Monthly Archives: March 2009

Pruning and Cats

March 7, 2009my gardencats, pruningGretchenJoanna

Last year at this time we still had Kitty Zoë. Here she is beautifying the prunings from the cherry plum tree. That tree is the most vigorous grower of anything on the property, which means that my husband has to climb up in the branches and prune it back with a variety of tools. I hate it when he does that; I usually stay in the house and pray.

We had only had Zoë and Gus for a few months when she was hit by a car. Gus then had a personality change and became a wonderful guy. Until that point he had let Zoë be the charming one.

The sad thing is, he has no one to play with anymore, and we don’t get to watch the two of them scampering and scuffling together. I’d kind of like to have a second cat, in hopes of having that experience again. But that’s greedy; Gus does the job of keeping us entertained and making the house a more warm and lively place, now that there are no children here. A baby in the house is the best thing for keeping one’s priorities straight, for slowing a person down. But a cat is second-best.

One last picture of Zoë as she was decorating the Lambs’ Ears. I haven’t been able to catch Gus in the garden, as he is always chasing leaves or butterflies. Say, perhaps I do require another cat to fill that role!

A Green Olive Tree

March 4, 2009church, other gardensolive treesGretchenJoanna

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

Psalm 52:8 (Or 51:10 Septuagint)

This has been one of my favorite Bible verses for about 20 years, so it seems doubly appropriate to put alongside the picture of olive trees and daffodills in front of my church. Olive trees always make me glad, and I haven’t thought enough about why. I don’t like olives, but olive oil has been a staple throughout the world from antiquity, and when I look at the trees I feel my connection to all the people who have been nourished by them for thousands of years. Not only that, but the trees are known for their longevity in fruitfulness, a gift of God that I covet.

This morning the sun was shining when I came out from Matins, and I was ready with my camera. Everything was sparkling from all the rain, and there were the tiniest baby green leaves on shrubs, which of course could not be captured in any way–but they were what prompted me to look in my purse to find my camera.

You can see that some daffodills are hanging their heavy heads down because they couldn’t drink fast enough.

Sweet Potato Pie

March 3, 2009food and cooking, piepie crust, sweet potatoesGretchenJoanna

The following all took place in January, but until now I had nowhere to tell about it:

Leftover Thanksgiving yams were waiting in the freezer. They had been cooked with orange juice, butter, and a little brown sugar, and were carrying a label: “sweet potato pie?” At the time I squirreled them away I had the thought to layer them with black beans somehow in a savory pie. Today there was some creative energy to apply to the seed of an idea. I made a pat-in crust using spelt and barley flours and some dried mashed black beans (a kind that is designed to make instant black beans when you pour boiling water over them), and added some black pepper to the crust mix along with olive oil and half-and-half.

To the yams I added eggs and cream, and beat them up not too smoothly. Put the filling into the patted-in crust, and baked it at 400° for about 35 minutes, until it puffed up. Had it barely warm for dinner and I liked it a lot. The crust was more crunchy than flaky, and it was savory–the black bean mix must have had salt in it– and the filling had a nice texture and wasn’t too sweet to serve as a side dish. It was smooth and creamy and a pleasant contrast to the crust.

By the way, that pat-in crust, originally from the Amish, I have made in several variations and it is always good. I have made it a Lenten pie by using almond milk and walnut oil. I didn’t measure any of the filling ingredients this time, but I can give you the basic crust recipe here:

Pat-in-Pan Pie Crust
Single-crust 8-9” pie
Quick, crisp, but tender
(can’t be rolled)

1 ½ cups plus 3 tablespoons flour
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cold milk

Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a pie pan and mix with your fingers until blended. In a measuring cup beat the oil and milk with a fork until creamy. Pour liquid all at once over the flour mixture. Mix with the fork until completely moistened. Pat the dough with your fingers, first up the sides of the plate, then across the bottom. Flute the edges.

Shell is now ready to be filled. If you are preparing a shell to fill later, or your recipe requires a pre-baked crust, preheat oven to 425°. Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake 15 minutes, checking often, and pricking more if needed.