Tag: pies

Esther’s Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Ulysses S. Grant was President of the United States when Jerri’s grandparents emigrated from Ukraine to Kansas. Besides bringing a strong Christian faith, a commitment to non-violence and a belief that Christians had a duty to help those in need, they also carried with them the seeds of Turkey Red wheat, which helped make the Great Plains the breadbasket of the United States.

Turkey Red is a hard winter wheat that is coming back into popularity as a heritage grain. It is a wheat variety that evolved naturally on the steppes of Russia and later on the plains of the United States. Farmers saved seeds from especially desirable plants, which resulted in a vigorous plant that did not depend on petrochemicals to survive.

Turkey Red wheat is also comparatively drought tolerant. This distinguishes it from the modern hybrids developed by crossing short stem Japanese wheat. These hybrids achieve higher yields per acre but require more moisture along with intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers.

You can still see fields of Turkey Red wheat as you drive through Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas and even Minnesota. There are now a number of small flour mills in Minnesota that specialize in producing flours made from Turkey Red wheat and other heritage grains. The nearest one I know of is Sunrise Flour Mill in North Branch, Minnesota, just an hour’s drive from New Richmond.

One other thing that Jerri’s ancestors brought with them from the “old country” was an appreciation for good food. Sour cream raisin pie is an excellent example. If you go to a potluck or bake sale at a Mennonite church, you are almost certain to find at least one pie fragrant with cinnamon and nutmeg and stuffed with plump raisins in a rich, creamy custard cradled in a crust made with flour from a descendent of that original Turkey Red wheat.

Here’s how to make your own.

INGREDIENTS:

1 baked 9 inch pie crust

For the filling:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
3 large eggs

For the meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
3 T granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

PROCEDURE:

If you need to make a pre-baked pie crust, you’ll find that it’s easy. First make the dough. Here is a recipe. Line a nine inch pie plate with dough, trim and crimp the edges. Let it rest for ten minutes in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 425º. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust a dozen times or so and line it with aluminum foil, then put a cup of beans on the foil. The beans will help keep the crust from bubbling up. You can also use pie weights if you want to buy them.

Bake the crust for twenty minutes, take it from the oven and turn the temperature down to 375º. Dump the beans into a bowl to cool and remove the aluminum foil. Return the crust to the oven and continue baking it for another fifteen minutes or so until it is a very light brown. Remove it from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling.

Reduce the oven to 325º while you make the filling and meringue.

To make the pie, start by separating the eggs. Drop the yolks into a medium saucepan and the whites into a bowl in which you will beat them to make the meringue.

To make the filling beat the egg yolks with a fork or whisk, then add the sour cream, sugar, salt and spices to the pan. Beat the mixture thoroughly, then stir in the raisins. Bring the mixture to a low boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until the raisins are tender and the filling is a light brown. Remove the pan from the heat.

To make the meringue, add a quarter teaspoon of cream of tartar to the egg whites. Beat them with a hand or electric mixer at a medium speed until they are frothy, then increase the speed and gradually add the sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla and beat for a few seconds more.

Spoon the warm filling into the crust, spread the meringue over the filling and bake the pie on a center shelf for about fifteen minutes until the meringue starts to brown.

Remove the pie from the oven and cool it on a rack, then chill it in the refrigerator before serving.

NOTES: If you do like I do and make at least two pie crusts at a time, you can freeze one and use that to make your pre-baked crust. Just let it thaw for a few minutes then treat it like a fresh crust.

Put the beans into a tight container after they have cooled and save them for the next time you need to bake a crust. They will last for years.

Joyce’s Pumpkin Pie

“Every successful marriage needs one flexible partner,” said my friend Bob. Then he added, “Jody is the one in ours.”

We have a similar situation which explains why Jerri has been using Joyce’s pumpkin pie recipe for well over forty years despite the fact that her favorite pumpkin pie recipe was the one she got from her Aunt Anna. I don’t like that recipe. It has nutmeg and cloves in it.

To stop the whining, grouching and pouting, she switched to her sister-in-law’s recipe, and we have had wonderful pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving for over four decades. Joyce believed in modest servings, so the recipe she wrote out for Jerri made an eight-inch pie. We don’t even own an eight-inch pie plate.

Jerri adjusted the ingredients to make a nine-inch pie and four custard cups filled about half full. Who knows, you may have a guest who doesn’t like pie crust but enjoys the flavor of pumpkin custard. Or you may just have to eat the custard yourself.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups pumpkin
1 1/3 cups light brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 cups evaporated milk
Whipping cream, sugar and vanilla for topping

PROCEDURE:

Line a nine-inch pie plate with a crust. Here is a simple recipe. Preheat the oven to 475º.

Mix all the ingredients for the custard filling together until you have a smooth batter. Fill the unbaked pie crust and pour the extra custard batter into the custard cups.

Put the pie and custard cups on the middle rack in the oven and bake at 475º for ten minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and continue baking the pie for another forty minutes.

The custard cups will be done in about twenty minutes. A table knife inserted in a cup or near the center of the pie will come out clean when the custard is done.

Remove from the oven and cool the pie on a rack. Refrigerate as soon as the pie is cool and serve with plenty of whipped cream.

It takes about three minutes to make whipped cream with an electric mixer or fifteen minutes with two table forks manned in shifts by two guys who insisted on whipped cream when there was no mixer to be had. All you need is a cup of cream, a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

NOTES: One of the best things about this recipe is that you get to test the custard by eating a warm cupful before you even take the pie from the oven.