A Pie a Week - Lemon chess pie

Chess pie is a sweet pie common in the South. It's a single crust pie with a soft, sugary filling similar to a custard pie, but with a difference.

Chess pie was originally English, and migrated to the South from New England and Virginia. The ingredients are simple - eggs, sugar, cream or milk, butter and flavorings, plus a couple of spoonfuls of corn meal. This gives the custard a fine, granular texture.

The origins of the name "chess pie" is unclear. Some think that it's a corruption of "cheese pie," the filling being similar to a cheesecake-like confection. Some think that it was because, before refrigeration, people kept baked goods in a pie-chest, so this would be "chest pie." Others say that, in Southern dialect, when asked what kind of pie it was, housewives would answer, "Jes' pie."

It makes sense that it's "jes' pie," because it's an awful easy pie to make on an ordinary day. Blind-bake the shell, then mix the custard:

1.5 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 eggs
1/2 cup cream, half & half or whole milk
1/4 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the sugar, cornmeal and salt. Beat the eggs with the cream, then add the butter. Pour the liquid into the sugar mixture. Add the lemon zest, juice and vanilla, and combine until smooth.

Pour it into the pie shell, then bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I made this one with the lemons from our garden. Jes' pie.

Thematic Photographic - Flowers

"Thematic Photographic" - Carmi at the blog Written, Inc. presents a weekly themed photographic challenge. This week's theme is FLOWERS. Check in and see who else contributes photos based on this idea.

The passion flower is a flowering vine native to South America. It was given its botanical and common name in 1620 when Spanish colonial priests saw it growing in Peru. To them, the flower resembled the Crown of Thorns placed on Christ's head at the Crucifixion. Once they got going on this idea, the blossom's unusual features and structure led to a whole catalog of symbols associated with the Passion of Christ, based on the number of sepals and petals, the shape of the anthers and stigma, the color of some of the species.

The passion flower is also taken, in more secular circles, at its popular common name - passion flowers' sweet scent and the juice of its fruits are considered romantic and sexually seductive.

You can take your pick.

There are over 400 species to choose from, including one native to the United States, commonly called the Maypop.

This passion flower is the species Passiflora alata. Its common name is the fragrant granadilla, and "granadilla" is the name sometimes given to its fruit. This one is growing on a steel security fence enclosing the dining patio at Papa Christo's Greek restaurant, on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. The flowers are huge - you can see as I'm holding a blossom in the picture.

It's said to be quite fragrant, although I didn't detect a scent when I took the photo - perhaps because we were eating delicious garlicky roast lamb and feta cheese at the time.

This passionflower is a fast grower, vigorous, and with large thick evergreen leaves. Here at Papa Christo's it competes with bougainvillea and ficus vines, and holds its own.

A Pie a Week - French nectarine tart

Similar to last week's apple tart, here's one with nectarines. Sliced nectarines are tossed with sugar, arranged in the pie shell, then a sweet custard is poured on top and the pie is baked. Easy!

Thematic Photographic - Flowers

"Thematic Photographic" - Carmi at the blog Written, Inc. presents a weekly themed photographic challenge. This week's theme is FLOWERS. Check in and see who else contributes photos based on this idea.

It's Naked Lady season again!

The South African native bulb Amaryllis belladonna is quite a surprise each September, when the naked stalks rise up from the bare dirt and open a cluster of huge, lily-like blossoms that are the pale, tender pink of a ballerina's tutu.

Huge glossy green leaves appear in late spring, and then fade away. Months later, in the dog days of summer, the flowers suddenly burst on the scene.

Beach days drawing to a close

Click all photos to "embiggen"

I came down to the beach in May, for a temporary job assignment. And even though it's a beautiful place, you can still get bogged down in work things - writing reports, analyzing data, formatting documents, chasing down answers to questions.

I realize that far too often, I spend my days sitting in an office, crunching numbers or following up on trivial details, gossiping or griping - when only steps from my office door, a whole world of natural beauty awaits.

Sometimes I have to force myself to push away from the desk, to walk outside, to head for the sand and the water, the gulls and the scent of salt.

But when I do, I never regret it. It recharges my batteries, and makes it possible for me to go back and re-open my email In-box. It's always worth it.

In mid-September my assignment ends and I go back to my regular office. I'll miss this place, and I think I'll always wonder if I appreciated what a wonderful gift this assignment was, even with its challenges.

I'll be glad to be back with my familiar co-workers. I've come to appreciate my long-term boss and her knowledge, her fairness, and her honesty. And here's the thing - my regular office is in a pretty nice neighborhood too. Maybe I should make a practice of getting out and exploring things there. Right?

Sizzling

It's hot. After a summer of fog and gloom, the heat is here. Yesterday it was 104 degrees at our house - and the power went out. This morning, at six-thirty, the sky was bright and almost vibrating with heat.

Here, the setting moon hangs in a cloudless sky over the baked mountains and a dead pine tree.

What's amazing to me is how different it is at the beach. Here it's still warm, but it's about 70 degrees instead of 97 at my home, just 6 miles inland.

The sun is still relentless. They say it's going to break tomorrow. How's the weather where you are?

Two beers and the chute

By now, everyone knows the story of the Jetblue flight attendant who got fed up after 20 years of working with the public, tendered his resignation over the plane's PA system, grabbed 2 beers from the galley and popped the escape chute onto the tarmac at JFK.

