When I found this recipe on the Libby’s website, I knew I had to try it. It was so simple and it tasted amazing. I used very low calorie ingredients to try to healthify this pumpkin pie as much as I can.

Left is the cheesecake layer, Right is the pie all done

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

(makes 10 servings)

Ingredients:
1 Keebler® Ready Crust® Graham 2 Extra Servings Pie Crust
4 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp fat free evaporated milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 c fat free frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 c fat free evaporated milk
2 pkgs (3.4 oz. each) vanilla instant pudding & pie filling mix
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine the cream cheese, 1 tbsp of fat free evaporated milk, and 1 tbsp sugar. Mix until smooth. Gently mix in the whipped topping and spread onto the bottom of the ready made pie crust. Cover and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the pumpkin pie part.

Mix the pudding mixes with 1 cup of fat free evaporated milk until fully combined. Add the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice and mix until smooth. Spread over the cheesecake layer. Refrigerate until set (about 4 hours).

Source: Libby’s Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

I LOVE DESSERTS! YUM YUM!! I think my new found love of cooking came from beginning to make treats, like cookies, cakes, pies, etc. I haven’t ventured down the making candy path, but there are recipes in my cookbook for it, so I think I will one day try…stay tuned but don’t hold your breath. The holiday season is a great time to make desserts, because everyone is feeling more decadent, and willing to break a diet for a dessert versus in the summer, when everyone is trying to be fit for the beach and skimpy clothing. I have a simple and easy dessert that I have made two different versions of that I am going to share with you! It is both sweet and tart and can be good for any season, since you can use whatever fruit is in season.

The first dessert I got from my local newspaper article last year, and it was written by Jerry Villa, Executive Chef,  Stone House at Stirling Ridge and I have made it twice since, the first time I followed the instructions listed below as a treat for my family and then the second time I changed it up a bit and made a pie for Christmas last year. Here is the recipe:

Source: Personal Photo, Larissa, Dec. 2008

Apple Strawberry Crisp
serves four

Fruit Part
2 Apples (Granny Smith works best)
12 strawberries cut in half
zest of half an oranges
5 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cornstarch
Cinnamon to taste
Nutmeg to taste

Mix all ingredients and let sit for 20 minutes.  Spoon evenly into individual baking ramekins.

Cover with crumb topping (recipe below)

For the crumb topping:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. all purpose
1/3 cup oats
1/2 cup pecans
nutmeg to taste
1/4 cup butter softened

Combine all dry ingredients, add butter at end and mix with hands to form rough crumbs.

Cover fruit part with crumbs, and bake a 350 (three-hundred and fifty degrees) Garnish with small scoop of vanilla ice cream (if you so desire)

For my second version, in lieu of using 12 strawberries, I added about 6 halved strawberries and threw in an equivalent number of blueberries and raspberries. It was delicious! To make it more of a pie instead of baking it in individual ramekins, I used Betty Crocker’s® Pie Mix and just molded it to the bottom of the pan, to make it easier to serve. I also found this great article on Good Housekeeping.com that taste tests prepared pies crusts so you can see which one you would like to use,, since to keep these recipe fast and easy, you may want to go the prepared route.  So two lessons can be learned from this experience, one even if you don’t have a cookbook, many times newspapers print recipes that can easily be cut out and two, you don’t have to stick with the recipe. It’s fun to change things up and sort of make them your own, and cooking and baking definitely allows for that sort of creativity.  ¡BUEN PROVECHO!

Fiona Burrell and Angus James whip up a festive treat

By Cara Sulieman

CHEF Fiona Burrell got her own little Chrismas helper as she prepared mince pies for the launch of her new cook school last night.

Three-year-old Angus James added a touch of ginger spice as he got stuck in with the icing sugar as Fiona put the finishing touches to her festive fare.

The former principal of Leiths Cook School opens the doors on her own venture next week, and was trying out the new facilities for the first time.

Edinburgh New Town Cookery School will offer both professional and amateurs the opportunity to brush up their skills with a range of courses.

