speechless

I am not sure how much this I want to share with the world, but I am going to try my best. This is not my story to tell.

My friend Jan has been my hair stylist/brow waxer/friend for over 10 years. Monday morning her daughter lost her battle with cancer. This was truly a battle. Summer was an cancer ass kicking machine. It was decided about a month or so ago that she would no longer undergo treatment to return home. 

Then a movement started. Summer asked people to partake in Random Acts of Kindness and to Pay It Forward. Then because it is 2014, people from all over the country are sharing stories of their kindness. I am still moved by the power of kindness in others. 

I am wordless on how to react to the passing of a wonderful woman I have never met-I only know her mother. 

After reading post after post on Facebook-from her friends, family, and strangers-a poem popped into my head. If you have seen "In Her Shoes" you are familiar with this poem. If you are an English teacher you are too..or a poetry lover. I am not a lover of poetry, but this one just works. 

i carry your heart
by E.E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautifully you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here in the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
hither than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Jan, I don't know if you will ever read this, and that's okay-words truly cannot express, nor should they be able to express, how much good there is in the world because of Summer. 

Readers, find a way to be kind to a stranger (and those you love) each day. 

Pie!

PS Changing the focus of my blog again. Let's try making it all about food and my adventures in the kitchen...which I may have tried before, but I can't remember. 

So this morning I went strawberry picking with my friend at Spencer Farms in Noblesville. I highly recommend this farm. This was my first picking experience, but it was great. No bees. I was super worried about bees. This week marks the end of the season so we got there just in time. I of course enjoyed eating several while we picked. They were so good. I don't remember eating strawberries this good. I don't know if I can go back to the stuff sold in stores.


There were still some (by some I mean a lot) of good berries left. 

Here is my half of the stash. We picked around 7 pounds! 

Simply gorgeous.

So now I have three pounds of strawberries that need to be consumed quickly..oh darn. 

Tonight I made a pie (I am including the super easy recipe), then I am going to make strawberry ice cream tomorrow. I will also share that recipe later in the week. 


The original name for the recipe is "The Perfect Spring Pie."  I don't like that name, so I am going to call it "Strawberry Rhubarb Pie." I know it's very original. 


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Preheat the oven to 375 
Line a rimmed baking sheet/jelly roll with foil. Trust me don't skip this step!

Ingredients: 
2.5 cups AP flour, divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tsp. cinnamon, divided
5-6 cups, strawberries, halved 
2 cups rhubarb, cut into bite size pieces
Pie dough-I used one roll of the store bought stuff
3/4 cup butter, melted

1. In a large bowl combine: 

• 1/2 cup flour
• granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• I give these dry ingredients a stir to combine them. 

2. Mix in the strawberries and rhubarb to the flour/sugar mixture. Let it sit and stir occasionally while preparing the pan.  They should start to release their juices, and just look really really good. :) 

3. Fit dough to 9" pie pan. (Lightly flour service and roll out dough to fit if needed.) Flute edges if desired. I don't have time to flute edges, plus I am not very good at it.

4. Spoon filling into the crust. Scrape all that good syrupy stuff from the bowl and get it in there too. 

5. MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE PIE ON THE BAKING SHEET!!! Bake for 50-60 minutes until bubbling and hot. (when I checked my pie I did a Mr. Burns evil "Excellent" laugh) 

6. Meanwhile, in a bowl, the remaining flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter together with a fork and form large/media crumbs. 

7. Remove pie from oven when it's ready, then place the crumbs on top of the hot pie leaving 1/2 inch boarder between crumbs and crust. Put back in the oven and cook for 30 more minutes, or until crumbs are golden brown. 

8. Cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with ice cream, or whipping cream (my grandmother's personal favorite) if desired. 


Here is my finished project! I am going to go ahead and hashtag this as #foodboner 

Enjoy friends! This was a super easy recipe!