Summer Vegetable Treat: Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie

My husband Rich's vegetable garden is literally overflowing with tasty tomatoes, beans, eggplant, and squash. When zucchini is in season, we have a great abundance all at once. Besides the usual fried zucchini and zucchini bread, I have several other recipes that utilize zucchini in a different but delicious way. One of these is a reliable old favorite that I came upon a number of years ago. It is called "Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie", and was shared with me by a friend.

This recipe consists of 4 cups of sliced fresh zucchini, onion, butter, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, fresh oregano leaves, eggs, shredded mozzarella cheese, prepared mustard, and basil. Although the recipe does not indicate whether to use fresh or dried basil, I always use fresh, chopped basil. (with fresh vs. dried herbs, I usually triple the amount of fresh). The crust is interesting in that it calls for crescent dinner rolls. (one 8 oz. package). You can use a 10 inch quiche pan, or a 8 x 12 inch baking dish. I always use the quiche pan, as the dish looks very pretty, and can be sliced like a regular pie. 

The crescent rolls are pulled apart from the container (there are 8 triangles), and are pressed into the bottom of the pan, and up the sides. The prepared Dijon mustard is spread over the crust. Zucchini and onion are cooked over the stove, and then the parsley and seasonings are stirred in. The eggs are beaten and then mixed with the mozzarella cheese. The egg mixture is combined with the zucchini and then poured into the crust. This is baked for about 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees. The pie should sit for 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven before serving.

The pie tastes very similar to a quiche, although it only uses 2 eggs. I love the flavor of the zucchini with the fresh herbs and cheese. The crescent dough crust also adds a sweet flavor to these ingredients. I have used this as a main course with a salad or another vegetable, but I like it as a side dish to chicken or fish. I have enjoyed this recipe quite a few times for brunch. It can be made the night before, refrigerated, and then re-heated before being served. It can also be frozen.

I made the pie this week for the first time in several years, and it was well-received. In the meantime, I am continuing to look for other zucchini and vegetable recipes for Rich's delicious crops. It is certainly great to be married to a farmer!

Comfort Pies

I have made many pies during the past three years. Some, like lavender honey custard pie, are special, succulent treats that I eagerly anticipate eating. Others, like gingersnap pumpkin, are perfect holiday desserts. Then there are those pies that I make often that are "comfort pies". Like the term "comfort food", these pies just make one feel better under any circumstances. Recently, I made several of these for friends and self, and have decided that they are my "go to" pies for any occasion.

"Lemon Lime Chess Pie" is a favorite of my friend, Ellen. This recipe, by local author Ashley English,  combines both lemon and lime to create a tart/sweet combination. I like to make this pie in summer, as it has a refreshing taste that works well as a light dessert. But it can be made during any season of the year, because lemons and limes are easy to find. The only difficult part of making this pie is grating the lemon and lime zest, but the zest is what enhances these citrus flavors.

Chocolate is arguably one of the most popular comfort foods of all time, and that is why I consider the "Malted Chocolate Pecan Pie" to be a comfort inducing food. This recipe comes from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book by sisters Emily and Melissa Elsen. I have made this pie many times, and most people appreciate this unusual take on a traditional pecan pie. Unlike the ultra sweet pecan pie that I grew up with, this one uses chocolate and barley malt syrup instead of corn syrup. I recently made this pie for a friend and his wife. They liked the pie, and also came up with the perfect topping: Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream, another great comfort food! This is definitely an improvement on the whipped cream or topping that I had previous used on this pie!

Blueberry pies and cobblers were favorites of mine as a child. I was anxious to try the Elsen sisters' version of blueberry pie, called "Lavender Blueberry Pie". The two interesting ingredients in their recipe are a few drops of lavender oil, and ground arrowroot. Arrowroot is a substitute for corn starch and I like it better for the reason that it doesn't overly thicken the sweet blueberry juice. Another essential part of this recipe is the butter crust, which adds to the pie's tastiness.. I made this pie to share with several friends. Using Breyer's Vanilla ice cream again as an accompaniment, the blueberry pie was a hit.

