Spinach Quiche

Spinach Quiche
Dorcas Annette Walker

Can it be that Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away? Not that I want to put anybody into a panic mode, but time seems to fly faster every time I turn around. This year instead of having Thanksgiving at our house we will be with our daughter and her family in Nashville. I quickly discovered over the years of moving hither and yon with my husband in the ministry that it isn’t the place, festive decorations, or even a superb meal- although all those things are nice- that make a holiday truly special. A perfect celebration is when I can spend it with close friends and family members. I truly am blessed to have so many friends. One of the biggest fringe benefits in writing a cooking column- besides getting to spend time in the kitchen and experiment with food- is getting acquainted with so many folk, who tell me that they read my column faithfully every week. I’ve met fans while buying yarn for a project, in the hardware and fresh produce departments of a store, while checking out, through emails, out on the street, in the hospital, and even pumping gas into my car. It doesn’t matter what the circumstance just let two cooks get their heads together and there is an instant connection. This year as I give thanks for all my blessings you, my fans, are also at the top of my gratitude list. I hope that each of you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Holidays also mean lots of extra cooking. While baking why not whip up a healthy Spinach Quiche and pop it into the oven too? My Spinach Quiche is ideal for a brunch, excellent heated up in the microwave for a quick lunch, or eaten as a light supper. Some make it without the crust; add cream cheese or yogurt for a creamier texture. You could also include chopped onions, chives, or peppers to spice it up. No matter how you make a Spinach Quiche it is a delicious quick and easy meal. Preparation time for my Spinach Quiche is ten minutes (not counting baking time) and this recipe serves six.

Spinach Quiche

8 large eggs
1 c milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 c shredded Swiss cheese
1 pd frozen spinach thawed

In a medium-sized bowl beat the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until smooth. Fold in the cheese and spinach. Pour into a deep dish 9-inch pie crust. Bake at 350º for forty-five minutes until puffed and the center is firm. Serve warm!

Weekly tip: To thaw out frozen spinach, put into a colander and run under hot water. Squeeze out excess water. You can save the spinach water to make soup or use it as soup stock!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Pecan Nut Pie

Pecan Nut Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

In all my years associated with the Walker clan I have yet to make a dessert too sweet for the Walker men. The guys are known for their “sweet tooth” and to them the sweeter the dessert the better. My old Mennonite recipe of the Pecan Nut Pie during holidays was one of the fellow’s favorite, especially my husband’s old brother, Dale, who was a Vietnam vet and very patriotic. Dale spent a lot of years, until he retired, in Germany involved in several border incidents that never made the news. A family favorite tale of Dale’s army life was years ago when he was in his early twenties and wounded in Vietnam. The surgeon involved in his case decided that Dale’s leg was too badly damaged to be saved and made the decision to take it off- making the mistake to declare his intentions in Dale’s hearing. Dale pulled out a hidden pistol, pointed it at the doctor’s head, and said, “Oh no, you’re not.” When the surgeon tried to reason with Dale saying, “You are going to lose that leg anyway.” Dale replied, “I might, but not by you.” Today Dale has both legs and barely walks with a limp thanks to the Walker bulldog determination.

Unfortunately, a lot of vets aren’t as fortunate as my brother-in-law. We still have too many soldiers overseas trying to keep peace in war torn areas of the world risking their lives each day. The longer the situation drags out in Iraq with a no win solution, the more I agree with an older vet who summed up today’s overseas state of affairs by saying, “We need to pull our boys back home, let them fight it out amongst themselves, kill each other instead of our boys, and when they finally decide they want peace send in our boys to clean up the mess.” Meanwhile we salute each veteran with heartfelt thanks of gratitude for their part in ensuring that America remains the home of the free and the brave!

My Pecan Nut Pie has a crunchy nutty filling that also can be made into mini tarts by placing pie crust into mini muffin pan cups and filling for individual servings this holiday season. You can add maple syrup to the corn syrup for a different twist or substitute dark corn syrup for the light and for every chocolate lover just add one cup of chocolate chips to make a chocolate pecan pie. Preparation time for the Pecan Nut Pie is five minutes (not counting baking time) and this recipe makes one 9-inch pie.

Pecan Nut Pie

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
3 eggs
1 c light corn syrup
1 tb self-rising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ c brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 tb melted butter
2 c pecan’s halves

In a small bowl beat together the eggs, syrup, flour, extract, sugar, and salt with a Wisk until smooth. Add the butter and pecans and pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Let cool before serving!

Weekly tip: For a perfect homemade pie crust think cold. Always use chilled eggs and cold water to ensure a flaky crust. Some even chill the pastry before rolling it out and chill before baking. Don’t overwork the dough as handling it too much will result in a tough crust!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Sweet Potato Halloween Pie

Sweet Potato Halloween Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

Every year around Halloween my mind goes back to where I first tasted a Sweet Potato Pie years ago when our family lived on a small isolated island for a couple of years off the coast of North Carolina. The only way to access Harkers Island was by a draw bridge. My father hoped that by living in a milder climate he would be able to get around easier with his arthritis caused by many internal bleeds that was slowly crippling him. Looking back I don’t know if our family or the island folk had the greatest culture shock from having a northern Pennsylvania Dutch family in their midst. Not only did the island folk have their own unique accent, but most of the islands folk were quite superstitious. They were quite astonished when my father parked our trailer in the back of the property beside a graveyard where we kids played. We discovered it was a perfect place to play hide and seek, especially after dark. Meanwhile no one would come near our trailer once the sun set. The large property we lived on not only contained a church where we attended school, but there was an old run down abandoned mansion that had weathered the fierce coastal storms throughout the years- sometimes being the only thing left standing- so was also considered an emergency building and island landmark. With its tall dark narrow halls and multiple rooms this large building that some declared haunted was the perfect place to explore. Even though with our strict upbringing we were never allowed to go trick or treating we still managed to enjoy ghostly experiences.

The church school was small and quite rigid. The principle was an ex-sergeant, who ran the school like a mini army making us come to attention every time we approached a staff member and answering “yes sir” or “no sir” while enforcing discipline like a drill sergeant. Sleeve lengths and skirt hemlines were inspected every day. I’ll never forget the day my younger sister was called out in the lineup for having too short of a skirt. Lois was having a growing spurt and my mother was hard pressed letting out hems and in some cases sewing a piece of material around the bottom and hemming it up. This came to light when my sister was told to let my mother know she was to let down her hem as her skirt was too short only for Lois to reply, “She can’t, it’s a fake hem.” “What?” roared the principle, “What do you mean by a fake hem? There is no such thing. I can see at least two inches that can be let down.” In vain did my sister protest only to get marked up for arguing. Between the island superstitions and unique church/school experiences this short span in my life still remains a vivid memory.

Sweet Potato Halloween Pie

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust
2 c mashed sweet potatoes
4 oz cream cheese
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
1 (1.55 oz) Hersey’s chocolate bar

In a large bowl beat all the ingredients, except for the pie crust, until smooth and creamy. Pour into the unbaked pie shell and bake at 350º for forty-five minutes until the center of the pie is almost firm when you jiggle it. Chill and decorate the pie by cutting the chocolate bar with a sharp knife in pieces to make a Halloween pumpkin face. Can garnish with cool whip or other Halloween candy!