“Real milestone”

Fiona herself will be taking classes focusing on life skills cookery – helping students master the basics so they can go on to become better chefs.

Opening the school has been a dream for the chef, and she is proud of what it thought to be the largest cookery school in Scotland.

Fiona said: “Last night was a real milestone for us, lots of planning and preparation has gone into getting the school ready for launch.

“The opening of The Edinburgh New Town Cookery School has been a project close to my heart and it’s fantastic to see it come to life in this way.”

A whole range of Christmas themed courses are being offered by the school in the run up to the holidays, including how to carve a turkey and alternative ideas for Christmas lunch.

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Apart from the Queen’s Speech, the golden hour on Christmas Day is when that steaming turkey comes out the oven.

But Cardiff’s veggies and vegans share a different story. The nut roast is the classic staple, but it doesn’t give you the same sense of wholesome satisfaction. You can’t baste a nut roast. You can’t pour its own juices over itself. You can’t put your hand right up it and stuff it with oranges.

Instead, making it feels more like baking a slightly unsatisfying fruitcake. You have to roll up your sleeves and get right into a mixing bowl instead of watching it spit in the pan.

Nut Roast. Yum.

So how can you escape these dry recipes? How can vegetarians use a centrepiece that matches a turkey, but without the ethical worries?

Ten million turkeys are slaughtered for Christmas each year in the UK, according to DEFRA. While wild turkeys can live up to 10 years, those in farms are fattened up and killed when they are up to just 26 weeks old – some as young as eight weeks.

So going veggie or vegan, even if just for the day, is a good idea. But you’ll need to be clued up on how to cook something decent first.

Take some tips from Wayne Thomas. The 44-year-old chef from Llanharry runs the Canteen on Clifton Street, one of Cardiff’s only Western-style veggie-friendly restaurants.

The Canteen was set up as a café in 2007, and with unusual menus that change every three weeks, it is a haven for veggies and vegans. Tables for two back straight onto the tiny kitchen in which Wayne and business partner Tony Thomas, 44, do their work.

It feels like being cooked for by your two cheeky middle-aged brothers. The pair don’t bother turning tables, so come the end of service at around 10pm they step out the kitchen, throw their aprons aside and interrogate the guests. Beware if you didn’t finish your gnocchi.

Chef Wayne Thomas demonstrates vegan pasta

This year’s Christmas menu begins tomorrow and mixes restaurant favourites with an alternative Christmas choice.

The new dish is a mushroom pithivier with cashew nuts. It’s a savoury, earthy vegan pie which mixes conventional nut roast flavours with the Britishness and all-round smile factor of a good hearty pie.

If you’re vegan, a good puff pastry is still easy to achieve. Just substitute egg with potato starch to bind the mixture, and if you still want that eggy taste in your dough, try putting in yeast flakes. This small dried foodstuff is a good flavour substitute and is sold by most specialists.

The restaurant is no stranger to weird flavour combinations. Dishes on the Christmas menu include cheese gougères (pastry balls) with spicy cheese and chocolate mole, and Christmas pudding soufflé.

Wayne said: “You do the same thing week after week after week, so it gets incredibly boring. The customers like it. We’ve been called ‘esoteric’ by one fella!

“We do use the name for the dish rather than the anglicised version of it. But it does mean we’ve got names wrong on the menu – people go home and look them up on the web. And we’re not beyond making up the occasional word.”

When Wayne goes home to his carnivore family at Christmas, he takes the back seat cooking the vegetables. But he does like to experiment, he says, and he has even cooked the infamous “tofurkey” – a huge lump of tofu made to taste like meat.

While this sounds about as appealing as a huge lump of tofu, this meat-cheat could go down well as your centrepiece, especially if someone in the house will be eating meat this holiday. Just put the two side by side and join in the fun.

“You get a load of tofu,” he said. “If you’re not vegan, mix it up with a bit of egg. Roll it onto a piece of cling film and put a traditional stuffing in there.

