Happy Pi Day!

Ok, not exactly A pie, but then again, pie isn’t exactly pi, so let’s dispense with technicalities, and say it’s a wedge, from a circle, which is from whither pi derives. (You’ve caught on by now that no mathematician am I!)

What I offer you here, my pi and pie loving friends, are hand pies. No more mess, or (in my house) arguments over whether someone is dipping inside the un-cut portion of the pie to pull out more filling than they deserve.

These are flakey, buttery, fruit-filled, wedge shaped, hand-held treats of deliciousness!

Ingredients:

BLACKBERRY FILLING:

• 2 cups of cleaned blackberries, fresh or frozen

• 1/2 cup of sugar

• 2 Tablespoons of corn starch

• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

PASTRY CRUST:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 Tablespoon sugar

• 1/2 tablespoon Salt

• 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 1 egg lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons of water

LEMON GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 3-4 Tablespoons of cream (half and half or milk will do)

• 3-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice

• Zest of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. In a medium sized saucepan, combine blackberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until well combined and blackberries are hot and releasing juices.

2. Crush blackberries in the saucepan with a potato masher.

3. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil by increasing heat to medium-high. Boil and stir for approximately 3 minutes, then remove from heat.

4. Add vanilla extract, and continue to stir until saucepan has cooled enough that mixture will not burn.

5. Set aside.

PASTRY CRUST:

1. Pulse flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor, or mix well in a large bowl.

2. Add chopped, cold butter and continue to pulse until coarse crumbs form - or use pastry knife.

3. Turn dough out onto clean, floured surface and dust with a little more flour.

4. Kneed, adding a little flour if needed, or scant cold water, until smooth and no longer sticky.

5. Flatten the dough, then fold, flatten, fold, several times - this creates the desired “flakiness.”

6. Divide the dough in half, roll into balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

7. Turn cooled dough onto a clean, floured surface, and use a rolling pin to roll each ball into an 8” circle.

8. Place one circle on top the other, then use a pizza cutter to cut into 8 double layer pie wedges.

9. Working with a top and bottom pastry layer at a time, separate, brush the edges of each with egg/water mixture, place 1-2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of the bottom layer, then cover with the matching top layer of pastry.

10. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal and place on parchment covered backing sheet.

11. Repeat for all 8 wedges.

12. Brush tops with remaining egg/water mixture

13. Back at 400 degrees for approx 20 minutes, until edges begin to turn golden brown.

14. Cool completely

LEMON GLAZE

1. In medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

2. Drizzle over cooled hand pies.

3. Let the glaze set (15-30 minutes) before serving.

Notes:

Make filling and dough a day ahead and refrigerate. This breaks the process up, and helps things to move along more quickly the day of assembly and baking (especially if you have little helpers, like I usually do!)

Hi-Octane Breakfast Muffins

This breakfast muffin recipe comes from my friend, Chris, a teacher who needs to fuel up before she starts her day in the classroom. Her hubby, a hard-working construction manager, says they keep him satisfied all morning long. We can all use that kind of fulfillment!

Little muffins packed full of healthful ingredients; seeds, nuts, fruits and veggies, these are truly hi-octane!

There are a LOT of ingredients, so I think it would be a fun recipe to try out with an equally busy friend or neighbor. Shop together and split the cost of the ingredients, then spend a fun afternoon or evening mixing and baking up your healthful breakfast bites for the days (or weeks) ahead.

With so many bodies under my roof, I’d double or triple the recipe, and think about freezing them for those mornings I can’t make breakfast. I say THINK because I know they’d be gone in a flash, even before they got to the freezer!

These are tasty, with the perfect mix of sweet and savory, and the right combo of soft and chewy. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups multi-grain flour

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• 1 1/2 - 2 cup dried fruit bits

  • ( Choose 3-4 of your favorites and use a half cup of each: raisins, craisins, dried blueberries, cherries, apricots, dates, figs, etc.)

• 2 cups carrots, grated

• 3/4 cup low-sugar apple sauce ( or one medium apple, shredded)

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

• 1/4 cup chia seeds

• 1/4 cup hemp seeds

• 3 eggs

• 2/3 cup coconut oil (vegetable or olive oil also work)

• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Mix together.

3. Add all the dried fruit, coconut, seeds, carrots and applesauce. Stir well to combine mixture.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with coconut oil and vanilla extract.

5. Add the egg and oil combination to the dry mixture in the large bowl and stir to combine well so that all ingredients are evenly mixed.

6. Spray about 12 standard cupcake tins or about 16 smaller muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray, or use paper liners. Fill to heaping.

7. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until tops are browned well.

Have one or two for breakfast and start your day off on the right foot, fully fueled, for what’s to come, with these hi-octane muffins!

