast, Maine. Right on the coast. The bay is at the foot of the hill. 

We picked cherries (pie cherries, sour cherries) from his 40-year-old cherry tree and pitted them. It was an old-time chore, and it was nourishing. It felt like time stood still. 

Felt like we three were quilting together around a table, though not out on the prairie. We talked as we pitted dozens of pretty red globes. We talked about the milk delivered in glass bottles that the Hurleys got in Teaneck before their parents divorced, when money got tight. As the youngest of five brothers, Dan did not remember the milkbox. But as the oldest, John did.

Then today, when all of the Hurley brothers went for a walk at 1 p.m., I came back over to bake a cherry pie--actually two, since we picked enough for double.

John has turned to the recipe for Fresh Cherry Pie from The Joy of Cooking, a golden source for everything. But I used Melissa Clark's New York Times version from 2023, adding a little capful of almond extract.

This morning, I met my sister-in-law Sheila at the outdoor Belfast Farmers' Market (since 1980). I got a sweet-smelling sweet pea bouquet plus red and rainbow beets from New Beat Farm and a cucumber and cream cheese bagel sandwich from Spark Bagel (that had a very long line). Also: Hibiscus Rose Iced Tea, very good. I'm still nursing it.

I love these simple pleasures. For an extra $2, I purchased a small mason jar to ferry the sweet peas back to New Jersey tomorrow.

The jury is still out on how the pie will taste. The crust looks a bit too browned and hard but oh well. Melissa Clark suggests serving with whipped cream or ice cream.

I hope you can breathe in some simple joys. And I hope I can continue to do so once I return home.

*From an old English nursery song. Song lyrics here.

Still a Writer

To relax between work and life tasks, I sometimes daydream about the

 Emilio Pucci Marmo Print Bath Cushion in turquoise terry cloth. 

Beachy blue vibes all around.

 (It has two suction cups in the back to secure it to the bathtub.)

I wrote for aspire design and home about the interior style of JouJou, 

a new French restaurant in San Francisco. 

Link here. Photo by Douglas Friedman.

My friend taught me to “Rest to Succeed” in a workshop she led this winter. It was about goal-setting and tailored to each of our lists about what is important to us, what we value.

It seemed counterintuitive. How could I rest to succeed? Wasn’t I already napping enough, feeling flattened (and fattened) by life, finding that lifting a toothbrush or bar of soap was too much to manage?

But A. was right. For example, today I worked on an article assignment, called in an RX, updated my meds (and took them on time), sent a funny coffee text to Figgy, her BF, etc. I clipped some sweetly scented pink roses to bring inside.

While I ate lunch in the kitchen, I boiled some wilting rainbow carrots in the microwave to make banana carrot loaf cake later. It contains healthful ingredients. I would have whirred the raw carrots 🥕 in a food processor but I don’t have one, so will mash them instead. I don't have cream cheese on hand for the frosting so will skip it.

Work, do task, rest. The REST may be napping, playing Wordle, window-shopping or reading at my favorite sites (but not in an endless funnel of time). Remember, I'm being productive in between. 

Some beloved window-shopping and writer's diversions listed here. Pls. note: My passions and pleasures often overlap with my work tasks and goals. I plan to send (more) article/essay pitches to The NY Times (3) and also have my eye on Vogue (5).

1. Diptyque Paris. Started in Paris, obviously. Pronounced DIP-TEAK. A brand Sis and I met through Sniffapalooza and love.
2. Sweet Laurel Bakery. Santa Monica, pretty in pink, fresh flowers on GF cakes. Laurel even shared a great recipe to make cleaning spray with water, vinegar and essential oil. I did. (She also showed a pink, of course, refillable glass spray bottle and when I asked, told me where to find it.)  I came across Sweet Laurel during the dark pandemic and it lit my way with small orders winged to New Jersey, such as a beautiful scented candle in pink glass and a niche unsweetened dark chocolate bar in the loveliest pink floral packaging (both not available now).
3. Vanessa Friedman fashion writing in The New York Times. Best, best, enough said.
4. Net-A-Porter. Only for sales, dreams or maybe a trendy, mid-priced brand, like a SKIMS Fits Everybody Push-Up Bra in Cocoa (dark brown), on its way to me as I type. I will let you know if it fits everybody.
5. Vogue. Proud subscriber, $15 a month but print issues in store cost A LOT. I plan to write for Vogue one day.
6. Aerin. Estée Lauder's granddaughter, style icon, seems to have good heart.
7. Jamagansett. Fresh fruit jams made with less sugar, from Amagansett in the Hamptons. Figgy went for a weekend there with her girlfriends this month and brought me a jar. Very pricey, very well-branded.
8. Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) on instagram. She demos her family's chicken parmigiana recipe. It looks simple and delicious. Will sub in eggplant for vegetarian Dan but plan to make the homemade sauce this eve.

I better stop listing, have to get back on task. I am more productive, with one can-do thing feeding into another. I am not flopping around like a fish out of water. And one key thing is the word later. If I want to do something but have not accomplished it yet, I prioritize in my mind. I did my article work, for instance, started the carrot cake and then put it on hold to take a break. The carrots were not going anywhere. I made the cake before leaving at 8 p.m. for a meeting.

Still a writer. Links to two May 2026 articles, one lifestyle and one more technical (neurology). Range of vocabulary from paint colors to feeding tubes. Stretching my skills. Here’s to us all moving on with life and using our individual voices. Rest to succeed, indeed.

JOUJOU RESTAURANT IN THE CITY BY THE FOG https://aspiremetro.com/joujou-san-francisco/?noamp=mobile

DECODING HOSPITAL DIETS FOR NEURO PATIENTS https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/hospital-diets-patients-neurological-diseases

This post has been updated and expanded since original posting on May 21.