“Roll it over itself, then wrap it up so it’s watertight and poach it for a quarter of an hour to set the proteins. Unwrap it once it cools and you can treat it just like turkey. It goes well with an onion gravy.”

To get a more meaty texture, try using wheat gluten, used to improve the gluten content of British flours. Mix it with water to make a paste called seitan, a great protein source, which you can then mix with the tofu to take off the rubbery edge.

The Canteen on Clifton Street

The Canteen is always making interesting veggie food, and it is not Cardiff’s only decent vegetarian restaurant – but the problem is, many of the city’s full-size eateries run along an Asian-fusion theme. Curries and daals are not the best bet for that big centrepiece on the dinner table.

But if you do fancy an unusual Gujarati snack to start off your feast, take some tips from the family-run Vegetarian Food Studio in Penarth Road.

Wales’ only fully vegetarian Indian restaurant runs as a café in the daytime. Locals buy huge cartons of fried goods like their homemade Bombay Mix and chatter away under cheerful Hindu decorations.

The number of dishes on the menu will top 200 in the new year, and 28-year-old chef Neil Patel, who lives with his wife in Sully, near Barry, won’t be slowing down soon.

He said: “We started with 42 recipes, on a small A5 page. Now our menu is pages and pages long. But people like the old stuff, so we keep it in to please everybody.”

And for a great alternative snack he recommends masala dosa, a rice and lentil pancake that’s vegan-friendly. The mix is a different animal to British styles of cooking, with the starches from the rice, instead of milk or butter, fermenting to make the mix creamy.

Soak rice and black lentils together in water overnight then blend them to a paste in the morning. Leave this to ferment for three days at room temperature. Ladle the mix onto a hot griddle pan just like a normal pancake, and eat on its own or filled with curry or daal.

Canteen on Clifton Street

Vegetarian Food Studio

RECIPE

Mushroom, cashew nut and tarragon pithivier with mushroom, chive and parsley sauce

Originally from the Canteen on Clifton Street

1. Soak the wild mushrooms in a little warm water for 20 minutes. Drain and keep the water aside.
2. Shallow fry the onion in olive oil until pale. Add the chopped button mushrooms, followed by the wild mushrooms, stirring gently.
3. Reduce the water used to soak the mushrooms in a separate pan until syrupy. Add to the mushroom mix, cooking until all moisture has evaporated.
4. Add the herbs and season with salt, pepper and tamari or soy sauce.
5. Allow to cool, then place in a blender and blend. Leave some lumpier bits.
6. Add the breadcrumbs and cashew nuts until you have a filling that is easily mouldable.
7. Roll out the puff pastry until about 1in thick and cut two rounds, the about 6in and the second about 5in across.
8. Take a handful of the filling and mould into a disk about 3in across. Place this onto the 5in pastry, placing the larger one on top and using the egg wash to stick the two halves together. The enclosed pie should resemble a flat-topped hill. Score a pattern in to top, being careful not to cut through the pastry, and cover the whole pie with egg wash.
9. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 200C.
10. Bake in the oven until golden brown.

Last night was Thanksgiving at our house. Anyone who’s been to Casa de Vasquez knows it’s not a huge place.
It’s a two bedroom apartment. Nothing huge. So you can imagine how packed my place looked with approximately 25 people.

Thanksgiving was great! The Thanksgiving orders were pouring in and Thank God went smoothly. Woke up at 7am on Turkey Day to prepare for our dinner. We had the “usual” Thanksgiving menu as well as a few items.

This year I unveiled the Layered Crepe Eclair and an Open Faced Apple Pie. They were great! Only two items I refused to send home as left-overs. These two are staying with me =)

This year I made the Rum Cake, Pumpkin Pie and my Wilton Course 1 final cake. The green/pink monster was made for my sister’s bday. Adding my newest two additions and we had 5 desserts to pick from.

It was an amazing turn out. Most of my aunts and uncles showed. A lot of cousins too. My brother and sister and their families. And of course the two men of my life: my ever loving and supportive hubby and my son. It was a blessed day and we all gathered to Thank God for everything he’s done in our lives.