Weekly tip: You can also make a sweet potato custard by eliminating the crust and adding a mashed banana or raisins if you’d like. Another idea is to make a candied sweet potato pie by slicing the sweet potatoes instead of mashing them, and pour the beaten sugar, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon over the sliced sweet potatoes along with halved pecans!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Fourth of July Pie

Fourth of July Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

Hooray for the red, white, and blue; the home of the brave and the land of the free!!! In my senior year (considered to be the dark ages by my kids and grandkids) I won a writing high school contest on an article about the Statue of Liberty and ended up having to give a speech on it in front of the entire school- a scary proposition as back then I was very shy (also something else my children and grandkids are skeptical about). The first time I read in grade school about the Statue of Liberty given as a gift of friendship to the United States from France, I was intrigued about this regal lady standing in the New York harbor designated as a national monument and universal symbol of freedom and democracy. This 125 year old engineering marvel restored in 1986 still stands as a beacon and daily welcome to the free world. Untold millions of emigrants (25 million between 1892-1924 alone) have arrived through Ellis Island under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty to begin a new life in a vast land where according to our Declaration of Independence “all men are created equal”.

Today visitors can tour the museum gallery, search for ancestors on the American Immigrant Wall of Honor where over 700,000 names representing every nationality are inscribed, and see breathtaking views from the Statue’s observation deck. Despite numerous wars and even a terrorist attack on our own soil this weathered grand old lady still stands triumph with her lamp held high.

Regardless of crime rates, political greed and corruption, economic woes, and all that you can think of in what is going wrong in this country, we still are very blessed to live here in America. This fact was brought sharply to my attention a couple of months ago when a friend of ours (an American missionary nurse) in Mexico was shot and killed while sitting beside her husband, who was driving trying to escape from drug cartels and make it to the U.S. border and safety. With drug wars constantly going on plus fighting between the Mexican government and these drug lords the average person lives in fear of their life. Every week there are pictures in the news showing the ravages left behind of terrorist attacks and suicide bombers in other countries where our soldiers are fighting to gain peace. How thankful we should be to live here in the good ole U.S.A. So this Fourth of July let’s raise the flag and celebrate our freedom.

My Fourth of July Pie will be a grand finale to any celebration with its creamy filling and fruity topping. You can substitute a graham cracker crust for the regular one and mix-match a variety of fresh fruits for the top decoration. Preparation time for the Fourth of July Pie is around twenty minutes (not counting cooling time) and serves eight.

Fourth of July Pie

1 (9 inch) deep dish regular crust
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 c sugar
1 (8 oz) cool whip
strawberries & blueberries
canned whip topping

Bake pie crust as directed and cool. In a medium size bowl beat together until smooth: softened cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip. Pour into the cooled crust. Arrange strawberries and blueberries on top of the pie. Garnish with whip topping. Chill completely and serve!

Weekly tip: Always dip sliced fresh fruit into lemon juice and drain before using as a garnish or decoration to prevent the fruit from turning brown!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Heavenly Peach Pie

Heavenly Peach Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

We’ve been having quite a heat wave up here on the mountain lately. As hot as it has been here, I feel sorry for all you folk living off the mountain in the lower altitudes and cities having to survive hotter temperatures. Each day I’ve been making sure that my hens and dogs have plenty of water. I do my outdoor chores early before the heat escalates outside. One thing hot summer days are good for is hanging out wash. It doesn’t take long for clothes to dry on hot days. I hang my clothes out in the morning and then keep an eye on the sky for any scattered afternoon showers. My ducks love it whenever a shower comes by flapping their wings and doing a hop and ducky dance around in the dust as the raindrops fall announcing the good news to the rest of the livestock that dashes for cover. The hot temperature is also ripening my raspberries and peaches. On warm days I love something cool for a dessert so this week I made up a Heavenly Peach Pie.

Peaches are a classic sign that summer has arrived and are quite a versatile fruit. The peach is a member of the rose family, originated in China, was considered symbol of longevity and immortality, and mentioned as early as 79 A.D. Known as “Persian apples” the peach was developed in Persia, went to Europe, and then came to America with the colonist. The first peach orchard noted in Florida was in 1565. There are over 700 varieties of peaches- some Chinese peaches are flat- with two main popular classes: clingstone and freestone; white flesh and golden. Peaches are sometimes referred to as “stone” fruit due to their pits. Most peaches are cultivated by grafting different combinations of rootstocks. Nectarines are peaches without the fuzz. The season for fresh peaches is June to the end of August. China is the largest worldwide producer of peaches followed by Italy. The peach blossom is Delaware’s official state flower, South Carolina is known as the “Peach Capital of the World”, while Georgia is considered to be the peach state. The world’s largest cobbler is made every year in Georgia measuring 11 feet by 5 feet. Peaches do not gain flavor with cooking. One large peach has fewer than 70 calories and is a good source of vitamin A and C. The saying, “you’re a real peach” originated from the tradition of giving a peach to your loved ones.

My Heavenly Peach Pie with its light fruity peachy taste is quick and easy to make year round using canned or fresh fruit. You can substitute the regular crust for a graham crust or even use the peach filling as a salad instead of a pie. Preparation time for my Heavenly Peach Pie is around fifteen minutes (not counting cooling time) and this recipe makes one 9-inch deep dish pie.

Heavenly Peach Pie

1 (3 oz) box of regular or sugar free peach jello
1 c boiling water
1 (15 oz) can of slices peaches or 1 c peeled diced fresh peaches
1 c cold water or peach juice
1 (8 oz) cool whip
1 9-inch deep dish baked pie crust

Combine the boiling water with the peach jello in a medium sized bowl stirring until dissolved. Dice the peaches and add cold water or peach juice mixing well. Refrigerate until set. With a Wisk thoroughly blend the cool whip and jello. Pour into the pie crust and chill. Garnish with sliced peaches and serve!

Weekly tip: How to tell if a peach is ripe- the flesh should have a slight give using your entire hand to give a light squeeze only as the fruit bruises easily while checking for an even coloring!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Funny Cake

Funny Cake
Dorcas Annette Walker

It’s a cake, no it’s a pie, no it’s Funny Cake- one of my dad’s favorite desserts. My father, born on April 1st, wasn’t expected to live beyond his childhood having severe hemophilia, yet he constantly fooled the doctor’s. Despite numerous internal bleeds that nearly took his life and untold hospital stays, my dad lived with vigor and vim taking long road trips by himself proving that he could be independent- even if he had to get around with a couple of canes or crutches- starting churches in new areas, and moving our family to different states. He often disagreed with doctors saying, “What do they know? I’m the one who lives with hemophilia.” It was nothing for my dad to check himself out of a hospital when he decided that he was well enough to go home. Since hemophilia is a rare genetic condition, my dad had to go to hospitals with a trained hematologist often a couple of hours away. I’ll never forget the night a specialist from a large university hospital called me at home begging me to talk to my dad and convince him to stay overnight. Nobody ever forgot my father once they had met him. Today my son carries the same genetic gene of hemophilia like his grandfather, who died when Dwight was eighteen months old. Even though my son is more laid back that his grandfather, Dwight still has many mannerism of my father. I had to smile the other day when my grown son told me that he didn’t care what the hematologist or an orthopedic surgeon said about one of his ankles, he wasn’t going to have any surgery until he was good and ready. The last time I saw my father alive, I made a Funny Cake for him. After my father died, I quit making Funny Cakes. This week in honor of my father, I made a Funny Cake for my son, who shares the legacy of hemophilia with his grandfather.