Blessings Today: Spiritual and Store-Bought

A quick list.

1. My new Peanuts notebook from the Moleskine store in Moynihan Train Hall, up the escalator on the second floor. I love it. I made a list this morning of tasks for Life and for Work and found it helpful. I was productive. Dan usually doesn't read my blog, so I will say that I got him one, too (he loves Peanuts!!!!) for Father's Day. His set (shown above) includes 4 iconic Blackwing for Moleskine pencils. The following legends loved their Blackwings: John Steinbeck, Truman Capote, E.B. White, Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Eugene O'Neill. You had me at Capote and White.
2. Restore & Release Yoga class tonight with Krystal at Yoga Mechanics in Montclair. "People say 'take up space,'" she said near the end. "You don't take up space, you fill the space you're given." I hope I got her wise words right. Also, lovely music and a drop of moon oil at the end, so beautiful.
3. Jones Road The Nail Polish Kit from Montclair resident Bobbi Brown. I brushed on Poppy tonight, her signature red. It feels modern and clean, went on smoothly, dried quickly. The kit includes a bottle that doubles as base and top coat. Yay. 
   
   
   
4. The New York Times cookbook, No-Recipe Recipes by Sam Sifton. I bought the crimson, cloth-covered book at Friends NYC shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn on Saturday on a fun weekend with Kim, Liz and Nan. Already made the savory French toast with torn basil and tomatoes and the pasta with puttanesca sauce. Empowering and stylish book. I take it with me to the supermarket.
5. Wednesday interactions with Figgy. My niece Leah, up in Maine. My sister. My garden.

Good night.

Take It Easy

Image from AmericanSongwriter.com.

Image from HERE.

My mantra when I remember to remember it. It makes life simpler and more peaceful, although I will likely never, ever be a-standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.  

"Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy." 

Eat your breakfast. Savor your coffee. Take your vitamin. Keep your appointments. Do your work. Brush your hair. Water your flowering plants. Believe in yourself. Pray to let worries go. Allow peace to enter. Listen to people. Listen to yourself. Comb on black mascara, thread the wired Tory earrings through the tiny holes in your ear lobes. Love yourself. Love your family. Be kind. Be calm. Make your maiden batch of Marcella Hazan's famous tomato sauce with San Marzano tomatoes, butter, salt and an onion cut in half. Even if you get the onion at 8 p.m. in the supermarket on a Wednesday night in November and eat a bowl of pasta at 9:30 p.m. Do your best. Take it easy. Ask Dan to pack some pasta, sauce and fresh mozzarella for Spice's school lunch tomorrow. 

"We may lose and we may win
Though we will never be here again."

Good night.

"Take It Easy," Eagles, 1972

Written by Glenn Lewis Frey and Jackson Browne

Well, I'm a-runnin' down the road tryna loosen my load
I've got seven women on my mind
Four that wanna own me, two that wanna stone me
One says she's a friend of mine

Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
Take it easy

Well, I'm a-standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me

Come on, baby, don't say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose and we may win
Though we will never be here again
So open up, I'm climbin' in
So take it easy

Well, I'm a-runnin' down the road tryna loosen my load
Got a world of trouble on my mind
Lookin' for a lover who won't blow my cover
She's so hard to find

Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy
Come on, baby, don't say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me

Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Oh, we got it easy
We oughta take it easy

Of Loss, Resilience and Comfort Food

Born in the U.S.A., and it's still my sacred ground, no matter what happened November 5. Image copyright Columbia Records.

It's 11 days after the 2024 presidential election, and I only just now watched Kamala's full concession speech from Howard University. What a time, what a loss. I guess I've been taking things in slowly. Not all at once.

Between the daylight savings time change and the election results, I've been tired. It gets dark early. I lace up my sneakers to walk and then decide not to. That kind of tired. My Apple MacBook also died after seven years, so I had to scramble and buy a new one. You know that stress. Didn't have $1,000 lying around and don't use credit. I jumped on Dan's laptop early in the mornings and went to public libraries in Montclair and Verona, but you only get an hour at a time on the free desktop computers before you're knocked off.

Finding our way in the dark. Keep on keeping on. But this is America. The people spoke. I don't have to like it, but short of moving to Ireland or Scotland (dreams), I have to live with it. I will continue to speak my truth as best I can, to be honest and fair. I will donate blood. I will pray. I will contribute food for families who need it. I will believe. I will keep close my promise to be a good person in my own life, under my own roof, and out in the world. I will tell stories. I will write. I will help guard what I can. Figgy and I were talking about some ways to do that.

BTW, did you know Kamala's plummy pantsuit with blouse for her concession speech was custom-made by Tory Burch? (Thank you, Vanessa Friedman, queen of fashion reporters, reigning at The New York Times.) 

I made meatloaf tonight. I turned the oven to 375 and let it bake.

I filled a big blue glass pie dish with blueberries and topped them with a quick stir of raw oats, cinnamon, ground ginger, almond flour, toasted pecans, pinch of French sea salt and 2 T organic turbinado sugar, which is sweet and sandy, and maybe a tiny bit less deadly than full-fledged sugar might be for some. Known as raw sugar, it is less processed than the fully refined kind. Anyway, it was on sale at Kings so the bag hopped into my shopping cart.

Well, I have to try to talk some sense into someone and her friend upstairs at 10:28 p.m. on a Saturday night. Yeah, good luck with that.

Does the Recipe Need More Cream? A Shower of Dark Black Pepper? Straw & Hay and "Ashes & Ink"

By Alice Garbarini Hurley

    Many Italian chefs offer a pasta classic called Straw and Hay. On Friday, I made Lidia Bastianich's version from her book of favorite recipes. The straw is regular (straw-colored) fettuccine and the hay is green (spinach) fettuccine. Add Parmigiano Reggiano, chicken broth, heavy cream, EVOO, prosciutto, baby peas, scallions.... It's an appealing idea, the recipe takes only one page in the book and is prepared in a skillet. I enjoy Lidia, and I enjoyed making it. But it wasn't exactly all I hoped for. 