March Book Club | Mrs. Morhard and The Boys

by Ruth Hanford Morhard

BUY: Mrs. Morhard and The Boys

Just in time for spring training and Women’s History month! My book club pick for March is an age-old story of a mother looking to keep her son out of trouble.

But this one is true. And it’s one that everyone will recognize after the first few pages.

The Great Depression had hit America hard, and WWII was just around the corner. Baseball was the country’s passion, and a great distraction from all of life’s hardships. Mrs. Morhard’s son was getting up to no good and she was looking for solutions. 

So what’s a mother to do but convince the mayor of her town (a suburb of Cleveland) to let her son and his friends use a neglected tract of land next to the town hall to play baseball? Coached of course, by Mrs. Morhard and other mothers.

And who knew that the first pitch wasn’t as much a fastball as it was a snowball… that grew rapidly into teams, and then leagues. Or that it would not only attract the interest, but the attention and the action of members of the Cleveland Indians who showed up to teach the kids baseball skills and watch the action.

And who could have thought these boys and their mother’s little detention experiment would inspire an interest in youth baseball so great that soon there would be something called the Junior American League, and then the Junior National Leagues?! 

What Mrs. Morhard unwittingly did, you see, was to pioneer an organized sport that became what’s known today as baseball’s Little League.

And did you guess that’s what this book was all about when you first started reading about it here? 

As a mom who is always on the look-out for healthy activities to keep my kids occupied (physically & mentally) lest they find themselves with too much time on their hands that might lead to some unwise choices, I find myself cheering for Mrs. Morhard’s team. 

As as someone who can’t count the number of Little League, high school, and professional baseball games I’ve attended, and who loves the sights, sounds, and smells of the stadiums on summer days, I’m rooting for The Boys!

Pick up your copy (and one for a friend) of the inspiring true story of
Mrs. Morhard and The Boys HERE

I have several copies of Mrs. Morhard and The Boys to give away! Write to me and tell me why you’d like a copy. You might share a favorite story of what you or your mother did to keep kids happy, healthy, and safe. Or, you might share a story about baseball with me. I love ALL your stories!

My February Big Apple Experience

In the middle of February, when Seattle was experiencing a once-in-a-decade snow event, I did what everyone does when it snows and headed to a colder climate… (Uh, what?!) The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I’d planned a trip to New York City, and had appearances and interviews lined up with The Jenny McCarthy Show, TODAY with Kathie Lee and Hoda, Build Series NYC, and People TV.

I’d made arrangements to meet with Tim Tebow, Josh Groban, and Trisha Yearwood to spend a little one-on-one time with these phenomenal people and record a chat session for my podcast series, LOVE SOMEONE with Delilah.

And then Mother Nature threw a little hiccup into my plan and a foot of snow and ice onto my driveway!

The kids, of course, were elated! No school!!!!!!

The animals, of course, were shocked. So coooooold!

The husband, of course, was busy. Go shovel!

And I, of course, was nervous. No school! So cold! Go shovel! And, how in the world am I going to get to NYC?!

Flights were cancelled or delayed. Roads were closed. I didn’t have child-care lined up… This is one of those moments that I need to learn to take my own advice, but instead I worried, and I fretted, and I got a edgy, and a more than a little grumpy.

It’s true. I do this too!

I was scheduled to fly out on a Tuesday afternoon, and Paul was going with me. We were going to spend Valentines Day, and our birthday, which happens to fall on the same day, February 15th, together. The evening before, the weather warmed a bit, and things started to melt - yay! But then overnight, the temps dropped again and when we got up in the morning, all was frozen - boo!

The entire 1/2 mile long driveway, uphill from the farm to the main road… frozen. Pauls truck, a 4x4 with big knobby tires? No way. The tractor? Ha! What to do, what to do?

Finally, at some point, I DID take my own advice; I gave up control and gave it to God.

And a few hours later, the truck made it up the hill. And a few hours after that, and Paul carefully navigating the piled up snow, ice, and abandoned vehicles on the treacherous drive, we made it to the airport.

And we made it to NYC, and all the appointments, appearances, interviews, fabulous Valentine’s dinner and special performance of number off her new CD “Let’s be Frank” by Trisha Yearwood atop 30 Rockefeller Center in the iconic Rainbow Room. I made it to Junior’s restaurant in Times Square and their delicious Reuben sandwich, and potato pancakes! I made it to a few funky shops and an incredible Broadway performance. I made it to a little birthday celebration at the iHeartRadio studios, and a full day with NO appointments at all, just strolling hand in hand with my hubby in one of the most exciting and beautiful cities in the world.

And everything was bigger, and brighter, and better than it would have ever been, had the entire experience not been in doubt. And funnily enough, the weather was warm and mild and the sun was shining our entire trip. (And the snow was still on the ground at home when we returned.)

So grateful!

Click the links in the first paragraph to watch my interviews and subscribe to my podcast series!