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Amadeus and An Apple Pie for Senora Chela

4 Mar

MozartA week or so ago, my husband and I attended a performance of the play Amadeus at Camelot Theatre.  What a show!  It had been a long time since I’d thought of the life of Mozart and his amazing talent and tragically short life but it all came flooding back that night.  The cast and crew did an excellent job of bringing this story to life – and filling my head with questions… about Salieri and about the music that might have been.   That night I  also learned the meaning of the name Amadeus; it translates to “love of God.”

Senora Chela Ribbon cutting

Ashland Mayor John Stromberg and Senora Chela Tapp-Kocks

The friend who shared this insight with me is Senora Chela Tapp-Kocks.  The very same Senora who is singlehandedly responsible for creating the sister city relationship between Ashland, Oregon and Guanajuato, Mexico.  That relationship began with a University exchange in 1969 and has continued on to this day.  This relationship has “been forged and nurtured over four decades by officials of both city governments, university and high school administrators and teachers, actors, artists, police officers, firemen, service clubs and — most of all — families” ( GlobalPost.com).

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Senora Chela Tapp-Kocks

Some of the “consequences” of this sister city relationship are as follows:

  • Several thousand students have taken part in the University Exchange
  • 80 marriages have taken place between Ashlanders and Guanajuatenses
  • Over 200 homes have been constructed in Guanajuato with funds provided by the Ashland Rotary Club

All this occurred because Senora Chela wanted to bring a little bit of Mexico to Ashland.   This is what she has to say about the program, ““The most important thing is the family relationships that we’ve maintained for 40 years,” said Tapp. “It’s people to people connecting with their city, their lives, their love, their passion. It has a life of its own.”  Last week to honor all that she has done – and continues to do – to make the world a friendlier, more connected place, I brought Senora Chela an Apple Crumb Crust pie.   She is an incredible inspiration and I am honored to know her.

“Never depend upon institutions or government to solve any problem. All social movements are founded by, guided by, motivated and seen through by the passion of individuals. ”
Margaret Mead

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Where is the “good” in Goodbye?

12 Feb

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Quiche Lorraine

Recently I learned that an old friend will be moving away to live closer to family.   Of course I understand that this makes sense; this friend had lost his wife a few years back and has since been living alone.   His family loves him and wants to be there for him, if and when he needs assistance.  That said, it’s still hard to say goodbye.

Sometimes I wonder if learning to say goodbye is one of my life’s lessons and to be honest, I don’t think I have learned what I need to know yet.  Each time someone I care about departs, it feels as if my heart breaks a little.   With all the goodbyes I’ve said over my lifetime, you’d think that by now I’d have this figured out.   However, saying goodbye is still a struggle for me.

The good news in this situation is that I have been lucky to have been given a chance to say goodbye.  We are not always afforded this luxury in life and I am grateful for the opportunity to visit one last time.   It’s a chance to say thank you for being a part of my life, and in my case, it is a wonderful reason to bring a gift of food.

Today I made Quiche Lorraine for our friend Bob but this was not the first pie I’d made him.  During my year of pies, I surprised Bob one evening by knocking on his door and delivering an Apple Blackberry Pie (you can read that story on Day 184).  A week or so later I received a thank you note from Bob and I’d like to share a part of that with you here:

Dear Karen

Pie recipient 184 writes in a continuous state of disbelief to thank you for your thoughtfulness.  What a way to make a person feel on top of the world!  Karen, surely there is a place in heaven reserved for you.  I only hope Emile makes the cut.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Bob

As I read that note, I was almost in tears until I read the part about my husband, Emile, not making it into heaven, and then I laughed out loud.  Bob had used his dry humor to lighten the tone of the letter while still conveying his sincere appreciation.  That note was such a treat to receive; I treasure it still.  Thank you, Bob, for sharing yourself with us.  We’ve been honored to know you and look forward to hearing of your adventures down south.