Other pies that I consider comfort pies are bourbon pear pie, salted caramel apple pie, and peach pie. These pies will never fail you. After making pies for friends, I decided that I needed a comfort pie of my own. I just made another lavender blueberry pie for Rich and me. I can say that I have received great comfort from this pie!

The Girl Who Played With Fire: Rosemary Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie

I have made several pumpkin pies from my pie recipe books, but had not tried any of the sweet potato pie recipes. My Grandma Dukes used to make the very best sweet potato pie, and I have never tasted one that I thought compared with hers. Unfortunately, I never asked her for her recipe. I finally decided to try one that sounded like a new take on the traditional sweet potato pie that was named "Rosemary Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie", by local pie author Ashley English. I had never seen the combination of these three ingredients, and was curious.

The crust of this pie was the usual  butter crust, which is chilled prior to filling. There were three other parts to this recipe. The filling consisted of pre-baked sweet potatoes, egg white and egg yolks, cream, butter, bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar, freshly chopped rosemary, sea salt, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg! Yes, this is quite a list of ingredients, and took a little longer than usual to prepare. The topping is composed of pecans, butter, bourbon, and sea salt.

The topping is made prior to the filling. The butter is melted, and the other ingredients then added and boiled for 5 minutes. When this mixture is cooled, it is a nice candied topping. As stated earlier, the filling does take longer than the average to make. The cooled, cooked sweet potatoes are whisked with melted butter, cream, and egg yolks. The next step concerns boiling the bourbon over high heat for several minutes. In all honesty, I was not expecting the next event, which was the bourbon catching on fire in my sauce pan! After blankly staring at it for a minute, taking it off the stove, and then yelling that the pan was on fire, Rich came in and placed a lid over the pot, quickly putting it out. I realized that making pies can sometimes result in my temporary insanity when  things do not go as planned. I then proceeded to place the bourbon back on the stove, add the maple syrup and brown sugar, and boil again. (this time without incident).

The bourbon mixture is whisked into the sweet potato mixture, seasonings added, and finally the beaten egg whites are folded in. The filling is poured into the chilled crust. An egg wash of an egg yolk and water is brushed onto the rim. The candied pecan topping is placed carefully on top, and the pie is baked for one hour at 350 degrees.

After all of the hoopla over the fire and tedious pie assembly, I certainly had high hopes for this sweet potato pie. I eagerly cut myself a slice to test. (I was having a a guest over the next day, and needed to make sure it tasted okay!). I loved the texture of the pie - the egg whites make it very light. But I was somewhat disappointed that the pie was not as sweet as I had thought it would be. I think that it is more of a side dish for a main entree, somewhat like a sweet potato souffle at Thanksgiving. However, Rich and my guest really liked the subtle sweetness of the pie, with the hint of rosemary. I found that this pie seemed more like a dessert with an addition of whipped cream on the top.

To conclude, I would say that although this is a unique twist to sweet potato pie, it is not as good as my grandmother's pie. I may not find one as delicious as hers, but I will keep trying. In the meantime, I will probably make this pie again, but have two additions to the recipe: 1. Use a deep dish 9 inch pie pan (there was a lot more filling than goes in a regular 9 inch pan). and 2. Have a lid ready to put out the fire from the boiling bourbon!

A Pumpkin Pie for Any Season: Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie with Candied Pumpkin Seeds

I have been trying to find new pie recipes for spring pies. Flipping through my pie books, there are basically strawberry, rhubarb, and custard pies from which to choose. I love strawberries, but unfortunately have a slight allergy to them, and I am too selfish to make a pie that I might not be able to indulge in. I am going to try making a rhubarb pie once my rhubarb plant of a few months produces next year, and I have tried most of the custard pies in my cook books. I started glancing at pies for other seasons and found a most interesting sounding pumpkin pie called "Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie with Candied Pumpkin Seeds", in  A Year of Pies by local author Ashley English. Since canned pumpkin is always available, and Martha Stewart claims canned is superior to fresh for cooking, I decided to go for this one. Also, my husband Rich loves ginger, so I thought this might be a treat for him.