Funny Cake is a German Pennsylvania Dutch dessert that is so named because it is a pie and cake all in one with a gooey chocolate bottom topped by a vanilla cake in a pie crust. Some put the chocolate on top of the cake batter that reverses itself when it is baked. The recipe I use comes from an Old Mennonite cookbook. Funny Cake is a perfect April Fool’s Day dessert. Preparation time for my Funny Cake is about ten minutes (not counting baking time) and this recipe makes one 9-inch pie.

Funny Cake

1 (9 inch) pastry

Bottom:
½ c sugar
¼ c cocoa
1/3 c hot water
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Top:
½ c sugar
¼ c shortening
1 egg
½ milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 c self-rising flour

Combine the sugar, cocoa, hot water, and vanilla in a small bowl and pour into the pie pastry. In another bowl cream the sugar, shortening, egg, milk, and vanilla together and then stir in the flour. Pour on top of the chocolate mixture spreading it around in a circle. Bake at 350º for 1 hour. Let cool and serve on a cake plate!

Weekly tip: One easy way to line a pie plate with a crust is to wrap the pastry around a rolling pin and slowly unroll over the pie pan without stretching the dough. Trim the edges of the crust and then flute as desired!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Carmel Pie

Carmel Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

My introduction to veterans came when I married into Dana’s military family. Since the American Revolution, there has been a Walker from this family tree serving in every conflict that our nation has been engaged in with the exception of the Spanish-American War. My father-in-law is a veteran of World War II, the Korean, and Vietnam War. He entered the military after lying about his age to a judge, who gave him the choice of going to jail or to war. When the judge informed his mother, she told the judge that her son was only sixteen. So Dana’s dad went to another town, where lied about his age again, and joined up with the Navy ending up on one of the boats guarding the bay where the Japanese surrendered. After two years he joined the Army then thought about joining the Marines, but they told him he would have to go through boot camp again so instead he joined the Air Force serving sixteen years. He retired with twenty-one and a half years in military service. Just between my father-in-law, his two sons, one daughter, and three grandsons there has been a total of 73.5 years of Walker military service given to our country in the last three generations.

Standing erect his five sons still loom over their dad head and shoulders, but all the boys respect their dad’s ability to handle himself. He could break cement blocks in two with one hand and do one handed push-ups into his late sixties having to stop when he had trouble keeping his balance. After retiring from the military and turning his life around from being an alcoholic, my father-in-law started a rescue mission in the city of Fort Myers to help others. Word quickly got around not to mess with the head guy despite his being a preacher, small size, and age. One street fellow started giving trouble and pulled a knife on my father-in-law. He took the knife away from the fellow and threw it over to the curb about the time a policeman came by and asked, “Reverend you need some help?” Dad Walker said, “No somebody just needed to know who was boss around here. It’s all taken care of”. He then reached down shut the knife, dropped it in the man’s pocket and told him, “If you reach in your pocket, I’ll break your hand.” The poor guy was so nervous he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Another time some guys got into a fight in the dormitory. One of the fellows was enormous called Little John. Dad Walker and a son stopped the fight. My father-in-law then shoved Little John in his room, shut the door, and told him to stay there. In a few seconds slowly and very carefully Little John opened up the door and asked quietly, “Preacher can I come out now?”

My Carmel Pie has a smooth Carmel filling sandwiched between cool whip and a graham cracker crust making a rich elegant dessert that will grace any occasion. Even though this simple dessert takes hours to make it is well worth the time invested. I usually make two pies at a time. Preparation time for my Carmel Pie is a little over three and one half hours and this recipe makes one 9-inch pie.

Carmel Pie

1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz) cool whip

Remove the label and immerse the can of condensed milk in a kettle of water completely covering the can. Bring to a boil and slowly boil adding water as needed for three hours. Let cool. Open and pour into the graham cracker crust using a spatula to smooth it out. Layer with cool whip and chill before serving. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Weekly tip: When cutting frozen pies first dip the knife into warm water to make the slicing easier!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Mince Apple Pie

Mince Apple Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

Every Thanksgiving at home a mincemeat pie was served. Without fail my father would always shake his head and sadly inform us that that the store-bought mincemeat was nothing like the mincemeat his mother used to make on the farm. To keep the family tradition going, each Thanksgiving I would buy mincemeat and make a pie even though a jar of mincemeat was “quite dear” or real expensive like my English grandmother would say. Both my children hated mincemeat. After awhile I finally quit making a mincemeat pie as there were always oodles of other holiday desserts. This past week I decided to add some extra ingredients to an apple pie. To my surprise and delight it reminded me of a mild version of mincemeat pies in years gone by. So I have named it my Mince Apple Pie.

Mincemeat refers to something ground or minced up. An old slang saying, “to make mincemeat”, meant to utterly destroy. Mincemeat was originally medieval containing a sweet and spicy mixture of chopped meat, suet, and fruit as way of preserving meat. English mincemeat recipes from the 15th - 17th century were used to bake a huge pie on Christmas Eve with a pastry topping effigy of baby Jesus lying in his cradle. Early New Englanders made large batches of mincemeat stored in crocks sealed with a layer of lard that could be kept up to ten years. Mincemeat recipes vary by region or ancestry. By the mid-twentieth century recipes for mincemeat sometimes substituted vegetable fats and butter or used green tomatoes to make it vegetarian. Commercial preparations package mincemeat in jars, foil lined boxes, or tins. Mincemeat pies are sometimes served with a slice of cheddar cheese.

Mincemeat was the name of a British operation during World War II that succeeded in making the Germans believe that the Allies would invade the Balkans instead of Sicily- their real objective. British naval intelligence took a corpse they named Major Martin, dressed him as a major, along with a briefcase containing sealed papers. They fitted the corpse with a life jacket and pushed the body out to sea where the tide carried it to shore. When the body was turned over to the British they noted that the papers had been resealed. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the United States were wired: “Mincemeat Swallowed Whole”. The operation accomplished sending German vessels away from Sicily and spreading the German defensive across Europe. Major Martin, whose real identity was never revealed, was laid to rest in a graveyard at Heulva.

Mince Apple Pie

two pie crusts
1 qt apple pie filling
½ c raisins
¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
sugar
cinnamon

Spread one crust over a 9-inch pie pan. In a medium-sized bowl mix together the pie filling, raisins, and nuts and pour into the pie crust. Add the second crust on top sealing the edges poking holes in the crust with a knife. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. Serve hot or cold!

Weekly tip: A piece of hot apple pie in a bowl of milk makes a scrumptious filling snack or meal!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Mock Apple Pie

Mock Apple Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

All kinds of pranks are played on April Fool’s Day. My father was one of the best for catching us kids off guard. I carried his legacy over to my family and enjoy playing jokes on April 1st. It is a great way to get back at my husband, who is known for his jokes. I made sure that Dana wasn’t driving down the road the other year before announcing that I was a pregnant grandma, but I really scared my husband and kids last year when I called them and told them that I had fallen. Dana said he nearly had a heart attack and made me promise never to do that again. So this year I am going to be good, uh… at least try and make an effort not to alarm my family too much. Instead I plan to serve them my Mock Apple Pie.

