Cultured Butter Pie Crust Recipe

Using cultured butter in your pie crust is a great way to enhance your pie dough cause, lets be for real… Quality crust comes from using quality ingredients and banging butter don’t disappoint! Throw in the addition of cream cheese and you got recipe for culinary success. It’s a crust where texture meets flavor. Where Mmmmmm is matched with yum… And who are we kidding? Pie is always about the crust! So why not park the pie recipe for a moment and let crust have its moment in the spotlight! Seriously, I made hand pies instead of traditional pie because, crust, Crust, CRUST! It’s really all about the crust! That’s a pie’s foundations so it needs to measure up.

As I mentioned, there are two critical ingredients that make this crust a gem:

1.       Cream Cheese- For those of you already familiar with the thrills of cheddar cheese as a crust addition, then you will be excited to learn that cream cheese can similarly add depth to your flavor profile.  It also works to enhance the texture of the crust by adding lightness to the dough.  It responds like butter and is easily kneaded, so this is an obvious win!

2.       Cultured Butter- Does “cultured” really make a difference? Is it worth the higher price tag?  I would say “yes and no.”  You can certainly use regular butter in this recipe but if you want to stand out from the crowd, then cultures (aka: probiotics) are key, as they are truly magic makers, when combined with prebiotics which are commonly found in fruit and grains.  Cultured butter also has a higher fat content and is therefore lower in moisture which helps the crust in attaining that light and flaky texture.  (Ugh... and don’t get me started on “fat is bad” blah, blah…  If you still subscribe to that line of thinking, you can brush-up on your nutrition knowledge here.)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 cup cultured butter (unsalted)-softened
• 8 oz package of cream cheese- softened

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine the flour, salt and sugar and set aside.
2. In another bowl add the butter and cream cheese and mix thoroughly till combined.
3. Once mixed, slowly add your dry ingredients to the butter/cream cheese mixture, working it together to form the dough.
4. After the dough is formed and all the ingredients are fully incorporated, divide the dough in half and form two round disks.

5. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or until you are ready to use.

   *I used one disk to make a bunch of the hand pies in the image above, and the other to make a top and bottom crust for a more traditional version of apple pie. Both were good, and really just a decision based on time. If you have the time, attempts some hand pies! They are fun and different.

Final Thoughts

Cultured foods like yogurt, kimchi, miso and kombucha have gained popularity after science has determined that live bacteria help support the development and maintenance of healthy gut flora.  Yes, it is possible that those bacteria are no longer living after baking but their contribution still plays an important role when it comes to flavor.  Baked or not, cultured butter deserves a spot in any kitchen!  You can always attempt your own version with this recipe. And if you really want hand pies, well I have a recipe for that too!

Golden Years

As modern media seems transfixed by capitalizing off youth, I have to wonder if I am considered past prime.  I am not even 40, yet the stereotypes that surround “mid-life” remind me I should prepare for an impending crisis.

 At some point, we as a culture have adopted the mentality that life should be figured-out about half way through, and any short comings of that projection are often internalized as failures.  But why are we so quick to adopt failure when the game itself isn’t over?  Half-way is really only part-way, with a substantial chunk still left.  What if the second half is the best half?

The modern portrayal of the “golden years” seems incredibly tarnished.  Seniors have been marginalized by fears of fixed-incomes, arthritis, and blood-pressure medication all indicating to a decline of old-aged comfort. The marketing tactics for seniors even perpetuate these fears dedicating advertising to pharmaceuticals, security systems, supplemental insurance plans and that b*tch who has “fallen and can’t get up!”   

Grey hair, wrinkles and everything else, can’t we find these things to be beautiful?  Isn’t there a place in our cultural mentality for sweetness where golden is really gold and not just a disguise for old?  I refuse to believe that old age can’t be something to look forward too.  One’s best years always need to remain on the horizon and serve as both a destination and a reminder that good things are still to come.  The saying suggests that “Life is sweet”, not youth, no matter how much the media tries to sell us this message.

So, if you care to share, please tell me what your finish line looks like?  Is it a vision of pill boxes and Depends because that is certainly not mine, no matter how mainstream that marketing gets.  Pills and adult diapers may very well be a necessity in my future, but they aren’t exactly the material of dreams.  Not at all! I want the fine china, and I want it every day!  I want hobbies and an early afternoon cocktail on a porch swing with a book.  I want to be able to get-up off the floor without help at any age and go to exercise classes even if they occur on a chair.  I look forward to the discounts because who wants to pay full price for [insert anything here].  And my early-bird special includes sushi not a Salisbury steak?  No, wait.  What is Salisbury steak?  Am I missing something here?  Should I want to want Salisbury steak? 

