Monday
Jun302008
50:41
as in "oh, it's 50:41! i have to go, grandma!" eve is experimenting with telling time lately, and i am rarely just mommy. today i have been assigned the roles of "mean computer girl" "mean queen" "nice morgana" (the sea witch in little mermaid 2. . . ugh, i'm more than ashamed that my children and i know that. . .) and "grandma." ruthie has been restricted to the sole role of "baby jesus" . . . "come on, baby jesus! i'm making a playground just for you! see-saw for baby jesus! wheee!" i don't really know what to say.
we've all been cooped up a little more than we'd like lately (didn't leave the house once all week. three kids+ humidity= me hiding by air conditioner). so saturday we made our way up to lawrence farm orchards to do some berry picking. a few strawberries, mostly cherries and fun. we left right around "35:13" and had a great day. as usual, i am now desperate to live on a farm of my own. having inherited the desire from my dad, i've romanticized about living on a farm as long as i can remember. the thought of being so tied to and in tune with the land and life seems so ideal. maybe i should start a little smaller with the dreams and shoot for a backyard first.
chip has declared that he could go cherry picking every week. if we can avoid charlie getting anymore scary looking mystery hives, i'm all for it too. strangers tried to be nice and pretend that he was just a beautiful little angel, but they were concerned. "oh look, look at that little babyyyy. . ." as they came in for a close up look at the little mess their voices would lower, slow down and a lot of looks of semi-hidden worry were exchanged. but, after we picked, licked all the melted ice cream off (i know, a farm with amazing ice cream. heaven.) and turned in our wagon we drove home with pounds of cherries and hot and sleepy kids. thunderstorms and dinner from friends welcomed us home before warm baths were given and i gave into my exhaustion. i'm a complete wimp in the hot humidity.
sunday came and with it this cherry pie. and seriously, it was the best pie i've eaten, maybe ever. and bonus; crazy easy. after the cherries are pitted (admittedly a slow process but one i delight in) and after my stained hands are washed, its all about just throwing a few ingredients together and waiting while the goodness bakes. without tapioca or white sugar on hand i substituted corn starch and powdered sugar. worked perfectly. i had raw sugar that maybe i should have used, anybody have any tips for baking with it?? half cake flour made the pie crust magical.
once the pie was gone (we had help eating it, but could have easily shoved it into our own greedy tummies) we were very sad. so sad, that i woke up this morning determined to make another. it is happily baking in the oven right now while ruth dresses in the cow costume, eve lies daintily on the bed in her cinderella dress and charlie sits in my lap contentedly staring at the glow in front of him.
Monday, June 30, 2008 at 01:32PM
Reader Comments (22)
that orchard/farm/berry place is a dream! i can so see you on a farm, growing perfect vegetables. is that in your future plans possibly? out of the city, into the country?
and even if i hopped in the car now and drove straight to new york, no stops, .... i'd probably still miss the pie by a day. darn.
The pie looks delicious! I love going and picking your own produce. (Since I have no fruit trees in my yard and the garden isn't lookin' so hot either.)
I hope the hives go away soon. That sounds terrible. Could it be heat rash? Rem used to get that soooo easily.
Have fun with those cute little ones!
oh a fresh cherry pie! now I'm all hungry for one. There's a cookbook called "Super Natural Foods" that has a great section on cooking with natural sugars. The author has a blog too--101 cookbooks.
Are you kidding me Katie? Three kids, four and under.. one a newborn.. and you're baking pies?! Not just any pies, fresh cherry pies with cherries you hand-pitted? Come on!
hahaha. eve cracks me up!
your pie looks HEAVENLY, i so want some!
I was just thinking about Lawrence Farms and wondering if I have a replacement in my new neck of the woods. Probably not, and who would I go with anyway...sad.
I was just thinking about Lawrence Farms and wondering if I have a replacement in my new neck of the woods. Probably not, and who would I go with anyway...sad.
Reading your posts make me happy. That's all.
Oh - yes - AND giddy about having a little girl that will hopefully be as entertaining and creative as yours are :)
sounds like you had a fabulous day! i know what you mean about a farm- i grew up on one and i'm itching to get back! we'll get there someday...
I dream about having a ranch/farm all the time... and in my dreams I'm pretty good at all that green thumb stuff... But I've killed a surprising number of houseplants that are making me doubt my abilities!
ok, I am formally requesting a cherry pie next week, I have never made one from fresh cherries, sounds soooo good! I love the crazy imaginations of these little kids, so entertaining.
love, love this post! the pictures are fabulous- what a photographer, but of course you would be good at that too! farm life = totally idyllic! we crave having land on the big island and getting all our food from hilo farmers market with our own goats, chickens and fruit trees. someday! i'm going to have to try that cherry pie! scrumptious!
yowza that pie looks amazing! must...have...pie... I seriously crave massive slices of deliciousness now. I swore off making them from scratch after my first apple pie Turkey-day '96. It was SO much dang work I just couldn't be bothered to try again. that cherry bombshell might just bring me back into the fold. great pics of the kidlets too.
Looks like a lovely day! And that pie looks incredible - I think I might have to try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe. :)
Chip and Katie, your girls are hilarious. I love reading about things like this. Little Mermaid 1 is bad enough, but whenever I see anything having to do with those knock-off, Krusty Brand Imitation Disney sequels, I immediately sequester Saige, create sudden, sharp loud noises, and generally do whatever else I can do divert her attention, because I (for now--and it's futile, I know) utterly refuse the idea that such a thing may ever possibly find a place within the walls of our home. We had to watch "Barbie Mariposa" earlier this week. As it was playing, I was thinking to myself that I would rather be shot from a cannon if I had any reason to believe Saige would have found it more interesting.
what bliss! i am very jealous of your pie skills. i have none and so make mostly what i like to call "pie crumbles" which is exactly what it sounds like. such beautiful pictures of your girls at the farm!
Just came over from Hop Skip Jump, where your magical kids sewing skills were referenced. Glad I visited! Love the marigold dress.
My good friend, Roxy, told me about your fabulous, creative world that you share on your blog. I've browsed briefly and I'm totally loving it! Can't wait to look more! I just finished making my first dress ever for my toddler and I'm looking for inspiration to keep this "creative" side of me flowing. Thanks for sharing!
Mmmm! looks delicious!
i made one too! it was delicious, but looked only half as god as your perfect lattice top. :(
Good morning, great article thank you for sharing
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