The crust is the same gingersnap one that I used for my recent key lime pie from the same pie book. It is basically crushed ginger snaps that are mixed with butter and baked. The filling of the pie is fresh or canned pumpkin (I used canned), with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, sea salt, cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. These ingredients are simply combined and whisked together, then poured into the crust and baked. The unique part of the pie is the topping. The recipe calls for pumpkin seeds, but said that you could substitute those with pecans, which I did. The pecans or pumpkin seeds are toasted, These are cooled, and combined with melted butter, sugar, minced crystallized ginger, sea salt, and cloves.I took a taste of the topping at that point, and thought that it seemed a tad salty, so I put in another pinch of sugar. After the crust and filling have baked for 40 minutes, the topping is sprinkled on top, and the pie is baked for an additional 20 minutes.

This pie looks very appetizing when cooled and ready to slice. I really liked the ginger and pumpkin combination. I also enjoyed the creaminess of the filling, which the cream and milk created.  As I expected, Rich really liked the pie, He specifically appreciated the topping because of the strong ginger flavor that the minced crystallized ginger brought to the pecans. He ate the pie without any other topping, while I thought a dollop of whipped cream made it even more delightful.

We both devoured the pie very quickly. Although good anytime, this pie would be a different treat for Thanksgiving. I will definitely make this pie again. My husband will insist on it!

A Different Take on Key Lime Pie: Gingersnap Key Lime Pie

Our yard in Florida used to have a very prolific key lime tree, and we had a bountiful supply of key limes each winter season. While some of this crop was used to accompany Corona beers, many of these juicy little key limes were used to make key lime pies. I experimented with several different recipes until I found one that I always used. It was an online recipe that included 5 egg yolks, and had the typical graham cracker crust, which I bought pre-made. The pie was always popular with family and friends. But recently, I was encouraged to experiment with  a different recipe for key lime pie. This was inspired by trying one made by my friend, Ellen, in which she used a gingersnap crust! I thought it was delicious and different! So I was happy to find that one of my pie books,  A Year of Pies by Ashley English, had a recipe for "Gingersnap Key Lime Pie". I had to try this recipe!

This is a pretty simple recipe with few ingredients. Basically, the filling consists of key lime juice (fresh is better but bottled, which I used, will do), grated lime zest, sweetened condensed milk, and 3 egg yolks. The unique crust consists of crushed gingersnaps and melted butter, which is pressed into a buttered pie pan and then baked for 10 minutes. The filling is poured into the crust after the crust has cooled, and then the pie bakes for 15 minutes. So, in terms of prep and baking time, this pie is as easy as it gets!

The gingersnap crust really does provide a unique flavor for a key lime pie. I enjoyed the ginger taste combined with the tartness of the key lime juice. Ms. English seems to insist on using a good amount of grated lime, lemon, or orange jest in several of her citrus fruit recipes that I have made, and I think it succeeds in bringing out the flavor of the fruit. I will say that I think the gingersnap is the star of this pie, and one must appreciate ginger in order to fully relish this pie. My husband said it was very tasty, and he does love the flavor of ginger in many dishes! He actually preferred it to my other key lime pie! A dollop of whipped cream adds the final touch to this dessert!

I would definitely make this key lime pie again to serve to guests. I still will make my graham cracker one as well, as some folks may not appreciate the strong ginger flavor. What I love about trying new pie recipes is that there are so many opportunities to try new combinations. And that means even more pie eating! The way things are going, I could probably bake a different pie for every day of the year!

Common Sense Container Gardening

With Spring and really nice weather arriving, I get in the mood for blogging about gardening. After all, for me gardening is right on up there with pie baking and dancing for my favorite pastimes! I enjoy most gardening activities, including planting seeds, admiring my flower beds, and tending to my various shrubs and  perennials. But I have a particular love for creating container gardens. I have taught classes in the past about container gardening, and enjoy sharing the notes and ideas I have learned about containers through the years. With so many beautiful containers and gorgeous plants to choose from at garden centers, it can sometimes be confusing to know how to put together those "wow" combinations that we admire. I have come up with a couple of ideas to help, for myself as well as you who are reading this blog post!