Most believe that April Fool’s Day or All Fool’s Day started around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. Since communication traveled slowly it became the custom to play pranks. Even the Romans had a festival in early spring with masquerades. Today Scotland devotes April Fool’s Day to spoofs involving the buttocks, England, Australia, and New Zealand only plays jokes before noon, the Flemish tradition is for children to lock out their teachers or parents, in Portugal people throw flour at friends, the French try to attach a paper fish unnoticed to a victim’s back, and in India they play jokes and smear colors on each other.

Because there are so many practical jokes on April Fool’s Day people have doubted real news releases. In 1946 an earthquake tsunami killed 165 people in Hawaii and Alaska due to people drowning because of the assumptions that the warnings were a prank, the merger of Square and its rival company Enix in 2003 wasn’t believed, nor was Gmail’s launch in 2004, the announcement of the Mario & Sonic Olympic Games a couple days before April 1st was thought to be a joke, and in 2007 a ball python kept in an engineer’s cubicle at Google’s New York City office escaped… you guessed it, on April Fool’s Day. Another year there was a serious overload to a zoo’s switchboard after people began obeying hoax messages to call fictitious people such as Mr. C. Lion and Mr. L. E. Fant. So if you plan on playing tricks on April Fool’s Day just be sure and let the person know that it is indeed a joke.

The Mock Apple Pie is a perfect way to celebrate April 1st. With its flaky pastry and apple-tasting filling no one will believe that they aren’t eating a genuine apple pie. Preparation time for my Mock Apple Pie (not counting baking and cooling) is about twenty-five minutes and this recipe makes one deep-dish apple pie.

Mock Apple Pie

9 inch pie crust for top and bottom
2 c water
2 c sugar
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tb lemon juice
1 pkg of Ritz crackers
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tb margarine

Bring water, sugar, and cream of tartar to a boil in a small saucepan, let simmer for fifteen minutes, take off the heat, and add lemon juice. Crumble the crackers and put in the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle on cinnamon. Pour the syrup over the crackers and dot with margarine. Layer on the top crust, seal, and sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350º until golden brown. Cool completely before serving!

Weekly tip: When shaking on spices to get a more even dusting hold the spice about a foot above the food!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Pie

Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

My most vivid holiday memories at my grandmother's house were of her enormous table filled to overflowing with all kinds of food as a traditional Dutch meal consists of seven sweets and seven sours. In fact the first time my husband encountered a Pennsylvania Dutch meal, he thought he had died and gone to heaven. All family visits were celebrated around a table laden with food. It wasn't until I was older and learned about our family history that I began to understand why food played such an important part of family gatherings. Each Thanksgiving our family has much to be thankful for.

My tenth great grandfather, Hans Landis, was beheaded for his faith in Zurich, Switzerland when he was seventy-two years old. His family fled Switzerland to Germany and then to Holland. My sixth great grandfather's family then immigrated to Pennsylvania in search of religious freedom. His son, Jacob Landis, helped build the Salford Mennonite Church and later the Franconia Mennonite Church. From humble simple beginnings meeting in homes and barns where for two centuries church services were conducted exclusively in German, both churches now have modern facilities with a large staff and several pastors to oversee congregations that number three to four thousand members.

My father, Samuel Landis, grew up speaking Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a dialect of high German. I grew up hearing Dad pronounce victory as "wictory", and welcome as "velcome" along with "very goot" instead of very good, no matter how many times my mother tried to correct his English. My Dad would also ask us to "pass him down the table the salt" or "throw him down the hall his hat". My English mother made sure that we children spoke only correct English. Today my father is buried with his ancestors at the Salford Mennonite church where the first old meeting house still stands.

My Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Pie, a recipe handed down from my grandmother, has a creamy smooth texture like a custard pie. At each holiday gathering of our family, I make up traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Pies. The one year I decided not to bother considering all the many other desserts we have and figuring that my family was tired of always eating cheese pies, my son-in-law wanted to know why there wasn't any Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Pie. My Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Pie takes only fifteen minutes to prepare and this recipe makes two pies.

Pennsylvania Dutch Cheese Pie

2 10-inch unbaked pie crusts
3 eggs
1 (16 oz) container of cottage cheese
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 1/2 c sugar
2 c milk
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
3 tb self-rising flour
pinch of salt

Separate and whip egg whites until stiff. In another large bowl beat together the cottage and cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar, salt, and flour with a little milk until smooth. Slowly add the rest of the milk. Fold in egg whites. Divide and pour into the two pie crusts. Bake at 350º for one hour. Chill and serve!

Weekly tip: When making homemade pie crusts do up a couple extra crusts and freeze the unbaked pie crusts for later!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Rhubarb Cherry Tart

Rhubarb Cherry Tart

Dorcas Annette Walker

My father loved rhubarb, but my mother didn’t have a green thumb and was too busy working full time to bother with a garden or flowers outside. So I can remember as a girl riding around in the car with my father during the summer as he spied out rhubarb patches around the farm areas where we lived. Rhubarb is a fast growing plant that rapidly spreads and seeing a handicapped father with young children the women were always happy to give a bagful of rhubarb away. I enjoyed cutting up the reddish green stalks, but wasn’t that crazy over the tart taste until I grew older. My husband on the other hand had never seen nor heard of rhubarb until we were married. Since then he has become an avid fan of eating rhubarb from the patch that I grow in my herb garden.

Rhubarb dates back to China in 2700 BC where it was first noted that rhubarb was given to the Wu emperor to cure his fever. It was transported to the throne from the southern parts of China during the Tang dynasty, in 960 rhubarb was taken to cure the plague, a Christian was pardoned from hard labor after using rhubarb to heal some soldiers, during the Ming dynasty a general tried to commit suicide by eating rhubarb, and in 1828 the Daoguang emperor sent out an edict that no more tea or rhubarb would be sold to the “barbarians”. Rhubarb was first recorded in 17th century England after sugar became affordable to the common people and was first used for medical purposes. An unnamed Maine gardener in 1790 is given credit for introducing rhubarb to growers in Massachusetts where it soon became popular and was sold in produce markets. Rhubarb or “pie plant” spread rapidly westward with the settlers.

Rhubarb is classified as a vegetable grown from thick short rhizomes of a perennial plant with large triangular shaped green leaves that are toxic. The flower of rhubarb is greenish-white to rose-red. It is the deep red, pink, or green stalks that are used for consumption. Rhubarb is now grown in greenhouses in many areas and is available throughout much of the year. The rhubarb commonly grown today here in America is actually a nineteenth century hybrid of China. Rhubarb can be cooked in many ways such as: stewed to yield a tart sauce, filling for pies, tarts, desserts, jams, and for wine. I’ve even known some folk who enjoy eating the raw stalk like celery. Talk about a mouth puckering snack!

Most commonly rhubarb is combined with fruit such as strawberries, apples, or cherries. My Rhubarb Cherry Tart camouflages the rhubarb with a cherry pie filling until only the cook will know that rhubarb is the secret ingredient. In return the rhubarb gives the cherry filling a pleasing tasty zing. The Rhubarb Cherry Tart takes only thirty minutes to prepare and this recipe serves six.

Rhubarb Cherry Tart

1 baked pie crust in a 9 inch tart pan
Cook 2 cups of rhubarb in a small amount of water until tender.