Don’t be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before we can meet again and meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.  Richard Bach

Here lies my past, Goodbye I have kissed it; Thank you kids, I wouldn’t have missed it.  Ogden Nash

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My First Gluten-Free Apple Pie!

5 Feb

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If you’ve read this blog before, you know that I’ve made gluten-free pies before.  To do so I have used a variety of things to form a crust.  At times I have used ground nuts for the crust; other times I have used crushed cookies.  What I hadn’t yet tried was making a gluten-free pastry crust.

At the gluten-free cooking class that I taught at the Ashland Food Coop one of the attendees indicated that making pie crust was something he was hoping to learn how to do.  Unfortunately I could not incorporate that lesson into my class, but I was inspired to learn how to do it so that I could demonstrate it at a later date.

Today when I began preparation for this pie I searched for a recipe for pastry in one of my gluten-free cookbooks.  Several of the recipes called for sorghum flour, but I didn’t have any of that at home so I turned to the internet.  In the past I’ve found some great recipes on Simply Gluten-Free  and that is where I began my search.  After quickly scanning the available recipes I found this heading: Perfect Gluten-Free Pie Crust and I knew I was on my way.

What is great about this recipe is that it is not much different from making an ordinary pie crust and the author includes a number of helpful tips.  My regular gluten-free flour blend* worked like a charm and I recommend following  the suggestion to roll out the crust between sheets of parchment paper.  My crust did not make it into the pie plate in one piece, but it was easy to press back together… and crimping the edge of the crust was almost a breeze!

For the filling I chose organic Granny Smith apples, brown sugar and cinnamon with about a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in.  As for the topping, I took the remaining gluten-free flour and added a half cup of butter, a half cup of brown sugar, one half cup of gluten-free rolled oats, and a half teaspoon of salt and mixed it together until it was crumbly.   Then it was simply a matter of putting the apple filling in the crust and sprinkling the crumble over the top.

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Then it was just a matter of waiting for it to bake!  One hour later, the finished pie was removed from t he oven!

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Gluten-Free Apple Pie

After I allowed it to cool for a few minutes, I carried it over to Deb, my next-door neighbor.  Deb, as you may recall has been gluten-free for a while and she has been a wonderful source of inspiration for me on my gluten-free baking and cooking  journey.  Right now Deb’s sister Jane is visiting and I thought this pie would be a nice treat for them to celebrate their time together.

Deb broke a tiny piece of the crust off immediately and told me that it was good… and that was all I needed to hear.   This recipe is definitely a keeper!  Please give it a try… and if you do, let me know how it worked for you.

“You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  Wayne Gretzky

*To make gluten-free all purpose flour combine 2 cups of brown rice flour, 2/3 cup of potato starch, 1/3 cup of tapioca flour and 1.5 teaspoons of xanthan gum in a mixing bowl.  Whisk well so that all ingredients are evenly distributed.

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Gluten-Free and Me

28 Jan

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For a person like me, who has been baking most of her life, learning to bake gluten-free has been an interesting adventure.  As far as I know, I am not affected by gluten, but it seems every week I am finding that more and more of my friends/clients are either gluten-intolerant or have been diagnosed with celiac disease.  Initially, that presented a dilemma for me, because I still wanted to create lovely food for my friends and clients.  And I can… but I just needed to learn how to do that without using my old “mainstay”, namely wheat.

The hardest part of this process was discovering that wheat is hidden in so many different foods.  This meant that I had to read ingredient labels very carefully.  Some of the ingredients that likely contain wheat are obvious – bread crumbs, pasta, couscous, tabouli, hydrolyzed wheat protein.  Then there are the foods that you might not suspect contain wheat – malt vinegar, soy sauce, beer, brewer’s yeast, and even Red Vines licorice!    Who knew?   Well, most gluten-free consumers do… because they have learned to read labels and to look up the ingredients that might not be easily identifiable such as Dinkle, Chilton, edible starch, kamut, and Farro.  

