Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July (and Canada Day weekend to my Canadian friends)!

It is also my Daddy's birthday. He died when he was 35, serving our country, only a few days after his birthday (the 11th). But he was a true patriot born on the 4th of July; he would tell us kids that the fireworks were for his birthday, haha. He taught us to respect our country, our countries leaders, and our military men and women. He taught us to show our support for the people even if we disagreed with the actual politics. He taught us to take pride. And I do. I am one of those sappy individuals who tears up when I sing the National Anthem. I support our troops despite my feelings about the war. And I am very grateful every day to be in a country where I am given so much liberty in every way.

My fourth of July plans are fairly quiet, but here are some potential celebratory acts planned for the day:

(1) Make these red, white and blue paper crafts.

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If we were going out to a BBQ or picnic with friends I would make pie. It even rhymes with July. And it is (in my opinion) essential 4th of July food. I would have to make two. Cherry pie and Blueberry pie.

Cherry pie was my Daddy's favorite, so it is a great birthday celebration!

Crust

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¼ cup ice water, plus more if needed

1. Using a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining.

2. With the food processor running, add ice water through feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

3. Turn out dough and divide in half. Place each half on a piece of plastic wrap, shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

(Double the recipe if making two pies)

Daddy Ross' Favorite Cherry Pie

½ - ¾ cup sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cans Oregon Red Tart Cherries ¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon butter 2 crusts for 9 inch pies

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Roll out one disk of dough to a 12-inch round. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate, pressing it into all the edges. Trim dough to a 1/8-inch overhang all around. Roll out remaining dough and cut into stars and stripes. Chill pie shell and dough star and stripes until firm, about 30 minutes

3. Drain cherries, reserve juice from only once can.

4. In a saucepan, stir the cherry juice into the combined mixture of cornstarch and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat.

5. Gently stir in cherries and almond extract.

6. Pour filling into pie shell. Dot with butter. Add top crust, sealing the edges.

7. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until crust browns and filling bubbles.

8. If necessary, cover crust edges with foil during last 15 minutes to prevent over browning.

9. Cool several hours to allow filling to thicken.

And blueberry pie is my favorite (plus my blueberry pie is killer!). It just screams summer is here!

8 cups (about 4 pints) blueberries, picked over

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1. Roll out one disk of dough to a 12-inch round. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate, pressing it into all the edges. Trim dough to a 1/8-inch overhang all around. Roll out remaining dough and cut into stars using a cookie cutter. Chill pie shell and stars until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Place blueberries in a large bowl; with your hands, crush about ½ cup of berries. Add sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.

3. Spoon mixture into chilled pie shell, mounding berries slightly in the center. Dot with butter.

4. Remove dough stars from refrigerator, and layer over the filling to create a beautiful top crust.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream. Seal the stars on the edge to the side of the bottom crust with egg wash. Brush stars with egg wash, making sure not to let it pool.

6. Refrigerate pie until firm, about 30 minutes; meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in the lower third.

7. Place pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until crusts begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking, rotating sheet halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, 40 to 50 minutes more.

and of course, fireworks!

What are you doing today?!

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and just because it is Post Secret Sunday, even though it was very non patriotic... I picked this post card

My mother-in-law is like this. I don't get it. I think if you don't want to share, then you should at least have the balls to say you aren't sharing. MIL is highly competitive... which makes me laugh. Look lady, I give your son sex. You can't compete, ha! So far the only things she seems to have over me is her spice cookies. She shared a recipe with me, but it comes out like bricks. I haven't bothered getting a different spice cookie recipe, because (knowing her recipe won't work for me) she sends us way too many spice cookies in the mail, so we don't need anymore. Anyway, I find it all pretty hillarious and have decided that she can have her spice cookie glory, she obviously needs it more than I do.

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