Spice, teen taster, thought it needed salt, and I thought it needed more clingy richness, like that first Fettuccine Alfredo sauce I made at Dumont High School in the International Chefs' Club. I opened The Pollan Family Table cookbook (Corky, Tracy and Michael Pollan) and found another pasta in a white cream sauce---with butter, garlic, grated Parmesan, and more cream and black pepper than Lidia uses. Also: Plenty of spinach to boost the nutrition. So I made those additions.

In the end, it was good enough. But I think next time, I will also add some grilled chicken.

***  

 

Julian Shatkin as Quinn and Kathryn Erbe as his mother, Molly, in "Ashes & Ink," about addiction. Photo by Thomas Mundell.

Another two-noun title this week that was not quite everything I wanted/expected it to be: The off-Broadway production of "Ashes & Ink," a drama about addiction. The A word is almost a character.

Molly (Kathryn Erbe) is a pretty widow in an Eileen Fisher-style sweater coat. She lives in her tidy city apartment, wearing a headset, cataloging an extensive library of birdsong with a computer program. It's her business. She and her belated husband listened to birds of all feathers. The recordings also include their son, Quinn. Listen: A baby babbling, then the chirp and trill of a juvenile song sparrow. As a young mother, Molly compared the two sounds.

Now an addict in his 20s, Quinn (handsome standout Julian Shatkin, a boy in the 2014 film "Like Sunday, Like Rain") returns from Serenity House rehab, drops his duffel, sits in the chair where Molly had arranged a folded, fringed throw--stylish, homey. "That place was bullshit," he says. Right off, you know. His disorderly conduct and unpredictability are in stark contrast to the calm home, with a few bright Post-it memos on the wall and yellow No. 2 pencils neatly arranged in a cup.

Good luck with such serenity when an addict's sure foothold (in this case, in black Converse high-tops) is in the house. With his black leather jacket and silver rings, Quinn's surprise return is jarring. Molly's love partner, Leo (Francisco Solorzano at this performance) is a widower with a young son, Felix (Rhylee Watson), who adores Quinn but finds a crack pipe big brother buried under an oak tree at the country house. Felix was digging for acorns when he cut his hand. A deep cut for a parent. Shame. Your older child modeling substance abuse for a younger sibling. Making a faint effort to bury it, but no. You failed once, now might fail again because you could not nip the problem in the bud. What a loser you are. Two lives now about to be wasted at your hands.

That's how "fixers" talk to themselves. People who drain their own sanity and health, thinking it is their responsibility to solve the problem, rather than remain standing, even personally thriving, in the face of it. To be better and do better, to do their best, family members eventually arrive at acceptance. 

The Al-Anon part is good. We learn about a secret society. First, Molly faces the hand she was dealt, which takes a lot out of her, out of us all. "Where are you? Where’s my little boy who loves spinach and pirates and snowy owls?" Molly asks. "You hold your beautiful baby in your arms and smell the breast milk, crusting a little behind his ears. I’d dip Q-tips in baby oil and clean back there, really gently. Rock him to sleep and then...who knew... you end up holding a body bigger than yours and pray that he’s still breathing." 

Quinn (Julian Shatkin) and his mother, Molly (Kathryn Erbe). Photo by Thomas Mundell.

"Take Care of You. Who?" She tells of "a drudgy meeting in a dark church hall," code for Al-Anon. Molly's blue denim jacket looks small, so small on her dainty frame, but she is a fighter, a would-be warrior, silvery streaks in her hair, faint crinkles around her eyes. Life's badges, which we mothers see, and celebrate. We know the little creases are hard-earned and true. No mother wants addiction at her door. She loses precious time that could go toward, among other things, bedtime beauty cream rituals. Or work, or creativity. Or other family members. 

We are tiny but mighty in the face of A's force and grip. Like Molly, we learn the three C's of Al-Anon. "I didn’t cause it, I can’t control it, and I can’t cure it." It lifts the blame.  

"Having you here and not knowing where you are is a fucking nightmare," Molly finally says to her son. "Hand me your keys. Leave me be until you can learn to stay alive. You know where to go for help."

Only problem, the story may be a bit too neatly tied up with a square knot. Molly's clearheadedness, bravery and hope, her success at getting Quinn out, at least for now, with support from Leo. IRL, it can take what feels like a lifetime to get there, and maybe there is a catharsis in watching others struggle with us, not pull it together. There's nothing neatly tied up about addiction, for the addict or a bystander. Still, this story helps us ponder, find inner strength. Know we are not alone. We wonder from seat F1 how the writer, Martha Pichey, knows all this.

The play is directed by Alice Jankell, mother to the actor who plays Quinn, with that great hair, ripped* muscles--and a tattoo that may or may not be made from both his father's ashes and studio ink.

Ashes & Ink
At the AMT Theater, Manhattan.

Performance time: 90 minutes. Running through the 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, November 3.

Leo: Javier Molina.

Bree (Molly's sister): Tamara Flannagan.

Scenic Design: Tim McMath.

Costume Design: Kaitlin Feinberg.

Sound Design: Alexis Attalla.

Lighting Design: Paul Hudson.

Al-Anon Family Groups: alanon.org.

*Merriam-Webster says "ripped" means

1. being under the influence of alcohol or drugs: high, stoned
2. having high muscle definition

A Dreamer and Her Big Santa-Size Sack of Books for Road Trips

Vintage magazines and recipe booklets are so enchanting--especially the holiday-themed ones. This Farm Journal is from 1966; my neighbor’s Mom saved it.