My neighbor, Deb, has been gluten-free for a while now and she has been a great source of information for me.  She has also been happy to taste the gluten-free dishes that I come up with and will offer suggestions of other dishes that I might want to try.   Sometimes she is at an event that I have catered, and she is the one “selling” my goods because she knows which ones are “safe” to eat.  It seems that many times the guests who have issues with gluten are surprised that someone made an effort to provide food for them.   I just know that if some of my guests can’t eat any of my offerings, then I haven’t really “catered” to them.

Yesterday I helped a friend with an event and made about 10 dozen gluten-free peanut butter cookies for the dessert table.  As we were arranging the platters of sweets two guests thanked me for making something that was gluten-free.   It was such a simple thing to do… and I was glad to be able to provide something that everyone could eat.

Recently my friend’s son was diagnosed with celiac disease and in an effort to show him support, my friend has decided to eliminate gluten from his diet as well.  How sweet is that?  It reminds me of the story from Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.  Shauna, the gluten-free girl, has celiac.  Shauna met and then married Danny, a chef.  Soon after, Danny decided to make his restaurant gluten-free so that he could create a place where his wife could eat anything on the menu.  Isn’t that amazing?

Tomorrow is my friend’s birthday, and so tonight I made him a chocolate cream pie that is safe for his son to eat.  The crust is made with those same peanut butter cookies – crushed in the Cuisinart, mixed with a tiny bit of butter, pressed into a pie tin and baked for 10 minutes.  This recipe for chocolate pie filling usually calls for flour, but I simply substituted cornstarch and that’s all that I had to do to make his pie gluten-free.  It was the least I could do for a friend.

“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.”

~ Cesar Chavez

For a list of foods containing gluten, go to this website,  www.celiac.com , and search for the forbidden food list.  It was created by a man named Scott Adams who was diagnosed with celiac nearly twenty years ago.  He created this list so that others wouldn’t suffer needlessly.

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An Aching Heart

17 Jan

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Apple Blueberry Pie

There are times in our lives when we are powerless to fix things for our friends and family, even though we would give anything to try.   With aching hearts we do what we can – we may bring food, or send flowers, or just sit and offer our condolences.  It doesn’t feel like much, but it is a way to let our loved ones know that we care.  And at times like these, they may really need to know that.

“You can pretend to care, but you can’t pretend to show up.” George L. Bell

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Baking: An exact science or a way of life?

10 Jan

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

As many of you might imagine, I often have something baking in the oven at my house.  For me, baking has become as natural as breathing… and almost as life-sustaining.   As I child, I jumped at the chance to bake, and eventually became good at it.  Sure, I’ve had my share of baking mishaps – my first pie falling in the oven, my first loaf of bread that was so heavy it could have served as a doorstop,  but that is to be expected.  When we are learning a new skill, mistakes come with the territory. But when we make a mistake, we learn a lesson… and if we pay attention, we rarely do the same thing again.

When I was a young teen, my Mom told me that she would show me how to make Cinnamon Swirl Bread which was a big deal because my Mom really didn’t like to bake.  Together, we made a batch of bread dough and let it rise.  Once risen, my Mom took the dough and rolled it out into a rectangular shape and brushed it with melted butter.  Then she did something that seemed strange to me at the time.  She took the cinnamon-sugar mixture and placed it all one of the long sides of the rectangle, and then she rolled up the dough.  “But how does the cinnamon swirl happen?” I asked her, confused.  “That happens in the oven” my Mom explained as we put the loaves into their pans for the second rise.  It seemed magical to me and I couldn’t wait to see the finished loaves.

Well, now I know that’s not how it works.  When we took the loaves out of the oven, they looked beautiful, and smelled even better.  When we could wait no longer, we cut into the bread and discovered a “log” of cinnamon sugar in the center of each loaf.  There was no magic;  my Mom had just misunderstood  the directions.  Once we discovered the mistake, we laughed until we cried (and ate up every last crumb!)  I’m glad that my Mom made that mistake because in doing so she gave me the permission to do so as well.  What a gift!