1. Stay with what works - Each year, I feel that I need to come up with different and new container designs. This year it dawned on me that perhaps I should use many of my favorite designs from past years. This seems like such a simple notion, and many of you probably already do this. Although I take pictures of my favorite designs over the years, I have rarely used the same designs in future years, even though some of these past creations were pretty good. One of my containers was even featured in a garden magazine, but I have never re-created that design, for some unknown reason! But this year, I have noted my favorite creations from past years, and will use these in my container collection this year. How easy is that?

2. Consider sketching designs for your containers- Although I have sketched garden plans for my landscape, I have never done this for container gardens! I had a thought that making a rough sketch of the containers and the plants I plan to use in them and taking them with me to the garden center would be helpful. That way, I won't be trying to remember what plants I am supposed to be buying for the different containers. Photos would work as well, but the sketches are a handy tool to carry with me. I have labeled each sketched container, adding the color of the container as well.

3. Take photos of container gardens that you admire, wherever you see them- I am over the

idea that I have to have an original idea for all of my garden projects, including my containers. There is nothing wrong with being "inspired" by others (okay, or stealing those ideas) for my own garden.

4. Place plants together that have the same cultural needs- Just as you are told to do this in your landscape, you should also do this with your container gardens. A shade loving plant, like an impatiens, will be happy being paired with a fern, a coleus or a creeping Jenny. But put that impatiens with a sun loving sedum, and either the sedum or impatiens will be unhappy! This also makes watering easier, as the containers and plants that need the most water are grouped together. Along those same lines, I appreciate shade loving container gardens, as they can tolerate less watering than those in full sun. And for those containers I do have in full sun, I look for drought tolerant plants like succulents and ornamental grasses. I have found also that geraniums, petunias, and million bells are colorful additions that are surprisingly drought tolerant.

5.Finally, even though I am tempted, I will not put together my containers until May 1.- I know this is hard for most of us container lovers, but for those of us in Zone 6 Asheville, it really is good advice. We will still get a couple of chilly nights between now and May, and those tender annuals can be adversely affected. If you are tempted to have some colorful containers now, stick with pansies or other annuals that can take the cooler nights. And instead of obsessing about our summer containers, why not take this time to enjoy our spring blooming ornamentals that are so pretty now? Take in the beauty of the dogwoods, azaleas, phlox, candytufts, and columbines, and admire your efforts. You have the rest of the season to love your containers! Now let's just hope I can follow my own advice!

Pie Party

Sometimes when I make pies, I decide that I want to share them with others. Truthfully, this does not occur as often as it should, because I usually eat most of the pie myself! Recently, I wanted  to host a gathering where pie and conversation could be shared. So I invited several ladies that I knew to be as enthusiastic as I was about pie eating!

It was tough deciding which of the many pies in my favorite pie recipe books I should bake.The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, by the Elsen sisters was the book that initiated my world of pie baking. There are so many choices, but I especially like the fruit pies in this book. So I chose one that I have made many times: "The Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie". Fresh pears, bourbon, brown sugar, allspice and ginger make this a sinful, delicious combination. As many times as I have made this treat, I have never been disappointed, particularly when it is topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

My other favorite cook book for pies is A Year of Pies, by Ashley English. I I have made several delicious pies from this book, my favorite being "Lemon-Lime Chess Pie". Chess pies are a southern tradition, and this one has a unique lemon and lime combination that is hard to resist.  In addition to the lemon and lime juices and zests, this pie has eggs, butter, sugar, and the special ingredient common to chess pies, cornmeal. The sweet and tart combination is a pleasure to the taste buds! This treat is very refreshing in the spring and summer months.

As a third pie for my friends to indulge in, I chose a creamy pumpkin pie recipe that I had discovered online. This pie had been a hit at a dinner party and I wanted to try it again. The usual cooked pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger were primary ingredients, but this recipe also calls for sweetened condensed milk. I had never used condensed milk in my pumpkin pies, and realized that this adds a nice creaminess and texture. Whipped cream tops this pumpkin pie off perfectly!

I think that my guests enjoyed the pies. Asking which was the favorite of the day, the winner appears to be the lemon/lime chess. As I have said many times, I love to bake and then eat the pies that I make. But it is even better when friends can eat a "pie meal" together. Friends and pie are a happy combination!