While hot add:
1 (3 oz) pkg of strawberry jello
½ c sugar
1 tsp almond extract
Stir together until dissolved and then fold in:
1 (21 oz) can of cherry pie filling
Pour into the baked tart crust and chill for a couple of hours until firm. You can garnish your Rhubarb Cherry Tart by sprinkling powdered sugar on top or serve with a dollop of cool whip!

Weekly tip: To make a fancy dessert plate for a special dessert heat red jelly or a colorful clear sauce and pour a thin layer onto a white dessert plate. Then pipe dots of cool whip to shape a heart or round circle in the middle. With the tip of a knife or toothpick you can either connect the dots or swirl the dots to form a comma!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Mountain Cookin page and blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Grandma's Cherry Cheese Pie

Grandma’s Cherry Cheese Pie

Dorcas Annette Walker

My first taste of cherry cheese pie was at my grandmother’s house. I fell instantly in love with the smooth creamy cheese texture topped by red cherries. In fact everyone who tasted my Grandma’s Cherry Cheese Pie was swept under its culinary spell. It quickly became a tradition for every family reunion that my grandmother made several of her cherry cheese pies. Even my daughter, who didn’t like cherries, loved my Grandma’s Cherry Cheese Pie.

We have a family story about Dawn and her cherries that we still laugh about today. Our daughter wouldn’t eat the cherries, but would suck the juice off and then spit her cherries out. My husband on the other hand didn’t believe in letting any food go to waste. The first time Dana noticed Dawn’s cherries sitting in a row along the edge of her plate my husband paused between bites of his pie to ask her if she wanted them. When my daughter said, “no”, Dana told me to give them to him. I began to ask him if he really wanted her spit out cherries, but my husband interrupted me and told me to pass her cherries to him. So like a good wife I did as he asked. This went on for years. Every time we’d have my Grandma’s Cherry Cheese Pie I’d scoop up Dawn’s spit out cherries and give them to Dana as he devoured his piece of pie. So it was quite a shock to our entire family when suddenly one day as we were all enjoying a piece of my Grandma’s Cherry Cheese Pie and I was in the process of passing along Dawn’s cherries, Dana suddenly stopped me to question, “Is she spitting out her cherries?” When I affirmed so, Dana gave me a look of utter disgust and demanded, “Then why are you passing them to me. I don’t want her cherries after she’s spit them out!” It wasn’t until my kids backed me up that my husband realized that for years he had been consuming our daughter’s spit out cherries. So even if you don’t like cherries you’ll still love my Grandma’s Cherry Cheese Pie. Her pie takes only five minutes to whip up and will make a perfect Valentine dessert.

Grandma’s Cherry Cheese Pie

Beat until smooth:
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Then add:
1/3 c concentrated lemon juice
Mix on high a couple of minutes until firm. Pour cheese mixture into one baked pie shell. Chill for a couple of hours then layer 1 can of cherry pie filling on top and serve!

Weekly tip: You can always substitute strawberries or blueberries whenever a recipe calls for cherry pie filling or instead of using condensed milk and lemon juice substitute 1 c of powdered sugar and one 8 oz container of cool whip!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Mountain Cookin page and blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Apple Cranberry Pie

Apple Cranberry Pie

Dorcas Annette Walker

I’ve made it a habit to use the month of November to focus on things I am thankful for. I always try to have a thankful spirit, but it is easy in the rush of life to get sidetracked and concentrate on things that need accomplished or changed rather than counting my blessing for what I already have. Thanksgiving is ideal for showing our thankfulness by reaching out and sharing with others. At an early age I learned to share my mother on holidays. When working on the surgical team at a local hospital, Mom was often was on call over weekends and especially holidays. Often our mother was paged on Thanksgiving for an emergency surgery leaving us with an empty spot at the table. When my husband and I pastored churches out of state and were unable to get back home, we used Thanksgiving to reach out to others in the area. There always was someone, especially elderly folk, who were alone. Each of those Thanksgivings became a memorable time. At one church we attended a local assisted-living home during holiday celebrations in order to be a family for a man, who attended our church and was all alone. It meant juggling our schedule that was already packed with church activities, but seeing Gene’s face beam every time we showed up was worth the extra effort.

I want to share with you though one time I almost missed out on sharing with someone. I was right in the middle of last minute preparations for our Thanksgiving dinner when my husband came into the kitchen to inform me that a neighbor boy was at our door. Billy’s folk rented a run-down trailer down the road from us; these renters rotated every couple of months. The parents left their kids to fend on their own and invariably the kids would find their way to our house. When my husband suggested asking Billy in for Thanksgiving I said, “no”. We already had our daughter, her husband, grandkids, and another special guest. My table was festive with holiday decorations, each place was set, and I was in the process of putting the food on the table. I figured we could always feed Billy another time. A minute later my husband with a sheepish grin on his face came back with Billy. Billy, who was skinny and small for his age, loaded his plate with everything that was passed around. While my grandkids picked at their food, I tried not to stare at Billy, who crammed food into his mouth devouring a huge plateful and a second helping until I was afraid he’d become sick. Billy left with a big grin on his face, a bulging stomach, and some food to take home with him. I’ve always been so thankful since that my husband overruled my decision and interrupted my perfect Thanksgiving dinner. A couple of months later Billy and his family were gone.

This holiday season add a bit of zest to your apple pie with cranberries. My Apple Cranberry Pie will make a colorful dessert to finish up your meal. You can also add chopped nuts if you wish. The Apple Cranberry Pie takes around fifteen minutes to prepare (not counting baking time) and serves eight.

Apple Cranberry Pie

Enough dough for a double nine inch pie. Roll out the pie crust and line the bottom of the pie pan.

In a medium size bowl mix together:
5 to 6 large apples (your choice peeled and sliced)
1 c cranberries
1 c sugar
2 tb self-rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
Pour into the pie then cover with a top crust. Poke holes in the top crust with a knife. Bake at 350º for one hour until the apples are soft.

Glaze:
Mix together ¼ c of powdered sugar and 1 tb of warm water. Spread on the pie crust while still warm. Can garnish the pie with fresh cranberries!

Weekly tip: Cranberries can be bought in bulk while in season and stored in the freezer all year long to enjoy out of season. Freeze cranberries in the package they came in!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Mountain Cookin page at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Squashy Pumpkin Pie

Squashy Pumpkin Pie

Dorcas Annette Walker

We just celebrated our annual Pumpkin Festival that draws crowds in from all over the southeast. During this time the tiny town of Allardt bursts with all kinds of watermelons, squash, long gourds, sunflower heads, corn stalks, and other vegetables that are weighed and competed for cash prizes. So far the largest pumpkin has weighed in at 1,112 pounds. Now that’s what you call a lot of pumpkin! Autumn is filled with all sizes and shapes of pumpkins signaling the end of the harvest season. Even the harvest moon is symbolized by its round orange color in the fall.

Pumpkins originated in Central America and were used for years by the Native Americans, but it was the colonists who changed the name pumpion into pumpkin that we use today. Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkin, dried them, and used them for mats while the seeds were used for food and medicine. The colonists were the first to create the pumpkin pie by slicing off the top, removing the seeds, filling the inside with milk, spices, and honey. This was slowly cooked over a fire using the pumpkin shell as a crust.