Which reminds me of a conversation I had while visiting a friend recently.  Catherine was a nurse in the Navy, worked as an emergency room nurse, and is currently a nursing supervisor.  As I helped her clean up after dinner, she mentioned to me that she had been inspired by my year of pies and said that she could never do what I had done.  I was embarrassed because what she does everyday seems so much more inspiring.  Then I asked Catherine if she liked to bake.  She told me that because baking is such an exact science, she didn’t really do much baking.  Wow.  Perhaps because she deals with life and death issues all the time, she doesn’t want to add one more “science” to her load at the end of the day.  Who could take that kind of pressure?  In her job, if Catherine makes a mistake, someone could die, whereas in mine, we just end up with something that’s imperfect (at best) or headed to the trash (at worst).   Luckily for me, my job is much more forgiving.

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Apple Blueberry Pie

As is usual, I made a few pies this last week.  One was sent to a woman I’ve never met.  She read this blog and told me a bit about herself and the challenges she was facing and asked to be considered for a chocolate pie, and because I could, I sent her one.  It was the same Brownie Pie recipe that I’ve mailed to others (and the only “pie” that I feel comfortable mailing) but sending it off to this “new” friend felt like I was offering a glimmer of hope for better times.

The other pie that I made this week went to a friend who recently had a fire in her home.  When we spoke, she told me about all the things that have happened in her life in the last few years.  Just listening, I felt tired for her and so I asked her, can I bake you a pie?  “Oh you’re sweet” she said, “but you don’t have to do that.”  I know, but that’s part of the fun… I don’t have to do this “pie baking stuff”… I want to.  It makes me happy to do it, and I’ve noticed that the happiness doesn’t end with me; it tends to spread.  And that is a good thing.

Before I go, I wanted to mention that I also baked a few other treats this week because on January 24, I will be teaching a gluten-free baking class at the Ashland Food Coop and I wanted to test my recipes for clarity, timing, etc.  I’m very excited to have the opportunity to share my love of baking with others and I want to thank Mary Shaw at the coop for encouraging me to do this.

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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

“We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It’s our privilege and adventure to discover our own special light.” Mary Dunbar

 

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Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu, Stastny Novy Rok, Godt NytÅr (Happy New Year! in Japanese, Czech, and Danish)

2 Jan

happy new year

How did it get to be January 2, 2013 so quickly?  It was a busy December for me with lots of catering (thank you everyone!) and then we were away for Christmas with both of our children… and then, BAM, Happy New Year!  I don’t know about you, but even though it arrived fast, I am excited about the possibilities!

I’m not really into New Year’s resolutions but in the past few days several friends have shared interesting links and I thought I would share with you some of my favorites.

Since I am still baking almost every day,  yesterday I decided to bake a pie for someone to celebrate the New Year.  As I thought of who might be a good recipient, I soon realized that many of my friends are on diets right now… and I didn’t want to be the reason someone fell off their diet.  I continued to think about a recipient, and found one right in my neighborhood.  One of our neighbors is an older man who lives alone… and that’s all I needed to know as I put together a quiche for him.  When the quiche was ready, I walked over to his house with a friend and surprised him with a piping hot quiche.  My neighbor beamed a smile at me and I was reminded of how good it feels to do something nice for someone… “just because.”

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Pepper, Onion and Cheddar Quiche

Here is wishing you all a very happy, healthy, joy-filled New Year!

Love doesn’t make the world go round.  Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.  Franklin P. Jones

 

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“Home” for the Holidays

24 Dec

Alexandra

A few days ago, my daughter, Alexandra, flew from New York to spend the Christmas holiday with us.  What seemed to be a pretty simple plan – fly from LaGuardia to Medford, Oregon – proved to be anything but.  After arriving at the airport (via taxi because of all the bags she was carrying) she was told by the agent at the US Airways counter that her flight had been cancelled.  The agent then told her that they would put her on a flight out the next day.  “No… I need to get home today” Alexandra told the agent.  In short order, the agent told her that she could get on a flight that day… but that flight was out of JFK.  “But I just spent $55 to get here for my flight” Alex told her.  “Save your receipts and tell that to customer service… but if you want to leave today, you need to get to JFK,” was the reply.