When I go on my New England overnight road trips--here to Cape Cod, or to visit our family in Maine, Meg and Greg in Vermont or Sis in Connecticut--I bring so many books. (I also brought several on the August 16 girls’ trip to Florida with Figgy, Florida Orange and Skipper, since we were driving there and back.)

It’s as if I think I can catch up on what I want to do in my life--read more--while I am away from home responsibilities for an overnight or longer. And when you drive--without any real baggage limitations or extra fees--it is easy to throw in another and another book.

Besides, I can’t predict if I will be in the mood to read about Cape Cod, page through a novel or learn more ways to tie a scarf.

It’s 10 p.m., and I changed into my red plaid flannel PJ bottoms and soft cotton top from The Salty Crown in Orleans. I would like to blog about Cape Cod now, but if I do, I won’t have read any of the pages in any of the books that I brought this time. 

We head home tomorrow. I’m choosing to read after tallying this list of books I brought. Eccentric to tote such a portable library? Maybe. Yes.

1. Cape Cod, Henry David Thoreau
2. 6 in a Ford, A Tale of a Nation-Wide Tour by a Family from Maine, Marion C. Holmes, gift from Dan found at old book shed in Maine
3. Trending into Maine, Kenneth Roberts, ditto
4. How to Tie a Scarf, 33 Styles
5. A softcover 12-Step book
6. A hardcover 12-Step book
7. A 12-Step dictionary to better understand the words
8. Own It: The Secret to Life, Diane von Furstenberg
9. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life, Ruth Franklin, gift from Sis
10. Brave Enough, Cheryl Strayed, gift from Figgy
11. What Would Jackie Do?, Shelly Branch and Sue Callaway, gift from my neighbor
12. Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration
13. The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett, Kate’s copy lent to me (book group)
14. Girl Scouts Handbook, W.J. Hoxie, gift from Sis
15. Java Head, Joseph Hergesheimer, copyright 1946, chosen at little free library cabinet at Snowy Owl Coffee Roasters in Brewster today (IDK what the book is about yet but it’s a pretty vintage edition)
16. Race and the Cosmos, Barbara A. Holmes, from the same library box--I thought it might interest Dan
17. Waterproof guide: Tidepools of the North Atlantic
18. Waterproof guide: The Ultimate Guide to Shells of the New England Coast and Beach Life
19. The Care and Keeping of Friends
20. Drew, holiday issue of the magazine from Drew Barrymore, bought at CVS in Montclair

And oh! My neighbor Beth was just going through her mom’s belongings and knows I love cookbooks, recipe brochures etc. So this time, I slipped these cute old reads into my Lilly laptop case. Their vintage typefaces and photos!!!

• Recipes for Happy Holidays and Goodies for Giving
• Recipes with the Marshmallow Fluff Touch
• Betty Crocker’s Cakes Kids Love for Birthdays, Holidays, Any Day
• Martha Holme’s Holiday Recipes, from the Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company, 122 S. Michigan Avenue
• Farm Journal’s Christmas Book, copyright 1966

Thank you to Beth and her mom!

Good night.

World’s Fastest Recipe (Next to Toast or Chocolate Milk)

One thing I’ve learned is that I should not force myself to stay up late to write. It will not be pretty. I really want to finish a Medium story and I have a few other article deadlines, an essay deadline--and a writing project for my women’s group.

But I have to have my yogurt bowl and go to bed. I have to wash my face.

But before I go, the recipe I just threw together today. I was writing and needed the toaster oven to make veggies for dinner. I used Roasted Walnut Oil, which comes in a can and is expensive but a little goes a long way (also with baked apples, etc., yum). Now that I pasted the link, I see lots of other delicious things at that site, like roasted pecan oil! and almond butters. I will be back!

Find a baking pan (with sides, not a cookie sheet) that fits in your toaster oven.

Cut a medium-size eggplant (rinsed clean) into pieces, any which way.

Set toaster oven on bake to 400 degrees.

Drizzle some roasted walnut oil on bottom of pan.

Add eggplant.

Shake on some crushed red pepper, salt and pepper, minced garlic from a jar and maybe 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs. Drizzle more oil on top. At the last minute, add some Muir Glen fire-roasted diced tomatoes. Do this in any order.

I baked it for about an hour, which was too long, and it got charred but was still delicious once I stirred it up. I think eggplant is forgiving?

Skipper didn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole, but Dan and I loved it.

Good night to you.

Chicken Potpie, a Day Later

 https://alicegarbarinihurley.medium.com/addiction-story-14-bleeding-heart-broken-iphone-leads-to-chicken-potpie-3d80fb47a0d9

The road to overeating might possibly be paved with excellent pie dough.

An early good night.

Southern Charm & the Magic of Chicken Potpie

I’m on a lot of email lists...one is for Reed Smythe & Company.

I landed there out of my deep admiration for southern writer Julia Reed (who has since died). I love her books, and she founded Reed Smythe with her longtime friend, a woman named Keith Smythe Meacham.

I love browsing the curated, pricey collection of home and entertaining items (also jewelry by Helen Bransford)....I saw a beautiful garden table with scalloped edge there, and I moon over Bransford’s chain necklace and solid gold lunar charm. But all cost hundreds of dollars, or a thousand plus. Out of loyalty and Julia love, I have ordered one of her books on the site, and a little glass votive, too.

Above: Madison Table ($1,000 plus shipping) inspired by 18th-century shutter paint color used by James and Dolley Madison. Here is product link. Oh, I just know my summer flowerpots would look so pretty on that table.

Anyway, today my email brought a recipe from Keith--her Mama’s Chicken Pie, with an endorsement from Julia (now in potpie and garden heaven, I trust).

https://www.reedsmythe.com/mary-macks-chicken-pie/

I started to follow the recipe--had Dan get the Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup on his blizzard run to ShopRite today. (I used Cream of Mushroom since Dan doesn’t eat chicken, and I was making two filling versions, one for him.)

