Day 31 - Pie!

Today Alan decided he wanted pork burgers with onion hamburger buns.  These buns did win a blue ribbon at the 2009 ISF.  He sauteed the onions and I put them together.  However, I forgot the original recipe calls for only 9 rolls but I should have made 12.  The nine rolls are just too big (even for my husbands burgers).  Mmm - but they are so tasty.

I also wanted to test out a bread machine I found at a sale.  It didn't cost much and sometimes it helps to have an extra when I want to do a couple different breads at the same time.  Note:  my bread machine is almost always set on the dough cycle - for those of you who think I cheat by using the bread machine.  I rarely ever bake the bread in the machine.  However, if you want a consistent place to do the first rise nothing beats the machine - especially in humidity.  King Arthur Flour actually recommends the dough cycle to start many of their breads (or puts it as an option in their recipes) to keep consistency.  I could tell it was humid as I had to add an extra tablespoon of flour to each recipe to keep it from being too sticky.  I should have backed off on the liquid but forgot some of my summer bread lessons.  The used machine worked very well so it will be a nice backup on days I want to have a couple things going at once.  Nothing beats the machine mom and dad gave me for Christmas.  It has a permanent counter space.

On Saturday as mom and I were doing some research we also realized that I messed up on my canned pie fillings.  Drat.  I used instant Clear Jel rather than regular Clear Jel.  This is why you should read and re-read instructions.  So, the viscosity is not what is recommended by the USDA for home processing.  I decided I should probably dump it into pie plates and flash freeze than put into freezer bags and freeze.  Wanted to try a cherry pie just to see how it would taste.  I love making pie filling but the crust has always been an issue for me.  I was so happy - the crust recipe I tried turned out perfect!  Plus, I ended up having enough crust left over to make a quiche as well.  The cherry pie and the quiche were both delicious!

Keeping the boys awake took some doing.  We parked at a park where we could watch the fireworks.  The boys played on the playground and we took a walk to look at the river on the trails.  Finally, we sat down to watch the fireworks.  Grant at first kept jumping with the loud booms.  Alan put his hands over Grant's ears and then he just sat and stared at the fireworks pointing to his favorites every now and again.  This made for a very late night but the boys seemed to enjoy the show!