Alexandra did as she was advised and took a cab to JFK in plenty of time to board the plane for the west coast, but as sometimes happens, that flight was delayed for more than an hour. That  would not have been a problem if that one flight had led to her ultimate destination, but unfortunately, it did not.  When the plane finally arrived in San Francisco, Alexandra and another passenger ran for the Medford flight… thrilled to find that it was delayed and still at the gate.  They happily boarded thinking that they would only arrive twenty minutes later than their originally scheduled time.    But that didn’t happen either.  Instead, for numerous reasons too mundane to relate, the plane did not take off for almost two hours!  When Alexandra and I last spoke I told her that I would pay for her cab because I couldn’t stay awake waiting for her any longer.

The next morning Alex shared the details of the trip… and the delightful seat-mate that she had met who took her home when they finally arrived in Medford.  My grateful heart wanted to thank that woman for taking care of my daughter in the wee hours of the morning… and so, I made a pie.  I gathered apples, walnuts, and raisins and a crumb topping and in short order had a pie in the oven.  Later that day, Alex and I drove to the woman’s home… and discovered that she had moved into the home where Alexandra’s singing coach used to live.  What a small world… and what a wonderful coincidence!

Apple Pie assembly

A few days after Alexandra arrived home, she, her Dad, and I, packed up the car and drove to Missoula, Montana where her brother, Coco lives,  so that we could all spend the holiday together.  On our journey here, we spent the night with friends, Shawn and Catherine, in the Dalles laughing, playing “Last Word“, and sipping red wine.  Yesterday we drove the last 400 miles or so, listening to the book “Cutting for Stone” on the CD player.  We realized last night that it has been 4 years since we were all together for Christmas.  We are enjoying this snowy Christmas eve in a warm kitchen, listening to old vinyl records, while Daddy Emile prepares the turkey for our feast.  I feel pretty darned lucky right now.

Apple Pie

To close, I want to share these few words from a book entitled “Have a little faith” by Mitch Albom.  I love his stories (Tuesdays with Morrie,The Five People You Meet in Heaven) and this one is just as good, but is a true story.   In the epilogue, he shares this memory.  He is talking with the Rabbi and asks him what he would do if he had five minutes alone with God.  The Rabbi says that with the first minute he would ask God to help his family members.  With the next three minutes he would ask God to counsel those who were suffering.  And then Mitch asks, what about that last minute?  And the Rabbi says this is what he would say:

“Look, Lord, I’ve done X amount of good things on earth.  I have tried to follow your teachings and to pass them on.  I have loved my family.  I’ve been part of a community.  And I have been, I think, fairly good to people.

“So, Heavenly Father, for all this, what is my reward?”

And Mitch asks, “what do you think God will say?”

“He’ll say, “Reward?  What Reward?  That’s what you were supposed to do!”  And then Mitch and the Rabbi laugh together for a long while.

Tonight, I send you my best wishes for a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and whatever it is that you celebrate with the people you love.

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Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.  ~ Confusious

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A Visit with my Dad

9 Dec

Florida Shells

Beautiful Sea Shells!

Last week I visited my Dad in Florida.  It had been a while since I’ve seen him and I just wanted to spend some time together catching up.  It’s also nice to escape the cold of a northwest winter for a few days in the warm sunshine.  And just check out those pretty shells that I found on the shoreline!

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Dad and me at Boynton Beach

While I was in Florida, I decided to make a few pies.  One was for my Dad’s girlfriend Eileen, and one was for her daughter Joanne who’d just had her third baby.   And while making pies is relatively easy for me, I found it a bit of a challenge because my Dad didn’t have a rolling-pin or a pastry cloth.   I searched the fridge and cupboards and found something that worked out just fine: a cold bottle of wine and a large Ziploc bag.  Perfect!