I used Mary Mack’s technique of simmering the chicken in a stockpot with water to cook. And I loved Keith’s suggestion of pairing the pie with "blanched haricots verts with plenty of coarse salt and lemon zest.” Very good.

But then I remembered the perfect chicken potpies Punchy and I made on Christmas Eve afternoon 2020, following the book So Much to Celebrate by Katie Jacobs. The crust was so good....and easy.....I wanted to go back to that. (Katie’s filling recipe brilliantly calls for two rotisserie chickens, meat removed and shredded.)

I started cooking at 3:30 and didn’t finish until two+ hours later. It felt good, therapeutic--Cat Stevens playing on Google Speaker. Punch is at Mimi’s. Peaceful, must say.

It’s an easy, forgiving dough. I don’t have a food processor, so I adapted it here to use an electric mixer.

I would put my filling recipe here but I doctored it today to make one potful vegetarian for Dan and one with chicken for me (and the little pie I froze for Sis). So it was a mix of Mary Mack’s and Katie J’s. 

But here is the crust from Katie. It makes enough for two standard pie tops, or six individual potpie tops--or even one double-crusted pie, if you were in the mood for fruit instead.

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup Crisco (get the sticks, follow markings on wrapper)

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water (with ice cubes in it)

1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

In large bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking powder. Add Crisco and butter and using electric (I used handheld) mixer on low, mix until the fat is the size of peas. Pour in the half-cup ice water (it should be enough) and mix again just until the dough just starts coming together into a shaggy mess (to use the words from a favorite Fine Cooking crust recipe). Dough should not come together in a ball. If you need more water, you can drizzle a little more on. 

Press dough together into a large disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and put in fridge for up to 30 minutes.

Then divide disk into two and roll each out on lightly floured surface.

Potpie (or any pie) tops are not picture-perfect in my book--mine are often patched up and a little raggedy. But good ones taste like heaven on a plate.

Thanks to Katie Jacobs (who suggests brushing the tops with the egg wash after they are placed on the filling, and cutting 4 steam vents into each).

Her recommended potpie baking guide is one hour at 375 degrees (place the pies on a baking pan to prevent drips).

LMK if you try it.

Enjoy. It’s tender and delicious, one forkful after another of homespun comfort.

Baker’s Urge/Splurge: $44.53 Spanakopita

The image above is worth a million bucks in my book. That magic happens when you combine phyllo dough, melted butter and toasty oven heat. Photo from the blog Alexandra’s Kitchen.

What’s a lifelong dessert baker to do when she swears off butter/flour/sugar combinations?

I send roses, roses to my long-time writer friend and fellow blogger, Kim, who wrote about the Alexandra’s Kitchen blog, which I love. I’m also holding myself back from ordering Alexandra’s cookbook, called Bread Toast Crumbs. It looks so good. Might succumb one day. (Breads generally don’t contain sugar!)

I made the large spanakopita below, not the individual strudels. (Keep scrolling way down, past the strudels.)

https://alexandracooks.com/2012/03/23/spanakopita-strudels/

I was thinking Punch and I would be in all day and night and I would have her make it. Pandemic cooking lesson #9? (Pot roast twice, chicken pot pies once, skillet chicken ratatouille twice, raspberry buttercream chocolate cake for Christmas, Baker’s Famous One-Bowl Brownies twice.) 

She would be very good at the layering of paper-thin phyllo dough, the spooning of spinach/cheese filling, the brushing of melted butter. I know she would.

BUT: Dan was driving down to South Jersey to get his first vaccine at Rowan University, then driving into NYC to meet his lifelong friend, Dan, for dinner at an outdoor cafe. So he took Punch with him. I got a whole Saturday afternoon and evening off. I plan to take a bath while this baby bakes. It is in the oven now. 

I made two important switches because the recipe was very rich:

1. Reduced melted butter from 3 sticks (!!!!!!) to 1.5 sticks.
2. Reduce feta cheese from 1.5 lbs. to 1 lb. 
3. Reduce number of beaten eggs from 10 (!!!) to 7. After all, I was reducing the cheese, so it made sense to decrease the eggs in the filling.
4. Had to reduce the baby spinach. Recipe called for 20 oz. total (hence, all that filling, I guess) and I asked for two 11-oz. bags, but my shopper brought me two 6-oz bags. Dan has our car, and I didn’t feel like walking to Kings in freezing cold or spending more money. So be it.

Here is the receipt:

• Dozen eggs in cardboard carton (I sidestep single-use plastic when possible), $1.99.
• 2 half-pound feta blocks at $6.99 each (sounds like a lot $), $13.98.
• 2 six-ounce bags baby spinach at $5.99 each, $11.98.
• Friendship Cottage Cheese, 16 oz., $3.79.
• Athens Phyllo Dough, twin pack, 16 oz. total, $6.79.

I already had the butter on hand.

Grocery total: $38.53.

Tip: I had done $3.85 (10 percent), but bc Chaquanda had chatted with me about replacements, etc., I increased it to $5 after giving her a 5-star rating.

Service fee: $1.00.

I got Express Member free delivery but that is because I pay $9.99 per month for my Instacart membership so that I can get groceries and other items delivered from many different stores. Dan and I are looking at our grocery budget with a sharp eye, so I might cancel this membership. I’m not sure what delivery fees would be otherwise. But until now, this monthly investment has been pandemic wise, that’s for sure.

This big 9 by 13 pan is supposed to be 12 servings, so I figure if my family went out to a diner for spanakopita, it might not be as fresh and good as this and also, we would pay close to $10 each with tax and tip, and that’s not counting extras, like beverages. Maybe it would come with a salad, though.

12 diner servings x $10=$120.