I was missing all my in-laws, my other niece and my parents. I pray everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving no matter where they celebrated it.

If you are in Sydney and you have not heard about Harry’s Café, then you are either one of the following:-

1) You don’t go out at all

2) You don’t eat fast food

or

3) YOU ARE NOT IN SYDNEY

Harry’s started way back in the 1930s and has been serving since then. Unlike before, there are about 4-5 branches in the whole of Sydney now so no excuse for not trying. I went back to the original location which is near the Woolloomooloo Wharf. Well, not the original original location but close enough. Harry’s is actually famous for opening during the wee hours and definitely a spot for all the party goers catching a bite after a long night of fermented liquid. They served food like pies, hot dogs and sausage rolls. So what is so special about this? I have the same thought too until I went there and tried.

Well, I wouldn’t lie to you and say it is the best pie in the world. Actually it is just a normal pie. In fact I think Sargent’s Chunky Meat Pie is a notch better. We ordered the Famous ‘The Tiger’. It’s basically a meat pie topped with mashed potatoes, mashed peas and gravy. There you go, now you know why it is famous. If it is just the pie itself, I don’t think I will ever go back again after this. But because of the extras, I can’t help but seeing myself going there again next time. I am going to try their Hot Dog de Wheels when I am there again.

Ladies and gentlemen!
Damen und heren!
Panie i panowie!

Takiego pojedynku jeszcze nie było!

W lewym narożniku zawodnik wagi zarówno superciężkiej, jak i papierowej! Zdobywca tytułu Pana Nad Panami! Dotychczasowy mistrz wszechświata! Bóg!!

W prawym narożniku zawodnik wagi słomkowej! Początkującym, ale o wielkim potencjale! Zdobywca tytuły Przyjaciela Człowieka!  Canis “Azor” Familiaris!!

Kto wygra to emocjonujące starcie??

I co? Który wygrał? ]:->

Boże (lub psie), błogosław ateizm
Ameba28

Dzięki, nataliya

Por: Carlos Maxwell

Debería prohibirse que los hombres puedan andar en chancletas o sandalias en la calle. Está bien en la playa, un río o una piscina, pero no en la calle. Es de muy mal gusto andar con los pies afuera.

Debería prohibirse que algunos restaurantes te incluyan el 18 por ciento directamente en la cuenta. Como ya se estipula dejar el 20, uno parece tacaño pues el otro 2 por ciento se va a ver muy poco. Si lo van a incluir que pongan el 20 directamente, o hasta un 25 o 30 si quieren. Pero ponen el 18 y luego una línea que dice “additional tip” o propina adicional. Con eso no estoy de acuerdo. Uno va a los restaurantes a comer y a pasarla bien. No a sumar.

Debería prohibirse tocar la bocina o el claxon al menos que sea una emergencia. ¡Cuánta gente que la toca sin necesidad! De esa forma le hacen daño a la paz y a los oídos de los demás.

Debería ser prohibida tu mirada que mata. Y debería prohibirse este blog, pues escribo, demasiado disparates.

Thanksgiving was wonderful! I know, it’s a bit too late for my U.S. friends to post an apple pie recipe but keep it for a later day. This is the best apple pie recipe,  praised by many who tried it. My daughter is the  number one fan and she made this one. I only helped with the crust.  It’s almost become a tradition to spend Thanksgiving with our friends and relateives in NY with this pie was our contribution. Back by popular demand! We made the same recipe last year, too.  I found it here, in English.  I’m a little behind with the posts so I’ll let you check the site. The instructions are excellent. When I have more time, I’ll recreate the recipe here, just in case the link stops working. The only variation that I made is in the flour. I used whole wheat flour which gives the pie an unexpectedly dark look but it’s healthier that way. Also, the apples were sticking out but my daughter and I decided to leave them in and we didn’t regret it.

Stay tuned for a cheese bread recipe I made last Wed, artichokes with peas and carrots that I made yesterday and chicken with rice today.