My point is the golden years should be the best of years and we as individuals and caregivers should strive to make that version of life possible.  Maybe it’s only a fantasy but at least it’s one to look forward to!

Yogurt-Plum Cake Recipe

My father has an insatiable sweet tooth.  He starts jonesing for ice cream at 10:30 AM and when my back is tuned he will polish off a carton of Breyers before anyone else even knew there was some  in the freezer.  No joke, it won't last 24 hours!  And so, this cake...  

Well endowed with fruit and yogurt this cake at least has some nutritional value.  Way better than ice cream that's for sure.  Why?  Because it's homemade!  Author, Michael Pollan, makes a great case for this in his book "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual".  His forth rule encourages you to eat all the junk food you want as long as you made it.  Not sure this applies to my dad since technically I am the one who baked this but the point is that scratch cooking is comprised of ingredients not "nutrients" and often safer and more wholesome for the consumer.  Yes, ingredients are comprised of nutrients however when nutrients themselves are listed on packaging you have shifted your diet from actual food to synthesized food matter.  Those things are not food.  They are food like substances and you are cheating yourself each time they go down the hatch.  Now, explaining that to my dad with the Breyers has yet to register.  Basically, I need and ice cream maker!

Ingredients:

· 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

· 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

· 1/2 cup granulated sugar

· 3 large eggs

· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

· 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (plain, although experimenting with vanilla might be fun!!!)

· Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

• Cream the butter and sugars. Then stir in the eggs and vanilla and mix well

• In a separate bowl combine the other dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda)

• Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.

• Fold in the yogurt and pour into a greased 8 inch baking pan.

• Arrange your sliced fruit on top and then bake for 30-45ish minute till the center is firm using the toothpick test.

• Once cooled completely you can top with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.

Enjoy!

Senior Pantry Staple: Grapes

The Red Ones...

Managing the kitchen is a constant for every household but throw in some Alzheimer's and suddenly the place is on lock-down.  Keeping-up with the pantry rummaging and squirreling away of things in odd places has any caregiver feeling like the full-time chief of police. "Stop right there and show me your pockets!" Ugh... More often than not my heart sinks as I discover a bounty of gross.  Used tissues, some coins, a pair of tweezers, hair pins and  food all commingling together in a pocket.  And to think people complain about doing laundry.  As police chief I am ready to engage in a full-on pat down, and strip the clothes right off my mom, right there in the kitchen to learn what other incidentals she might be harboring on her person. 

The food squirreling is a major source of frustration for me.  I won't begin to list the items of concern but instead tell you a little trick that has helped me.  Let me reiterate the word little here because, well,  every little bit counts right?  

Grapes. Every week I buy red grapes and portion a small bunch in a bowl and keep an eye on them as they go missing.  As they run low, I replenish with another bunch from the fridge. Doing this allows me to monitor the pace of consumption/squirreling while also allowing for the safe opportunity of "discovery" that on some level I believe rummaging satisfies. 

Why Grapes?

The grapes for me offer several benefits...

1. They are fine left out in the open. Whereas other food items run the risk of spoiling, attracting bugs or becoming stale as the packaging is left open, grapes  do an amazing job pulling their weight on the counter with little supervision.
2. The dog takes no interest.  Unlike a pocket of pretzels or nuts, or my least favorite, a f***ing breakfast sandwich, the dog could care less about the grapes.  This is actually a big deal considering we have a large dog that can be a bit demanding with his wants. As my mother completely gives in to his begging, the risk to his health and her's increases.  Which will happen first?  She poisons him or he knocks her down?  Both tragic, so best to avoid.
3. Resveratrol.  The skin of red grapes contains this antioxidant that is trending in health related news these days.  It is paraded as an anti-inflammatory and touted as a benefit to ward off cancer, heart disease, aid in cognitive abilities and more which you can read about here.   The science behind resveratrol is apparently convincing enough that it has been formulated as a supplement and available in pill form.  But do you really need another pill in your life?  Or maybe the better question is, do you really want more of your money going to the pharmaceutical industry?  Stop the insanity, and just eat some grapes. They are the real deal.
4. Red.  I came across this article recently that provided some insight  on the visual capacities for patients with Alzheimer's.  (Hehehehe!  Get it?  In sight?! So punny, I know...)  Red appears to be a favored color for this crowd in that it is the easiest color in the spectrum to see so, skip the green ones and bring on the reds!

Patterns/Repetition

At times I wonder whose brain is really the one in question.  Is it my parents’ with this diagnosis, or my own going nonstop, constantly seeking a way out?  With Alzheimer’s it’s all about amyloid this and tau that, proteins in the brain causing communication disruptions.  Sure, science is leading that charge, but who is navigating the field for the home front? 