Thus, $44.53 for the whole heavy panful is a bargain.

I roasted cauliflower with walnut oil. So I plan to have one serving and round out my plate with vegs.

I plan to watch the 1966 movie "Georgy Girl," set in "Swinging London," which I have never seen.

Good night to you.

Good Stuff

Above, a small but divine tin of designer hot chocolate for the family that my personal shopper delivered--SHOPPING LINK. The $16 price on Sarabeth's website is steeper than the $14.29 + tax Instacart price at Kings.

Definitely still speed bumps in the road--but whose life doesn't have bumps, right?

Positive notes today: 

1. Cautiously happy about a new writing client that seems right up my alley. #gratititude
2. Placed Instacart order and got ingredients for Creamy Tomato Bisque from Ina's new Modern Comfort Food. I won't lie, a big pot of soup calls for 2 cups of cream....also, saffron threads, but the store was out of them. Will do without. Punch said she will make dinner Wednesdays, so I'm hopeful, especially since she was in the mood for tomato soup yesterday.
3. In that delivery, I also made sure to get basic foods I count on: frozen cinnamon-raisin Ezekiel English muffins; jumbo Fage 2 percent Greek yogurt; canned organic pumpkin; cottage cheese; and a good whole-grain Bread Alone loaf from the Catskills. Plus: 3 cardboard half-gallons of organic whole milk (Ina's soup calls for a full quart, and Dan and I use A LOT of milk in coffee....). I'm trying to not buy single-use plastic, including gallon milk jugs, when possible.
4. One of Punchy's middle school teachers had a monthly "Among Us" night, where he and the kids play that wildly popular online game. I can't explain it, so let WIKIPEDIA: check this LINK. I loved overhearing P interacting with her school friends (and they can see each other on Zoom if they use two devices, I guess). Her friend, whose house she pods at (with his sister), came over to play, too. I made them hot chocolate and offered mini marshmallows and squirt whipped cream (Cool Whip for P.). It turns out these things were tempting for me--no surprise--but in the end, I stopped myself and walked away. Sarabeth's Hot Chocolate is the very best, and I got that in my Kings Instacart order, too.
5. Planning some nice walks this week.
6. Standing by through P's Algebra class seems to be helping us both. We are both taking notes and solving (or trying to solve) equations in live time. She has been teaching me things, such as how to define an "open equation."
7. Short walk down the hill and up again.
8. My friend served me a delicious kale salad with tahini-lemon dressing. Yum.
9. I ordered a dress I have been eyeing on Karina Dresses, which is based in Kingston, New York, Kim. They have beautiful styles; I had a $10 reward. The three dresses I have stand up well to machine washing, etc and are very comfortable and pretty.
10. Ordered Hanukkah foods with recipes from a local organic co-op for this week. P wants to be Jewish, and I like making some Jewish foods. Hoping Dan makes his very good latkes, because the produce box include Yukon Gold potatoes. Ordered chocolate gelt for the three kids in the pod, too. Also vegan stocking-stuffer treat for Figgy and something for Dan. And regional farm-sourced items like jam; sour cream; applesauce.
11. Asked my Google speaker to play Italian holiday music and she complied. Fun.

I have to sleep. My turn to get P up by 7. Kim, Lin, Nan, Liz, thanks for the nice notes--I can't comment on this laptop right now, tho I tried.

Good night.

Eggs + Cream + Pandemic $$$ Update

Eggs are economical and I have been making quiches following The Joy of Cooking's basic filling formula and using mushrooms, Swiss, spring asparagus and Oronoque Orchards deep-dish frozen pie crusts from the supermarket.

I've been skirting sugar, too. But once a week in this pandemic, I seek comfort and whip up rich, creamy Café au Lait Pots de Crème in my parents' and our pretty wedding china cups. You bake the custards in a water bath at a relatively low 325 degrees F., so my fragile china doesn't break. NOTE: The recipe calls for sturdy custard cups or ramekins; I took this wedding china leap and love it. I also reduced the sugar from 3/4 cup to 5 tablespoons.

The amazing Julia Reed.

Here is the recipe [for Nan and others], lightly adapted from Julia Reed's South cookbook: 

Café au Lait Pots de Crème 

1. Set 6 wedding china tea/coffee cups or 8 half-cup ramekins in a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
2. Put a few cups water to boil in the kettle on stovetop. Once it boils, turn heat off.
3. Pour 3 cups heavy cream [or 2 cups cream and 1 cup half and half] into a heavy-bottomed saucepan/saucepot. Heat over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge.
4. Add 6 tablespoons espresso powder [I had a jar from Williams-Sonoma; you might want to reduce to 4 T, because it can keep you up at night]; the 5 tablespoons granulated white sugar; 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract; and optional, 1 tablespoon brandy, which I never have on hand.
5. Whisk until dissolved; remove from heat.
6. Place 8 egg yolks in a medium bowl and if the bowl has a spout, better yet. [You can use the egg whites for meringues if you like.] Whisk until blended.
7. Add the cream mixture in two parts, whisking continually to prevent curdling.
8. Divide the mixture among the 6 cups or 8 ramekins. Carefully pour the hot kettle water around the cups in the pan until it reaches about halfway up. Loosely cover pan with a piece of aluminum foil.
9. Carefully ease pan into oven/middle rack. [I take my top oven rack out first for ease.] Bake 30 to 35 min or until creme center moves slightly when cup is shaken.
10. Let cool on counter. Remove cups from water bath. Cover each with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate. They will tase best if you can wait until they are deeply chilled, maybe overnight.
11. Serve with freshly whipped cream.