The organic dilemma.  It is a hot topic – one I think about often.  I switched over to a CSA market basket where I get all organic fruits and vegetables every week.  I pretty much only buy organic milk for my kids.  But, for the most part – organic foods are just more expensive, and I am cheap.  If I happen to be at Whole Foods picking up a few things I need (ok, I guess I can’t be that cheap if I shop at Whole Foods, but really you can get some good deals there), I will pick up some items that I would ordinarily get at Trader Joes.  I did just that for this Pumpkin Pie – and it was very interesting.  I picked up a container of organic sour cream (it was actually on sale, and a very good price) as well as a can of organic sweetened condensed milk.  When I opened the sweetened condensed milk, I noticed that there was a hard layer on the bottom that I could not scoop out – I have never seen that happen with the Eagle Brand that I normally use.  Also – when I whisked in the sour cream - little tiny bits did not get absorbed.  Ok, so maybe it was not the fact that it was organic, but I have never had that happen to me with the non-organic brands I use.  Still, the pie came out fantastic – but I am sure it would have tasted great using non-organic products as well – I just felt so much better knowing that there were no pesticides or other chemicals in that filling – or would the 350 degree oven have killed them off anyway?

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit and thought the filling looked perfect – although I wanted a cookie crust, so I borrowed a recipe from my neighbors for theirs – and what a great combination.  The spice cookies with that pumpkin filling was a fall harmony in my mouth.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1/3 cup crushed Anna’s orange spiced cookies
• 2/3 cup crushed Petite Beurre cookies
• 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 2 T sugar

Filling:

• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 2 large eggs

Spiced Cream:

• 3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 2 T sugar

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Combine all crust ingredients in a food processor.  Press into a 9″ pie plate using the bottom of a glass.  Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.  Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Whisk pumpkin, condensed milk, sour cream, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, and allspice in a large bowl to blend.  Whisk in eggs.  Pour into crust (there may be some filling left over).

Bake pie until filling is puffed around the slides and set in the center, about 55 minutes.  Cool pie on a rack.  (Can be makde ahead.  Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, or cover and chill overnight.)

Beat whipping cream, cinnamon, ginger and sugar in a bowl intil peaks form.  Spoon large collops around the endge of the pie and serve.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: Pumpkin Pie

Never had a request before, but had a request to make another pecan pie to send with Rex’s brother, Dean, back to Oregon.  The recipe was from the infamous 1950’s vintage Betty Crocker cookbook.  The info says its a “traditional recipe from Tidewater, Virginia.  The choice among all desserts served a world renowned Williamsburg Inn in restored colonial Williamsburg.”  Ok, Williamsburg is a fun place  (If you even get there, check out the glass blowing.), so I will try this one.

PECAN PIE

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup pecan halves

Pour into pastry lined pie pan.  Bake at 375 until set and pastry is brown…about 40 to 50 minutes.I couldn’t figure out what was so different…..then I remembered.  I didn’t have any dark corn syrup, so I used light.  And I didn’t have quite enough light corn syrup, so I used honey from Humboldt County (about 1/8 a cup).  That had to be the difference.  If its from Humboldt County it has to be the best.  Gee, I need an Humboldt Count fix.

One word. Ah-mazing. This is THE perfect day-after-Thanksgiving dessert. Especially when it follows fried turkey and pickles.

Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
Adapted from: Martha Stewart

For the Graham-Cracker Crust:
2 c finely-ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tbsp Splenda for Baking
1 tbsp Splenda light-brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the Filling:
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 can pumpkin
1/2 can condensed milk
1/4 c light-brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp coarse salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 oz milk chocolate, melted

To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides or a deep, 9-1/2″ pie dish. Bake until firm, 8-10 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Return to oven to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom of crust and up sides. Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

To make the filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.

Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk a 1/3 of the pumpkin mixture into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.

Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet and pour pumpkin/chocolate mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, about 55-60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). Before serving, drizzle melted milk chocolate on top. Serve immediately.