Recently, a friend of mine received a job offer from another employer. Her current job was something she enjoyed doing, represented a promising career track, but was marred by some pretty nasty workplace politics and a less-than-effective management. She tried hard to stay above the fray, but because she was the target of some internal backbiting, it was difficult.

She carefully weighed her choices. Her current job paid well, and held potential, but it had little security and no benefits. The new offer paid a little less, and was somewhat of a step backward, career-wise, but had great benefits. What to do?

One day she was called to a meeting. It was presented as a "cross-training" opportunity for all staff, but it soon became obvious that it was a chance for her co-workers to beat up on her, courtesy of an ineffective and misguided supervisor.

She took all she could take, and then she opened her mouth and told them what she thought of them. And then she gave her notice.

People are complex. I had been listening to my friend's side of the story for a while. I had also heard from some of the other workers, too. Miscommunication, scapegoating, failure to give the other person the benefit of the doubt lay on both sides. But, overall, my friend was the one who tried to reach across the chasm, tried to keep it professional, tried to see the other side. The others were less giving and, in some cases denying there was a problem at all.

Well, now it's over. Her company is really going to miss her, because she did a great job. Her detractors are going to be impacted by losing her, though they don't realize it now.

Me - I'm gonna buy her a couple of cans of beer and an inflatable chute. She deserves it! Best of luck, my friend.

Have you ever had a "grab two beers and pop the chute" moment?

Blog roll update

It's been a while since I've updated the blog roll, and as life goes on, changes occur. I meet new bloggers; friends start blogs; other folks decide to stop blogging. I need to update my blogroll to keep up.

Goodbye to those who've moved on:

Trannyhead - I loved you, your Green Beans rant was awesome. Congratulations on your new baby and I hope you will blog again.

Woman in a Window - what an incredible writer! You can still find her at The Tiny Leaf.

Stoopid Stuff - Mikey has moved on to Here.

Keeping the porch light on for these guys:

I am a Tornado - Proven Fact - she hasn't posted since December. I want to put her on a list of "comebacks," because she's a damn good read.

Blognut at More Mindless Rambling - where are you, girl? You're on vacation, right? I'll keep your link around a little while.

Enchanted Revelry - Same thing, Tristan, where are you?

Big Orange Landmark - Floyd's fans plead for his return. And even if his blog is inactive, his archives are a priceless resource for L.A. historians.

New friends:

Smalltown Mom - Heidi blogs from one of the most beautiful towns in California!

If the Thunder Don't Get Ya - blogging from Ohio, it's photos, it's politics, it's whimsy, it's worth a click!

One Perfect Bite - visit Mary's blog for some delicious recipes, and some great stories. You always learn something wonderful about food at One Perfect Bite.

Une Femme d'un Certain Age - she writes about living a stylish, adventurous, delicious life after 50.

I Need Mom! - Sue is the mom of two grownup children. She blogs about food, tablescapes and much more from the Midwest

Written, Inc. - a brief journal of all things Carmi - a journalist who observes the world. Join in his Thematic Photographic challenge, once a week on Thursdays.

Skinny Girls & Mayonnaise - my neighbor's food blog. Check it out. The man can cook.

MAYBELLINE's Garden - MAYBELLINE has an amazing garden in Bakersfield, CA.

Big Bad Bald Bastard - blogging from the Bronx. Or maybe Brooklyn. Or maybe....well, one of those boroughs.

Jenn at Juggling Life - a teacher, a mom, and a wise, wise woman.

Ch-ch-changes:

The Women's Colony is no more, but Derfwad Manor still stands. Go say Hi to the amazing Mrs. G.

A Pie a Week - French apple custard

By now, pie dough is a breeze for me, using the all-butter recipe I found. Now I'm concentrating on thinking up creative fillings for pies.

I had some granny smith apples. I also had some eggs from our neighbor's chickens. In a book of recipes I bought when we visited Burgundy, France, I learned that a very common type of French pie is to bake fruit in a sweetened egg custard in an open-faced tart.

So I lined my small tart pan with pastry, and then sliced the peeled apples into crescents. I tossed the apple slices with brown sugar, and then sprinkled a bit of ground ginger into the bowl. I grated the peel of an orange, and added that to the bowl, too.

While I let the fruit take on the sugar, I spread a thin layer of red currant jelly on the bottom of the tart shell. Then I laid the apple slices in a decorative pattern into the shell.


I made a custard with two eggs, some half and half, and about a half-cup of sugar - I didn't want it too sweet. I sprinkled in some grated nutmeg and a little bit more of the grated orange peel. Then I poured it over the fruit in the shell.

I've seen French tarts with a decorative lattice pastry top, and I had enough confidence in my new favorite pie crust to think I could work with it. So I rolled out an oblong bit of dough and used a pinked pastry wheel to cut strips about 1/2" wide. I laid these across the top of the tart in one direction, spaced about 1 inch apart.

Then I wove the rest cross-wise, under and over the others. When finished, I pressed the ends into the sides of the pie, and sprinkled it with granulated sugar before putting it in the oven.


Here it is after 50 minutes of baking. Pretty nice, huh? And pretty tasty, too! We had it for dinner, and it held up nicely enough to go to work with me on Monday for lunch!