TCOY

• Took walk.
• Pitched article idea.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET 

Friday

• Applegate Farm [since 1848], 3 pints ice cream, 2 sugar-free, + $2 tip. $24.50. This after we could not get delivery from any Chinese or Japanese place we called on Good Friday. They were out of stock; it was 8 pm.
• Maggie’s Organics, Wisconsin, skirt; skirt attached to leggings; and buy one/get one organic cotton socks [idea is to give one to mail carrier, cashier, someone you see working hard in pandemic] $101.
• U.S. Post Office, mail baby gift to Florida, overdue, $4.80.

Monday

• Villa Victoria. $48 plus $10 tip. Chicken dish, pizza, garlic knots, red sauce, cavetelli w broccoli, covered a few meals for two days, $58.

Tuesday

• Cameron Animal Hospital, Sugar has cataracts and she won't let us clean around her eyes anymore and she could  not see between hardened discharge and hair overgrowth. Eye cleaning/clip plus 6 months each of heartworm pills and flea/tick pills, $139.75.
• Le French Dad in Montclair, ordered for curbside pickup tomorrow to support this local business. Box of 6 macarons for Punch [she chose the exotic flavors]; 4 French breakfast rolls for her; and 2 lb. local oats, $32.
• Animal Jam, one-year subscription for Punch. It seems fairly wholesome but harmless for her and she still likes it. Didn't want recurring payments that automatically renew. This was $57.95 for 12 months.
• Forgot to record last week--pilot and first season of "The Closer," with Kyra Sedgwick. I love it. It was expensive but I feel worth it for my entertainment in pandemic. I think pilot was $4.99 and buying season 1 was $29.99, so $34.98.

total Friday to Tuesday, hope I remembered all: $452.98.

ongoing monthly spend as of April 14; $1,359.74.

avg daily spend: $97.12.

Truth & Beauty

The truth is that the world as we know it is facing a pandemic. It is scary and sad and potentially paralyzing. When the dust settles, whenever that may be, our world will have changed dramatically.

The beauty is that we have a chance to cherish our family and friends. To be there, if not in person, then by phone call or text.. The beauty is that I see the March sky through the living room window at 7:15 pm and it is so pretty. Mother Nature/Mother Earth is still wielding her paintbrush. She has not stopped. She cannot stop. That is her gift.

What is my gift? What is yours?

I have Cafe au Lait pots de creme in the oven, baking in a water bath. I poured the hot coffee-tinted custard into my own and my mother's cherished china teacups. The recipe called for 3/4 cup sugar and I cut it back to 1/2 cup. The recipe is from a wonderful, aspirational cookbook called Julia Reed's South. And pots de creme are pretty easy, as long as you are careful with the hot water bath. [I removed top oven rack so I had a lot of room to slide the pan in.]

May our lives smooth out, step by step, inch by inch, sunset by sunset.

Until tomorrow. Prayers.

TCOY

1. Support group via Zoom meeting app. I treasure those friends. Their strength, wisdom and presence of mind amaze me. I sat in my car outside the church where we usually meet on Saturday mornings.
2. Nice walk at 12:30 w Dan, Figgy, Punch and Sug.
3. Talked to Sis, Moey, Dan's brother John.
4. Finally thinking and blogging here.
5. Cooking. I also made the "best crab cake" recipe from Julia Reed's Ham Biscuits and Hostess Gowns.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Kings, 12 oz. chilled blue crab meat in a can at fish counter [from Maryland--Julia loves blue crab]; half-gallon whole milk; pint raspberries; loaf wheat sandwich bread; quart cream; quart half and half; pound butter; bananas; scallions; lox; meat to make meat loaf; one giant onion; bag of clementines, $83.

ongoing monthly spend as of March 21: $1,556.63.

avg daily spend: $74.13.

Zero $ Down + Cupboard Chocolate Cake

Cake photo [with recipe] from HERE.
The layers are 6-inch diameter.
I love the site and pink labels at SweetLaurel.com, an L.A. bake shop.

Worked from home. Stuck without a car and with a yen for chocolate, I made a "healthy" cake with almond flour; pumpkin; coconut oil; a little raw Demerara sugar; unsweetened cocoa; and espresso powder. I also threw in a few dollops of plain coconut yogurt. The recipe is from a beautiful pink cloth-cover cookbook called Sweet Laurel. It called for 2 eggs but I used pure pumpkin instead. I was out of pure maple syrup, but that would have tasted good.

The two small layers or one 8-inch--which I made--are supposed to be decked with Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting and Vegan Caramel but I left it plain. Those two toppings would def earn its title, "The Chocolate Cake That Changed Everything." But I would not be able to stop eating it. I also didn't have the ingredients. Might make sometime for a celebration.

About to cut and put into a container in fridge. Will tape label to it that says Vegan Cocoa Espresso Cake.

The thing about using all that almond flour is that it really fills you up.

Good night. About to take warm bath.

TCOY

1. Important reading and writing.
2. Black bean burger on Ezekiel bread.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

zero.

total daily spend: 0.

ongoing monthly spend as of Jan. 27: $2,777.02.

avg daily spend: $102.85.

Money Mountain Builds

It was a fun & frugal weekend as a guest, thanks so much to Liz and Nan, who made delicious food for me and Kim and generously, lavishly hosted us. They thought of everything. We didn't have to pay for a hotel, meals or even locally roasted coffee!

But then I had a bump returning home, with Punchy's behavior. She later got sick in her room in the middle of the night and we didn't send her to school. Not sure if she ate something that disagreed with her or has a stomach bug. She also isn't always careful about washing her hands, though we remind her often. I've been out writing and organizing facts all day and Dan has been home. I'm now heading back to relieve him.

Saturday, October 5

• ModCup Coffee, Jersey City, small capp for Kim, large latte for me, Lenka peanut butter granola bar since I didn't have breakfast and slept only about 6 hours, $13. 
• Gas for drive to Silver Spring, MD., near Washington, D.C. $37.76. Much cheaper than Amtrak!
• Hip bar for cocktails and tapas, Nan generously treated, we paid tip. My part, $5.
• Metro card, D.C., $5. What a nice clean ride. And no admission fee for National Portrait Gallery!