Looking for a chocolate-heaven-like dessert to serve at our Thanksgiving table, I found this Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe in Ricki Heller’s cookbook Sweet Freedom. She also has it online for free, here, but everything else I’ve tried from the book is delicious so it’s definitely worth checking the full cookbook out. The recipe wasn’t quite perfectly matched to the diverse dietary restrictions and needs that our guests (and myself) required, so I took the liberty of making a few minor changes. Simply, I switched the spelt flour in the crust recipe with an equal combination of sorghum and brown rice flours, making it gluten-free. Then, because I’m not eating refined sugars right now, I used unsweetened baking chocolate instead of the chocolate chips in the filling, and I used almond butter instead of cashew butter to adapt for one of the nut allergies. What I got was just what I was looking for: A rich, heavy, purely decadent chocolate dessert that would fulfill any chocolate addict’s cravings. It was also gorgeous, especially when cut into slices and the pecan pieces shone bright in the midst of all the dark chocolate fudge. If you are looking for a holiday dessert, or really any type of chocolate treat, this is definitely the recipe to try. I fully recommend it!

“Chess Pie” ~ One folk etymology suggests that it was referred to as “just pie”, which soon shortened to “jus’ pie” or “jess’ pie,” and then corrupted to “chess pie” ~ Wikipedia

I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about “chess pies.”  I only learned about them earlier this year.  I wrote about them in one of my first posts, waaaaay back when I started my blog, 2 1/2 months ago.

What I have been able to glean over the past several months, is that they are prepared like other pies….except you add BUTTER to the filling. If anyone knows differently, feel free to jump right in!  All I can tell you is, I’ve experimented with several different chess pie recipes now — chocolate chess, coconut chess, lemon chess, buttermilk chess and they are DIVINE!

So, when I was preparing the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving this year, I thought I’d try adding melted butter to my recipe and make “pumpkin chess pies.” One of my guests brought the most delicious and gorgeous Apple Tart, along with individual Chocolate Mousses (is the plural for mousse,  mousses?), so I didn’t get around to eating any of the pumpkin chess until the next day, with our morning coffee.  We flipped at how delicious it was!  Hubby, who fancies himself a pumpkin pie connoisseur, says it’s the best I ever made and the best he’s ever had!  Gotta be the butter, right?

We’re invited to a friend’s house today to watch football, so I’m bringing the second pie – I’ll let you know how everyone likes it!

NOTE: IN MY PICS, I WAS MAKING TWO PIES – THE FOLLOWING RECIPE IS FOR ONE PIE

Pumpkin Chess Pie

(recipe for 1 9-inch pie)

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
5-6 tablespoons ice water

Pour flour, salt and sugar in bowl of food processor. Add the butter. Pulse for a few seconds, until mixture becomes “coarse” Add the water very slowly, while pulsing, for approximately 20-30 seconds. Don’t over mix it!

Remove the dough to a lightly floured cutting board and press into a 4-5 inch disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate the pastry dough for at least 1 hour.

Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  Lightly flour your cutting board or clean kitchen counter.  Roll the dough in one direction, turning continuously, to keep it from sticking.  I keep a container of Wondra flour nearby to dust with flour as needed.

Place and fit the dough into a 9-inch, glass pie plate and crimp or flute the edges (I’m not good at this part, so I left mine plain this time)

I had extra pastry dough, so I rolled out the rest and used a leaf-shaped cookie cutter to make the “leaves.” I dusted them with cinnamon sugar and baked them on a cookie sheet for about 25 minutes, while I baked the pie, then placed them on top of the cooled pies.

.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

.

Pie Filling

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup canned (or fresh) pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blend all the ingredients together in a standing mixer or hand-held mixer, until smooth.  Pour into prepared pie crust and cook for 50 minutes.  Remove and cool pie on a wire rack. Cheers!

Real dutch erwtensoep met rookworst. Yes veggie erwtensoep and veggiesms smoked sausages. The smoked flavour is in the soup and the sausages taste like rubber. But the soup was great.