Pumpkins are ninety percent water, classified as fruit, and contain potassium and vitamin A. Pumpkins are quite versatile. Farmers use pumpkins as feed for animals, seeds can be roasted and eaten as a snack, the flower is edible, and there are oodles of recipes for pumpkin pies, cakes, breads, soups, and even puddings. The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over three hundred fifty pounds. It used eighty pounds of cooked pumpkin, thirty-six pounds of sugar, twelve dozen eggs, and took six hours to bake. I’m just glad I wasn’t the one rolling out the crust!

My brainstorm of creating the Squashy Pumpkin Pie came one day while noticing all the frozen containers of pureed summer yellow squash stacked in my freezer. I pondered how I could use my bounty besides making soups. I had originally planned on making a pumpkin pie, but on an impulse decided to substitute squash. To my delight no one could tell the difference even when I tried it out on company. After giving the crust a nutty twist my Squashy Pumpkin Pie was born and quickly became popular at our Sunday evening get-to-gethers at the parsonage. Everyone vied to guess if my pumpkin pie was really pumpkin or squash. Even the youth got involved tasting and trying to guess the main ingredient. In fact I tend to put up more squash than pumpkin as pumpkins have harder shells to cut through and peel. If you are tired of the standard pumpkin pie try my Squashy Pumpkin Pie recipe this Thanksgiving.

My Squashy Pumpkin Pie can use either squash or pumpkin and makes a good dessert year round. From the nutty crust topped by a creamy mild spicy taste my Squashy Pumpkin Pie is an excellent way to finish off a holiday meal. Preparation time for the Squashy Pumpkin Pie is twenty-five minutes plus baking time and this recipe makes one pie.

Squashy Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust:
1 c self-rising flour
½ c shortening
1 egg
¼ c cold water
1 tb chopped fine pecans
Mix ingredients with a fork until a soft ball forms. Roll dough out thin on a floured surface. Place in a 10 inch baking pie dish.

Whip together with a Wisk:
2 c cooked squash/pumpkin
1 c sugar
2 eggs
Mix together in a half of cup of water:
2 tb cornstarch
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp ground cloves
Add to pumpkin mixture. Then add 1 c evaporated milk and mix together until well blended. Pour into pie crust, sprinkle cinnamon on top, and bake at 350º for 45 minutes to 1 hour until center is firm. Chill and serve. May garnish with a dollop of cool whip!

Weekly tip: To put up squash or pumpkin: peel, cut into chunks, and put into a large pan. Add water to cover the bottom of the pan and cook until soft. Place cooked squash/pumpkin in a blender and puree. The squash/pumpkin can then be canned or frozen!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Mountain Cookin page at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie

Dorcas Annette Walker

This month the first frost will cover the Tennessean Mountains where I live signaling time to dig up sweet potatoes planted in the spring. I’ll can jars packed with chunks of sweet potatoes filling the remaining space on my pantry shelves. The glistening jars of bright orange will glow throughout the winter months enhancing all the other canned produce. So I thought I’d share some recipes this month that use sweet potatoes as a main ingredient.

Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America, and are the sixth principal world food crop. Native Americans were growing sweet potatoes when Columbus arrived in 1492. Sweet potatoes were the main source of nourishment for early homesteaders and soldiers during the Revolutionary War. In World War I the USDA utilized sweet potato flour to stretch wheat flour in all baked goods. North Carolina produces more sweet potatoes than any other state followed by Louisiana, California, and Mississippi. Lincoln County leads the state of Tennessee in sweet potato production. Mississippi hold an annual National Sweet Potato Festival the first week in November, Kentucky has its Tater Day Festival the first Monday of April, while Gleason, Tennessee celebrates the sweet potato each Labor Day weekend with a Tater Town Special.

There are two categories of sweet potatoes: firm and soft and two varieties: pale yellow with dry flesh and dark orange with moist flesh. Sweet potatoes are members of the morning glory family and are sown by vine cuttings. Due to the rapidly growing vines little weeding is needed. Although sweet potatoes are harvested from August through October they are available year round. Like carrots sweet potatoes are storage roots.

Besides simple starches, sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, protein, fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin A, C, and B6 ranking highest in nutritional value compared to other vegetables. Candied sweet potatoes represent traditional American cooking and are often served at Thanksgiving. Baked sweet potatoes are sometimes offered in restaurants today as an alternative to baked potatoes. In the Dominican Republic sweet potatoes are enjoyed for breakfast while in China sweet potatoes are often baked in large drums and sold as street food during the winter. Sweet potato fries or chips are made by deep frying in the same fashion as French fries. The sweet potato leaves are a common side dish in Taiwanese cuisine. In Korea the sweet potato starch is used to produce noodles while Hawaii has a purple sweet potato that is eaten steamed and sliced.

My Sweet Potato Pie is an ideal holiday dessert for Thanksgiving. The sweet potato filling is set off by an underlying Carmel and pecan layer and topped by a layer of cool whip, then garnished with a drizzle of Carmel and a sprinkle of pecans to make this a never to be forgotten dessert. My Sweet Potato Pie takes only about five minutes to prepare for baking and this recipe serves eight.

Sweet Potato Pie

Layer in the bottom of a 9 inch deep dish unbaked pie shell:
½ c Carmel topping
½ c chopped pecans

Beat with a mixer until smooth:
3 c cooked sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1 c sugar
1 tb orange juice
3 tb margarine
1 tsp vanilla
Pour over Carmel layer in unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350º for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and spread on top 1 (8 oz) container of cool whip. Garnish by drizzling Carmel over the cool whip and sprinkling chopped pecans!

Weekly tip: For a quick meal or snack: poke holes into a sweet potato, wrap up in a paper towel, and microwave a couple of minutes until soft. Add butter and a scoop of brown sugar!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Mountain Cookin page at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie

Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie

Dorcas Annette Walker

There is something about a Coconut Pie that I find irresistible. It doesn’t matter how many other desserts there are around if there is a Coconut Pie I find myself taking a piece. (For those of you who hate coconut bear with me this month.) In fact I consider myself an unofficial connoisseur of Coconut Pie simply by the virtue of many years experience. I’ll have to confess there were a few pieces of Coconut Pie along the way that I shuddered over wondering how on earth the cook managed to ruin what should have been a delectable dessert.

Have you ever done something that frequently comes back to haunt you? Every so often, without fail, as a crowd of people sits around relaxing and talking after a huge meal invariably someone will mention that they think I hardly eat anything compared to the rest. That is the cue for my husband to say, “Well one time believe it or not, Dorcas ate an entire pie!” I’ve given up trying to explain as my husband’s statement always sets off an uproar, but between you and me I’d like to set the record straight. I only ate half a pie, my sister ate the other half, and it was under very stressful circumstances. I was expecting at the time when one evening my sister stopped by for a visit. Both of our lives were in the midst of a drastic upheaval. My husband and I were in the process of moving south to take a church in the foothills of North Carolina- what seemed to me like the ends of the earth. For the first time in our lives my sister and I would be separated indefinitely. Due to the unusual circumstances in which we were raised, with our father often in the hospital at death’s door and our mother having to work full-time to keep our family going, my sister and I were closer than most sisters. We had gone through experiences together that kids our age had no idea of. Crazy as it sounds we had become each others security. No matter what happened in our world we always had each other to depend on; now all that was changing. My husband had gone on to bed as Lois and I talked and cried together. After a couple of hours we were hungry. That morning I had made two Coconut Cream Pies so I got one of the pies out and we both had a piece. One piece let to another as we chatted. Sometime in the early morning hours near daybreak we discovered to our shock that between us we had eaten the entire pie; something we had never done before or since. I tried to hide the evidence, but my husband discovered that one pie was gone. Despite making thousands of Coconut Pies since, my husband has never let me forget the one pie that my sister and I ate.

My Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie is the deluxe edition of all the Coconut Pies that I have made after years of experimenting. This Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie recipe is simple to make and has a light mellow texture. Even my son, who doesn’t like Coconut Pie, couldn’t resist tasting my Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie on the sly and confessed to me that he actually liked it. My Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie takes only fifteen minutes to prepare and serves eight. I couldn’t resist making two Heavenly Coconut Cream Pies. Now if I just can find the perfect spot to hide a pie…

Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie

1 (9 inch) deep pie crust baked

Mix together in a small bowl:
1 pkg (3.9 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1½ c milk

Fold in:
½ (8 oz) container of cool whip
¾ of 1 c toasted coconut
Pour into the baked and cooled pie shell. Spread the remaining half of the cool whip on top of the pudding. Sprinkle the rest of the coconut on top of the cool whip. Chill in the refrigerator and serve!

Weekly tip: A quick and easy way to toast coconut: place coconut in a microwave bowl and microwave on high for three to five minutes stirring frequently!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Coconut Custard Pie

Coconut Custard Pie

Dorcas Annette Walker

In today’s modern world with all kinds of ready-made instant desserts to choose from in nearly every store you enter, I am sure it is hard for the younger generation to fathom a time when all desserts were homemade. I’m surprised, with all the drive-thru food available, that no one has started a franchise drive-thru selling desserts where one could view a list of pies and cakes (for the nutrition conscious have low-fat and fruit items), make a order, pay at one window, and then pick up the dessert at the end. It would be an instant hit in today’s society. In fact there are times when I feel overwhelmed with all the choices now available. Shopping trips have become a challenging exercise in brain power trying to decide on which product to buy amidst loaded shelves of identical items with different brand names and varying prices- not to mention low-fat, low-cholesterol, and sugar-free all vying for my attention. Invariably I end up with a couple of other bewildered souls cluttering up an aisle as we dither over which product to chose. Just about the time we reach for the product of our choice, some young person will whiz down the aisle whipping in and around us with a loaded cart, talking nonstop on a cell phone attached permanently to their ear, while we hold our breath and scramble to get out of the way. When the dust settles we have forgotten which item we were reaching for in the first place and the choosing process begins again.

Custard is a mixture like cooked eggnog, similar to a cooked pudding only more solidified, which is often baked in containers of hot water to help control the heat. The eggs are what thicken the mixture. The color of the shell and lightness or darkness of the yolk makes no difference in the food value of an egg. Our Dominique hens actually lay green eggs- no joke! Custards were often served as a dessert at the end of a meal. Growing up custard was a special treat for us. For some reason no one else in my family is as thrilled over eating custard as I am. I’ve found that the younger generation tends to turn their noses up whenever a custard dessert is mentioned. They think it is too bland compared to all the other desserts they have been exposed to.

So I’ve learned to camouflage custard. Such as this old recipe of Coconut Custard Pie that I’ve forgotten now when I first started making it. Every time I made my Coconut Custard Pie for a get-to-gether’s I’ve had interesting results. It brings back memories to the older generation, while intriguing the younger. I’ll never forget the first time I took my Coconut Custard Pie as a last minute quick dessert to a Sunday revival dinner. I couldn’t believe the impact it made as to me it wasn’t a large or fancy dessert. The older evangelist had tears in his eyes when he came over to personally thank me for bringing my Coconut Custard Pie. He said that he hadn’t eaten one of those pies since his grandmother died and confessed to eating three pieces.

My Coconut Custard Pie is an easy one-step dessert to make. All you need is a blender and pie dish. The recipe makes its own pie crust. This is an ideal no-fail recipe for a new cook to try. My Coconut Custard Pie is a filling dessert with a light custard coconut taste. The Coconut Custard Pie takes only five minutes to make and serves eight.

Coconut Custard Pie

Put into a blender and blend on high until all ingredients are mixed:
½ stick of margarine
1 c sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ c self-rising flour
1½ c milk
1 c shredded coconut
Pour mixture into a buttered 10 inch deep pie dish. I take the end of a stick of margarine, unwrap the paper part way, and rub the stick of margarine directly onto a glass pie dish. Bake at 350º for one hour. Chill and serve!

Weekly tip: When breaking eggs, swish your finger inside the shell to remove all the egg white. You’ll be surprised at how much is still left inside the shell. This will help to increase the texture of your dessert!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Homemade Apple Pie

Homemade Apple Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

I don’t remember the exact age when I made my first apple pie. I started cooking when I was still small enough that I had to stand on a chair by the stove so I’m sure it wasn’t many years later that I started making pies. I do remember the anxious feeling as my father took his first bite of my apple pie and then the surge of triumph when he nodded and smiled in satisfaction. Maybe if I had known that passing my apple pie test would result in making at least four pies a week from then on I wouldn’t have been quite so thrilled. My father was Pennsylvania Dutch and to him the perfect ending to a meal was a piece of pie. His favorite was Homemade Apple Pie. Frankly I became sick of making two apple pies each week, although it got to the place that I could have made them with my eyes shut. I didn’t try as every baking day my father would wheel himself in his wheelchair over to the table where I rolled out my pie crusts to oversee the baking operations with an eagle eye. My mother, when home from working at the hospital, was quite amazed at the speed in which I could whip up a batch of pies. I’ve teased my husband that he married me for cherry pie. When we started going together Dana managed to show up quite frequently at mealtimes- institutionalized cooking stood no chance compared to a home cooked meal. I soon found out that he loved cherry pie. Getting married to me meant freedom from ever making pies again and I joyfully started baking all kinds of cakes. After a month my bewildered husband asked when I was going to bake some pies. I landed back on the earth with a thud. We laugh about it now as I’ve made zillions of pies (with plenty of cakes in-between) since then. Every autumn the sight and smell of apples brings back memories of my childhood baking days and I find myself making a Homemade Apple Pie. There is nothing so cozy on a bleak fall day as tasting a freshly-baked apple pie hot from the oven.

Shortening is a solid fat made from vegetable oils such as soybean and cottonseed used to make baked goods light and flaky. The term “shortening” can be broadly used to apply to any kind of fat used for baking such as: butter, lard, or margarine. Shortening though has a higher smoke tolerance than butter or margarine, needs no refrigeration, and lengthens the shelf life of baked goods. Crisco was first produced in 1911. More recent innovations include: Canola, Corn, and Natural Blend oils along with No-Stick Cooking Sprays. The clear bottles of cooking oil and round cans of shortening are quite a departure from the boxes of lard that I used years ago when making pie crusts.

The aroma of a baking Homemade Apple Pie fills the house with promises of culinary delight. You can also add raisins, chopped nuts, and caramel ice cream topping to the apple pie filling for a different twist. To speed up the process, yet give the flavor of homemade, you can use frozen pie crusts. I also use an apple peeler to peel my apples. Preparation time for my Homemade Apple Pie takes around thirty minutes and one pie serves eight.