Sunday, October 6

• Maryland House rest stop, Nathan's hotdog with sauerkraut and container of coleslaw, about $8.
• Other kiosk, 2 Peet's coffees, for me and Kim, veggie stix snack bag for me, about $7.

Monday, October 7, stressed out, Punch home sick [stomach bug?], Dan with her, and I'm back in the spending saddle again.

• Kings, supplies for Punch [6-pack ginger ale, saltines, 6-pack low-sugar Gatorade], 2 dark chocolate bars on sale, Walkers box of six 2-Scottish shortbread snack packs [proved not a good idea for me], whole roast chicken, painted pumpkin for Punch, rustic rye bread, and for rice pudding recipe I want to make later, 2 giant oranges to zest, cinnamon sticks, arborio rice, organic cream to whip for top, 2 half-gallons whole milk, slim Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar on sale, undereye brightening cream [now you know I was depressed], Epsom salts with menthol for bath tonight, and, I admit it, big splurge, Giada's new cookbook, displayed at Kings and I've wanted it for a while [Giada's Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita--the low-sugar rice pudding recipe for tonight is in it, calls for a little white chocolate and I hope to put that just in Punchy's part], $128.29.
• CVS, 2 Rxs plus big bottle of my pink Caltrate bone health tablets [had $6 coupon], $37.26. Also got free flu shot there.
• Sandwich Theory, sitting here to work all day, iced coffee, bag of chips [stress], Avocado Dream sandwich and jar tips, $13.50.

ADD FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY: $285.62.
RUNNING SPEND FOR MONTH AS OF OCTOBER 7: $345.67.
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $49.38.

COMPARE TO TWO PRIOR MONTHS:

TOTAL SPEND FOR SEPTEMBER (30 DAYS): $2,214.43.🍎⬇️

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $73.81.🍎⬇️

TOTAL SPEND FOR AUGUST (31 DAYS): $2,895.06. ⬆️

AUGUST AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $93.39.  ⬆️

Life Intervenes

I have to buckle down to do my work. But life has a way of intervening.....Punch doctor checkup today at 3 pm., pizza bake-off prep for Sunday's block party.....I plan to do some work-work tomorrow, Saturday.

Good night to you.

TCOY Day 6 off Sugar Road

1. Overnight oats with berries.
2. Nice tuna sandwich on rye--I made and ate it before P's 3 pm dr. appt.
3. Did not eat a piece of the dessert pizza that Punch and her pal were testing tonight [for the bake-off].
4. Squirreled away a peach for breakfast tomorrow. Around here, fruit goes fast. Bananas, peaches, pears, fresh figs.....fast.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Joyist, smoothie and wide metal straw with long skinny brush to clean it for P., delicious small Dina bowls for Figgy and for me, $33.
• Ah' Pizz gift card donation for pizza bake-off prize, $15.
• ShopRite, dessert pizza ingredients [I shared cost for those with P's pal's mom], 8 oz. lox x2, hummus x2, hummus snack cups x5, organic milk, organic half and half, multigrain tortillas, Cabot shredded Cheddar x2, pound unsalted butter, pasta, English muffins, sour cream, large jar Victoria marinara sauce, loaf of bread, 2 prepared Indian chicken tikka masala dinners with saffron rice, $83.72. [Geez, I see this is white carb/white fat heavy....]

TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $131.72.
RUNNING TOTAL FOR MONTH AS OF SEPTEMBER 20: $1,609.99.

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND SO FAR: $80.50.

Compare to last month:

TOTAL SPEND FOR MONTH OF AUGUST: $2,895.06. ⬆️

AUGUST AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $93.39.  ⬆️

Big-ticket 🎟🎟 September spends:

🎟 Citarella at Hudson Yards, NYC, dinner; plus fresh fruit, etc. to bring home, $35.

🎟 Whole Foods, groceries, including present for Fig and big yellow mum plant, $84.

🎟 Whole Foods, groceries, including salmon for dinner and an iced coffee from the barista, $63.

🎟 ShopRite, groceries, laundry detergent etc., $50.

🎟 Sky Zone [worth it, Punchy went with her nice friends], $25.

🎟 Joyist, $29.

🎟 Kings, groceries, $46.

🎟 Piazza della Sole, comfy, high-end shoes, half-price, $90.
🎟 Gasoline, twice, $52.
🎟 Chinese lunch with Sis, $33.
🎟 Grocery shopping in Connecticut w Sis, $48.
🎟 CPAP dr. co-pay, specialist, $50.
🎟 Whole Foods again, including 3-pack soy candles, pound smoked salmon and Hydro Flask for Punch, $166.
🎟  Jackie's Grillette treat, casual dinner and soft drinks for three, plus tip, about $45.
🎟 Salon 212 blowout plus tips for job hunting Friday, $45.
🎟 Kings, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella for women's group platter, $58.
🎟 CVS, melatonin gummies, milk, Listerine, $30.
🎟 Kings, 1/2 gallon organic milk, 1/2 gallon oat milk, yellow baby potatoes, teriyaki sauce, Cabot shredded cheese, fresh black figs, 1.38 lb flank steak, etc, $48.
🎟 Kings again, groceries, $39.
🎟 Chez Josephine dinner with Candy and Allegra, $60.
🎟 Duane Reade, emergency makeup in Port Authority, $25.
🎟 Prize donation for pizza bake-off, 2 gift cards, total $30.
🎟 ShopRite, bake-off ingredients for girls plus a lot of groceries, $84.
🎟 Healthy Friday afternoon Joyist for Punch, Figgy and me, plus metal straw with cleaning brush, $33.