Aagh - Down for the Count

I knew it was coming on.

I had felt extremely tired in the middle of the day, I had that all-over dull achy feeling and the beginnings of chest congestion.

I powered on. I did major grocery shopping and went to a meeting where I even gave a short presentation.

Next day I felt too exhausted to even fall out of bed. I managed to get myself up and look for energy in my first cup of coffee. Then I searched the back of the medicine cabinet for some cold/cough/congestion medicine. It was either that or blackberry brandy. Unfortunately, we had no blackberry brandy.

In the middle of winter when it’s freezing cold, and when the winds are howling and the snow is blowing, catching a cold can be an excuse just  to stay in bed with a warm quilt and a hot toddy and enjoy some downtime.

But during the final precious days of spring? When the temps are in the low 70’s and the sun is shining, and the sky is blue? My garden is calling out to me, I have things to do, places to go! Aagh.

My body needs rest. I decided it was time to appreciate the simple things of life – the soft breeze through the open window, an aromatic, steaming hot cup of tea with lemon and honey, the daytime solitude of our bedroom. Besides, I had control of the TV remote and my laptop keeps me connected to the world!  

By the second day, however, I decided my brain also needed a rest. So I turned off the TV and my laptop. (Sorry, world, I had to disconnect you.) Silence, almost. Birds singing. Noisy construction work going on next door. I pulled the blankets over my head and slept.

Sometimes I take good health for granted. Sometimes I think of all the people who live with chronic illness or pain. Sometimes I think about St. John Paul II, our Polish pope who showed the world heroic dignity though his suffering.

I do not do sickness well. I’m impatient and easily irritated. I do try to find some benefit in all this, some lesson to learn.

I am grateful for the gift of life and for family. I am grateful for beauty all around us and for times of solitude to become renewed. In the huge scope of life, catching a cold is a mere minor inconvenience.

And I am reminded I do need to put blackberry brandy on the shopping list.

I love my pink "solitude chair."

A Nontraditional Apple Cranberry Pie

I’m taking an online pie baking class. I’m up to lesson 7 - Fruit Pies.

For the assignment, several recipes are presented. I needed to choose one, make the pie, write an essay about the experience, and post a photo.

I chose an Apple Cranberry Pie. This one caught my attention because it seemed very unusual. To make the pie filling, the fruit is boiled together with raspberry gelatin and instant vanilla pudding. I had to see how that would turn out!

The first step was to bake a pie shell in a 9 inch pie plate.

While the crust was baking, then cooling, I sliced the apples, rinsed and thawed the cranberries that were in my freezer, and got all the ingredients together. 

I brought the fruit, sugar, and water to a boil. I kept stirring while it was boiling for five minutes. I added the gelatin and instant pudding and kept stirring while it boiled for another five minutes.

Then I rolled out the upper crust for the pie. So far, so good...

I carefully poured the filling into the pie shell and topped it with the crust. This is where it became very challenging. The unbaked crust did not want to stick to the bottom crust. Parts of it broke off. I ended up carefully wrapping the crust under the rim and using a fork to gently seal it.

The oven was preheated to 425 degrees F. I placed the pie on an upper rack and baked it for about 12 minutes, or until the crust was done.

Not too bad, considering...

I let the pie cool, then refrigerated it. It tasted good, sweet and tart - with ice cream to go with it.

To make this pie again, I would not make the top crust. Instead, I would use my mini pie cutters to cut the rolled out dough into small shapes. They could bake at the same time the pie shell was baking. Then the prebaked shapes could be placed on top of the pie fill. This would be easier and quicker and, I think, more attractive. 

So now it's on to lesson 8.

Apple Cranberry Pie

Ingredients

3 cups peeled and sliced apples (Granny Smith)

1 1/2 ups cranberries

3 1/2 oz. raspberry gelatin (small box)

3 1/2 oz. instant vanilla pudding (small box)

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. 

1.   In a sauce pan, boil apples, cranberries, water, and sugar for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

2.   Add raspberry gelatin and vanilla pudding. Boil and stir continuously for 5 minutes until well-mixed. Set aside to cool.

3.   Slowly pour fruit mixture into a baked pie shell.

4.   Cover with another unbaked pie shell. Slit the top of the pie to vent while baking.

5.   Bake at 425 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes, or until top crust is done.

Happy Baking!

Update: Please check out my newest blog Resolutions.