Homemade Apple Pie

Crust:
2½ c self-rising flour
1 c shortening
1 egg
½ c cold water
Mix together flour and shortening- cutting the shortening into the flour with two knives until evenly mixed. Add the egg and stir in the cold water until a ball forms. Roll out half of the dough thin on a floured surface and line in a pie dish. Roll out the rest of the dough on a floured surface for the top crust.

Apple Pie Filling:
Peel and slice up six large or eight medium-sized apples of your choice in a large bowl and add:
1 c sugar
¼ c four
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
Mix together thoroughly and pour into pie crust.

Line the top crust over the apple filling and seal. Poke holes in the top crust with a knife. Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake the apple pie at 350º for one hour. You can serve the Homemade Apple Pie either hot or cold and you may garnish with a scoop of your favorite ice cream!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by mail at: Dorcas Walker, 929 Wildwood Lane, Jamestown, TN 38556 or email me at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.

Mile-High Strawberry Pie

Mile-High Strawberry Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

This week I’m sharing a recipe that Granny gave me a several summers ago. Strawberries signal the beginning of summer days here in Tennessee and this is the best strawberry pie I have ever tasted bar none. Granny, Leda Roysden, was born up here in the mountains of Tennessee and is known as a good ole fashion Southern cook. She has always been like a second mother to me and now through my daughter, who married her grandson, she is definitely part of the family. Many a Sunday when our kids were small, Granny would call me up on Saturday and say, “Don’t worry about cooking for Sunday dinner tomorrow. You just plan on coming to my house for dinner.” We always knew we’d leave Granny’s house stuffed full of delicious food. She also enjoyed trying out new recipes and would pass them along to me. So enjoy this fresh strawberry pie from Granny’s kitchen using light corn syrup.

Corn syrup is made using cornstarch composed mainly of glucose. Two enzymatic reactions are used to convert the cornstarch to corn syrup. Corn syrup keeps food moist, helps to maintain freshness, soften texture, add volume, prohibit crystallization, and enhance flavor. High fructose corn syrup is a group of corn syrups in variant where other enzymes processes are used to convert and increase some of the glucose into fructose then mixed with pure corn syrup to reach the final form with the resulting syrup being sweeter. This process was first developed by Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi in 1957 and refined by Japanese researchers in the 1970’s. It was rapidly introduced in many processed foods and drinks in the US around 1975-1985. High fructose corn syrup’s sweetness is comparable to table sugar thus making it useful to manufactures as possible substitutes for sugar in soft drinks and other processed foods.

My Mile-High Strawberry Pie captures the wholesome fresh taste of summer with each bite and will disappear fast. This recipe makes one Mile-High Strawberry Pie, takes around thirty minutes to prepare, and serves eight.

Mile-High Strawberry Pie

1 baked pie shell

Bring to a boil stirring constantly:
1 c sugar
3 tb cornstarch
3 tb light corn syrup
1 c water
Cook for five minutes until thick and clear.

Add:
1 (3 oz) pkg strawberry jello
Stir until dissolved. Pour over:
1-1/2 quart of fresh strawberries that are hulled
Mix until strawberries are coated, pour into baked pie shell, and let cool. May garnish with cool whip to serve!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by mail at: Dorcas Walker, 929 Wildwood Lane, Jamestown, TN 38556 or email me at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.

Quick Lemon Pie

Quick Lemon Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

Out of all the pies I have made through the years Quick Lemon Pie is my son’s, Dwight’s, favorite pie. I picked up the recipe at a church function some years ago here in the state of Tennessee and have made it numerous times since. I got the brainstorm to show how easy it is to make to let Dwight do the honors. Warning: If your fellow isn’t used to being in the kitchen, either leave the house or if your nerves can stand it grab a camera. I gained a never-to-be-forgotten unique perspective into a young adult male’s mind, but felt like I had been in the middle of a tornado by the time Dwight finished his pie. We ate Dwight’s creation for desert on Mother’s day and I savored every bite as well as the memories.

Dwight got a call from some friends and was getting ready to head out the door Saturday night when I reminded him of the pie he had agreed to make- the fact that it was his favorite pie helped my cause. He turned around and asked how long it would take. Reassured it would take only a couple of minutes he entered my kitchen with gusto. The first step was opening up a can of condensed milk, which wasn’t a problem as Dwight has opened cans before with the can opener. He dumped the condensed milk into the mixing bowl I put on the counter and then asked where the lemon juice was. Holding up the green bottle of reconstituted lemon juice that I keep in my refrigerator, Dwight dubiously asked if I was sure that it went in the pie. Assured that it was he grabbed a measuring cup. I let out a scream when I beheld my six-foot-four-inch son, through the lens of my camera, pouring out lemon juice about a yard high above the measuring cup. He snickered and asked, “What’s the matter, Mom?” My son is a natural comedian and due to being photographed since he was little for various magazines and articles he tends to try and see if he can shock or rattle me and mess up any pictures I am taking at the present time. There was more than one-half cup of lemon juice but he poured it into the mixing bowl anyway. He turned the mixer on and found the cool whip, then licked the contents off the lid telling me he was making sure the cool whip was still good and was contemplating taste testing the rest, but thankfully time did not permit that. Dwight scrapped the cool whip into the bowl with a spatula and turned the mixer on high. When I rechecked the recipe I told him that the mixer was only to be on low so he turned it down. While the mixer beat the ingredients, Dwight undid the plastic top of the graham cracker crust intrigued with how it was sealed. When it was time to pour the lemon mixture into the crust he had to hunt out another spatula as he had licked off the first one and I protested him reusing it again. He was going to leave the lemon mixture in a huge lump in the middle (his creative touch), but I persuaded Dwight that it needed to be spread around a bit. His artsy mind took over and he proceeded to try out different designs finishing off with a smooth, sculptured, rounded top broken by one single curl in the middle. In true male fashion after I snapped a picture of him and his pie, Dwight got up and said, “Nothing to it,” and headed out the door. I sat down at the counter feeling weak in my knees, elated at the photo shots I had gotten of my son, caught my breath as things quieted down, and surveyed the mess I would have to clean up. I felt very motherly. P.S. I will be posting the rest of the photos on my website shortly.

Quick Lemon Pie has a mild cool lemony taste. It takes only five to ten minutes to make a pie (depending on the experience of the person making the pie) and serves eight people. This is a perfect quick dessert for unexpected company or to take to a church dinner. The only downside I have found to this pie is that it disappears very fast so for hearty eaters you might want to make two pies instead of one.

Quick Lemon Pie

½ c lemon juice
1 can condensed milk
1 (8 oz) container cool whip
1 graham cracker crust

Mix together on low the lemon juice and condensed milk. Add cool whip and beat on low until firm. Pour into a graham cracker crust and chill. May garnish with a sliced lemon and mint leaves!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a freelance writer, author, columnist, and photographer from Jamestown, TN. If you have any cooking tips or favorite recipes you are welcome to contact me by email at: dorcaswalker@yahoo.com. For more information about the Walker family and Dorcas’ books check out her website at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com or htpp://dorcasannettewalker.blogspot.com for other Creative Mountain Cookin recipes.