Who has two thumbs and fails at pocket-pie making? That's right, this girl.
Like most misadventures, it all started out fine. I got some empenada discs at the grocery store, intending to fill them with jam for a sort of riff on pop-tarts. You know, a quick on-the-road breakfast, what with school starting soon and all. So I plopped a tablespoon (okay, more like two) of my homemade blackberry jam in the center, folded, crimped, buttered, and sugared. Cute, right?
Halfway through, I caught a glimpse of my honey bottle out of the corner of my eye and thought, "brilliant!" so I made a couple blackberry-honey pies, and once the blackberry jam jar was exhausted, made a couple honey-only ones. (Thought about maple syrup - maybe another time)
But then, in a flash of blinding stupidity, I forgot to prick any vent holes in the tops. So, I had filling containment breaches all over the place.
Including the honey. Which you can see, in this picture, is now permanently baked onto my pan, I suspect. I was getting ready to wax all poetic about parchment and how I bake nearly everything on parchment and how wonderful it is. Alas, it was no match for 400-degree honey hell-bent on oozing right out of my pies.
Made some fresh banana ice cream, too, but it didn't freeze quite as firm as it usually does.
Maybe this string of fail is just a sign it's time to get out of the kitchen and into the office to start preparations for the school year, which - for teachers - begins on Wednesday...
UPDATE:
The kitchen has been redeemed by lunch. Made myself a lunch of vegetables and fruit only, after binging yesterday in the Publix produce section (I love summer produce!). Romaine salad, roasted broccoli, raw carrots, thomcord grapes (that grape-jelly flavor (1) but seedless), and two kinds of zucchini soup - and I am happily stuffed.
I had been looking for a creamy zucchini soup recipe to re-create a saffron-courgette soup I had last summer in the UK. Found this recipe on allrecipes.com, but the curry sounded good, too, so I split the recipe into two: half curry, half saffron. The hand-blender gave it the creamy texture without the need for cream (and I marvel at the ability of curry - well, turmeric, really - to render everything in a 10-meter radius yellow, including the lower 4cm of my hand blender...). When I do it again, I'll add more saffron, but that sure makes for a pricey soup. The curry is equally good, actually, probably better. Garnish with a drizzle of cream, toasted croutons, and maybe a grating of fresh zucchini. Got a garden full of zucchini (and can't stomach any more zucchini bread, plus the neighbors are onto you and the bags of zucchini left on their doorsteps under the cover of darkness)? Give this a go.
Creamy Curry Zucchini Soup
2 T. olive oil
1 large (or two small) onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 T. curry powder (go on, kick it up a notch - you won't be sorry)
4 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
4 c. chicken stock (2)
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and curry powder. Stir until softened. Add zucchini slices and cook until zucchini is tender. Add stock, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15-20 min. Use a hand blender, or transfer in batches to blender (make sure you vent the lid!), to puree soup until smooth.
1 The wine-snob term for this is "foxy" :)
2 I don't see why vegetarians couldn't substitute vegetable stock here
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