Los seres o monstruos gigantes son una constante en los cuentos y mitologías de la humanidad. Y en casi todas ellas los gigantes solían ser seres con forma humana y muy violentos. Es curioso como la diferencia de tamaño, el ser más grande lo asociaban a la violencia, al terror.

Ese concepto el ser gigante y violento es el que podemos apreciar en la forma de presentarnos a los gigantes en el cine de ciencia ficción de los años 50 y 60. Todo ello mezclado con el temor a las monstruosas mutaciones que las armas nucleares podrían provocar.

Una muestra de este cine de gigantes es la película El ataque de la mujer de 50 pies de 1953 cuyo remake de 1993 hemos podido ver en clase. En ambas versiones una mujer llamada Nancy es abducida por extraterrestres con consecuencias trágicas ya que se transforma en una mujer de 15 metros de altura.

El propósito principal de esta entrada es  analizar las imposibilidades físicas que presenta esta espectacular transformación de Nancy.

Y para ello hemos de tener en cuenta dos factores muy importantes, la Ley de la escala y la Fuerza Relativa.

Ley de la escala

La ley de la escala establece cuales son las proporciones que deben de tener todos los seres vivos del planeta y consiste en lo siguiente: Si las proporciones de un organismo se multiplican por un factor x, su área se verá multiplicada por x² y su volumen será por x³. Esta ley tan simple es la que nos va a impedir aumentar todo lo que queramos el tamaño de los seres vivos.

Fuerza relativa

Otra restricción que la naturaleza nos impone a la hora de cambiar el tamaño es la fuerza relativa que posee cada animal y que se define como el cociente entre el peso que es capaz de levantar y su propio peso.

Nancy

Con estas dos cosas ya podemos empezar por ejemplo a calcular el peso aproximado que tendrá Nancy después de la transformación.

Supongamos que la altura inicial de Nancy fuese de unos 1,60m de altura. Sabiendo que su estatura final es de 15 m, tenemos que el factor de escala es ~9.

Vamos a suponer también que su masa inicial aproximada es de 55 kg, entonces como la masa es proporcional al cubo del factor de escala, tenemos que su masa final es de ~40095 kg, osea unas 40 toneladas, tanto como 5 torres Eiffel juntas.

Como podéis apreciar nuestra gigante Nancy tiene un peso considerable y ya nuestra intuición nos dice que esto no puede ser de ningún modo viable.

Ahora veamos cuánto peso puede levantar Nancy.

Tenemos que el factor de escala es 9 y teniendo en cuenta que la fuerza relativa es inversamente proporcional al factor de escala, tenemos que su fuerza relativa es de 1/9.

Por lo que hemos calculado anteriormente sabemos que su peso es de 40095 kg. Entonces aplicando la fórmula de la fuerza relativa tenemos que nuestra Nancy puede levantar un máximo de 4455 kg.

Y con este último dato podemos sacar una terrible conclusión: Nancy no puede mover su propio peso, por lo tanto no tendrá la fuerza suficiente como para echar a andar y lo más probable es que termine asfixiándose por culpa de su propio peso.

Lo mismo les ocurre a las ballenas cuando quedan varadas en la orilla, son tan enormes y pesadas que su pequeña fuerza relativa les impide mover su propio peso y terminan asfixiándose.

Conclusión final: Nancy y los monstruos gigantes como ella no son viables y por lo tanto no pueden existir en la realidad, sólo los podremos contemplar en las películas de ciencia ficción.

Y para terminar os dejo a Nancy en acción:

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and while I enjoyed every last bite, I’m not enjoying the extra pound or two I’m still carrying around from it!  Oh well….such is the life of a food lover!

I made two pies for the occasion: Pear & Fig with a Hazelnut Crust and a Waiting for Wilma Pie (Chocolate Caramel Pecan Pie).  Both turned out to be very tasty, though my pear pie needed some serious decorative touches.

Here are the recipes……

Pear & Fig Pie with a Hazelnut Crust