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My make-shift rolling-pin

Once I had the pies made, we first delivered one to Eileen…  and then we visited  Joanne’s family and met their new baby, Bryson.  I even got to sit and hold him for a while… which was just delightful!

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Eileen with her Sweet Potato Pie

I came home late Thursday, and spent many hours (13+) in planes and airports (likely because I had used a mileage award ticket for this trip) and it took a day or two to feel like myself again.

Once I was “back to normal” (normal for me that is) I got busy making another pie.  I had recently been given an apple peeler/corer by my friend Caroline and pulled it out today.  It works great!  And to think I didn’t have this help last year when I was making a pie a day… just think of the time I might have saved!

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Sarah's pie

The finished Apple Pie

Early this afternoon, I delivered this pie to a friend who has family visiting.  I knew she wouldn’t be able to cook for them and I wanted her to have something homemade to offer them.  After all,  what could be better than sharing yummy food with people you love?

“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.”  A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

 

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Imagine…

20 Nov

 

Two weeks ago, I attended a Jennifer Knapp concert at Southern Oregon University.  Ms. Knapp is a singer/songwriter who as a young woman made a name for herself in the Christian music scene, and my church (along with a few other churches and the Queer Resource Center) helped bring her to Ashland.  And while her music is riveting, it was not the only reason for her visit.  You see, Jennifer Knapp was adored as a Christian “rock star” until she came out as gay.  Then things changed.   The “Christians” that had loved her music before, now turned their backs on her.  She was no longer considered one of them.

Ms. Knapp shared her spiritual journey with the audience.  She explained how she tried to leave Christianity behind, but felt that the teachings aligned with her core beliefs… and came to the conclusion that even though she was “gay”, she was also a Christian.

After the concert, Jennifer took questions/comments from the audience.  The one that moved me to tears went as follows.  A woman in her forties shared that she had recently come out to her family, and that since that time her son has had nothing to do with her.  She asked what she could do to and Jennifer said, “Love him.  Whenever you see him, love him.  You can’t change him… but you can love him.”

Jennifer sounds like a Christian to me, by golly.   But wait, she’s gay?  So the fact that she is loving, accepting, and forgiving doesn’t count then, right?  Right.

A few days ago I saw on Facebook that it was the one year anniversary of this post, I am Christian, unless you’re gay.  It’s a great article, and if you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to do so.  The author, Dan Pearce tells us about his friend “Jacob” who is gay… and he goes on to say that his article is not about homosexuality, instead – It’s about love. It’s about kindness. It’s about friendship.  

Jacob had asked Dan to share with his audience (Dan writes the blog, single dad laughing) how it feels to be gay in a conservative Christian community.   Here is a quote from that article, “You don’t know what it’s like to have your own parents hate you and try and cover up your existence. I didn’t choose this. I didn’t want this. And I’m so tired of people hating me for it. I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t.”  

After reading the article, my heart ached for Jacob and the fact that he is virtually being shunned by the community in which he lives for being who he is – the person God made him to be.  My head raced with questions: Who are we to tell another person how to live their life?  What gives us the right to judge them?  What part of that kind of this behavior is “being Christian?”

From all the stories that I have heard about Jesus, I just can’t imagine him turning his back on anyone.  One story that many are familiar with (and one of my favorites) is the about the woman who is to be stoned to death for being an adulterer (according to ancient law).  Jesus does not question the law, but instead says “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

It seems that we are still acting like those ancient people – wanting to find fault with others (and throw stones) because they are not like us – or they’re not acting like we think they should act.   And when we are focused on others, we remain blissfully blind to our own shortcomings.   But try to imagine what the world might be like if we tried to be more like the man from whom we have the word “Christian”?   I think it’d be pretty amazing… don’t you?

Yesterday I brought a Chocolate Cream Pie to the Queer Resource Center at SOU to thank the people who helped to bring Jennifer Knapp to our area… and to recognize them for all they do to make the university a welcoming place to all students.

You may say that I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one.   I hope someday you’ll join us,  And the world will live as one.   John Lennon

 

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