The day in and day out of my routine here makes me question what misfires are happening in my own head, yielding a more personal version of “cognitively challenged”. Follow my mom or dad around for a day and you will quickly realize something is off.  But following me around following them and the story gets more interesting. 

Apparently, I too am someone that cannot grasp “learning” as I am the one repeatedly irritated that the refrigerator door is left open.  Again!  This repetition angers me.  I am frustrated with the patterns that they are somehow bound to repeat and for whatever reason, I struggle in learning how to accept this. Struggle with remembering that this is their illness.  Each and every time I scold in hast, reprimanding actions, that I should know by know they cannot help.  Where is my own logic?  What has become of my own common sense?  Why is it that I am also bound to repeat these patterns?

 “Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” – Albert Einstein

Senior Pantry Staple: Oats

Steel Cut

The focus here is really on the oats that unfortunately cannot be seen in this picture because they are buried under a mountain of goody!  But fear not.  Below all this beautiful topping is a nutritious blob of health.  Trust me.  It’s ok that it’s not visible.  Oatmeal is like the naked body and all the fixings are what help make us presentable.  Yikes! And with that statement I hope not to diminish the value of the naked body.   Just like oatmeal, they are one in the same, a strong foundation to build upon.  The glory of oatmeal is its simplicity and that’s what makes it so special.  You can dress it up or down, incorporating your favorite items for a tailor made breakfast.

Tradition

Historically oats have been around since the BC era but really started to make their mark in the last 500 years.  500 Years?!  Yes, apparently so.  Oats came to the USA around 1600AD and relatively quickly positioned itself as a versatile crop for cereals, groundcover, feed grains and biomass.  Oats are basically a star of agriculture.  More good news for oats is that they remain relatively safe from the threat of GMO’s.  Oats as a crop don't compete economically with that of corn or soy in this country so politically the economic investment for such science is just not there.  I would call this a major win for “We the People” especially given this day in age.

Condition

The therapeutic properties of oats are many, showing positive impact on blood sugar stabilization, cholesterol, nerve inflammation, constipation and skin irritations.  What does that mean?  Well, if you are or are at-risk for Diabetes, heart disease, bowel disruptions, arthritis, fibromyalgia, or psoriasis then it might be wise to consider some oats!  The good news is that oats are a current over the counter food medicine that is proven to address many health ailments without a prescription.   I do not suggest going off any prescription drugs that you are already taking, but rather I encourage you to add oats to your diet (or bath!) so some of nature's finest can assist you in feeling better.

Nutrition

There is plenty of nutrition out there well beyond the layperson’s knowledge so, simply put, oats pack a major punch when it comes to fiber, B vitamins, and vitamin E.

Fiber - This is what makes oats a complex carbohydrate.  It contains both soluble and insoluble fiber which aids in the slow release of sugar to the blood stream stabilizing glucose, assists with trapping and flushing bad cholesterol (LDL) while helping absorb good cholesterol (HDL).  Add to it the fact that fiber serves as an intestinal scrub brush and you will be well on your way to bowel regularity.

B Vitamins- These are complex (nutrition nerds rejoice!).  What I mean by this is that B vitamins are plural, consisting as a group of water-soluble nutrients.   The important thing to note here is this water-soluble classification.  Unlike fat-soluble vitamins which are dissolved in the blood-stream and stored in the body for availability when needed, water-soluble vitamins are not. They dissolve in water and pass frequently with urine.  That means, we need to consume them often.  B Vitamins participate largely in cell regeneration helping to building genetic material and maintain nervous system function.  Think about all those pregnant ladies consuming Folic Acid.  Folate, Folacin and Folic Acid are all the same thing (see how complicated this gets?) and just one of the nutrients participating in the B vitamin team. 

Long story short is this cluster is a game changer for healthy growth.  Metabolizing B vitamins encourages healthy regeneration of our bodies both inside and out.  We can’t begin to understand the depth of nutritional science so rather than get too deep, it’s better just to trust that these vitamins are a must, doing a many great things.  And with consideration to the turn-over of healthy cells, nerves and otherwise, it seems a sensible bet to consider them a healing agent.  There is a reason that Nicolas Culpeper made a poultice of oats in 1652 to address the perils of leprosy.  Should we discuss DIY beauty treatments?  Later!  For now just know that oats are where it’s at.

Vitamin E- If you are looking for a workhorse, look no further.  Vitamin E is a compound of tocopherols and tocotrienols that together form a powerful antioxidant that helps fight crimes of cell oxidation.  With all the cellular regeneration I just mentioned with the B vitamins above, it’s a good thing Vitamin E comes along for the ride.  Additionally, the tocotrienols are said to inhibit cholesterol synthesis helping to lower blood cholesterol which is frequently used as an indicator for heart health. 

Go oats!