The Garden Buzz

Competitive Small-Space Strawberry Growing: Do I Stand a Chance?

The challenge was simple enough. Grow three strawberry plants in a creative manner that maximizes space and produces lots of of berries. Then blog about it. The grower/blogger best following those requirements with the largest number of comments and questions wins an iPad.

Of course, I have to say that this challenge was presented to the garden bloggers that attended Garden2Blog this spring by the Corona Tool Company. They sent us 3 bare root Tribute Strawberry plants from Stark Bros (the fruit tree people), a Corona Trowel and their best wishes for a spirited competition, all meant to bring awareness that even the smallest of places can be put to use for a delicious treat.

It's been fun to see all the different approaches by all the bloggers involved. Jenny Peterson, The Mulch Maven down in Austin, Texas planted hers in a hayrack windowbox decorated with wine corks and a mystical looking ceramic mushroom, Chicago's Shawna Coronado of The Casual Gardener repurposed lighting fixtures and built a futuristic Strawberry planter, while Jackie d"Elia placed hers in edgy steel wall planters. You can see everyone's progress on the Corona Strawberry Fields facebook page.

Of course I think that Shawna will win because beyond her great garden solution she has a gazillion facebook friends to vote her through!

Me? I started behind since I do live in Minnesota where we had a wet, crappy, cold, did I mention crappy, spring followed by a spate of blistering 103 degree days in June. Even the commercial growers have thrown in the towel according to a local news report about the short and so-so strawberry season here up north.

I guess I don't have any competitive streak when it comes to gardening, my style's a little lazy and definitely laissez-faire and by default, organic. My approach is usually low-key and simple.

June 10, a promising start...

So I used an old wooden box I found laying around the garage that was labeled Dow's Vintage Port. Remembering an old world recipe for strawberries macerated with sugar and soaked in port, I felt it fitting. Kind of like coming full circle with a touch of recycling too.

I planted them in a mixture of potting soil and compost along with Jobe's Organic Fertilizer. And then I left town for two weeks.

My strawberries sulked through the cold weather, then sweated the heat and actually sputtered out a few berries. I figured that was the end.

June 30, a few berries, is that all there is?

The rules said grow them "naturally", so I refrained from giving them a shot of Miracle-Gro, and brewed up a bucket of Moo-Poo Manure Tea made by cattle rancher Annie Haven (we grew up a mile from each other in CA but only met in Arkansas as fellow garden bloggers, small world, huh?). That seemed to perk them up and put on more foliage.

The beginnings of more berries...

Next up on the weather menu: torrential rains, and then mind-boggling heat. A week of tropical, dew-point busting, humid, hot weather the likes of which had never been seen or felt with heat indices over 110 in Minnesota!  I watered the berries with that rainwater saved in trashcans mixed with some Herb & Vegetable Plant Food that the nice folks at Bonnie Plants sent me to trial. 

Meanwhile the Japanese beetles thought they looked pretty tasty too. I plucked them off into soapy water and then sent them to a grisly death in the garbage disposer.

July 25, buds, blooms and berries galore...

And well, wouldn't you know...the plants are not only producing runners, but flowers and baby berries. I love how they are draped over the table and dangling like jewels from the vines. I just may have a bumper crop of berries after all!

Strawberry Fields Project in progress, and behind that a raised bed from Green Gardener where I'm growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil and a few cukes.

Vote for The Garden Buzz by leaving a comment or question on this blog post if you like my interpretation of small-space food-growing. Who knows, Mama might win an iPad! 

 

Summer Window Box Recipe with Coralberry Punch

Coralberry Punch sounds like just the refreshing beverage I need during these dog days of summer...but more about that in a bit.

I'm always on the lookout for lovely window box combinations. I see them in magazines and vow to remember and repeat them in my own creations. I even photographed bunches of them for future reference in Charleston while I visited that charming city.

But I seem to forget them once spring arrives and I'm at the garden center. So many choices, am I the only one who gets overwhelmed by them all?

My window boxes are a nice shade of terra cotta that contrasts well with the taupe-y stucco and stone trim of my home. That is, until you go to plant them. Any pretty shade of pink acquires the characteristics of a plastic flower next to the oranges tones of the box.

I learned this the hard way. Yellow doesn't do much better. Last year I played it safe and stuck in a melange of coleus that blended better but not great.

I knew I wanted to try a wine/lime color scheme; using various foliage shapes and colors. I needed a filler flower with prolific small blooms to bring it all together. Wandering through the nursery I spied the new Proven Winners Superbells "Coralberry Punch" that turned out to be just the ticket.

This Calibrachoa hybrid sports peachy color petals with a dark red flare and yellow eye, offering lots of shades to play off of when combining plants. This new plant doesn't need deadheading which works for me, since I don't need to climb up into these beds for that chore on a regular basis.

They've filled in even more since I took this quick iPhone photo.

Best of all, it doesn't clash with my window boxes. And as a bonus, hummingbirds love the tubular blossoms. They were buzzing within inches the moment I started planting them. As Miley, would say, "Pretty cool".

Window Box Recipe 

Superbells "Coralberry Punch" (Calibrachoa hybrid)

Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra) "Aureola"

Big Leaf Ivy

Beets "Bull's Blood"

Coleus "Red Wizard"

Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia) "Aurea"

 

Don't limit your window boxes and containers to just annuals. Look around your own garden and see what perennials and even small shrubs can be used to perk up your pots. I dug up and divided the forest grass and creeping Jenny from areas of my yard. The big leaf ivy was mostly from last year's containers that I overwintered as houseplants. When fall comes I'll replant the first two and once again overwinter the ivies, making this a more economical and interesting solution to filling my window boxes every year.

Recipe for Spring: Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

I love the Brits for many things; gardening, literature and spot-on wit, not to mention their penchant for sensible shoes. And when it comes to descriptive terms for fruit based-desserts, no one comes close.

Crumble, grunt, fool, trifle, dowdy, mess or pudding that really isn't; they're all delicious in a humble, unpretentious way. Half the fun is just saying their name. 

I think I promised this recipe last year and didn't deliver. Did anyone notice? No matter, I'm making good on it now. This is a top-ten dessert at our house, not an easy feat around die-hard pie lovers.

The strawberries tone down the tartness of the rhubarb just a bit, just in case you have any less than rhubarb enthusiasts in your home.

What's great about this is how they grow together in the garden. All around the rhubarb, I'm using strawberries as edible groundcover, and soon the two will be ready for harvest. This is edible landscaping at it's best. I love it when the garden tells me what to make instead of me wandering clueless around the kitchen seeking inspiration.

Those of you further south might have already been looking for ways to enjoy these two harbingers of spring. Lucky you.

 

Like my other recipes, more suggestion than instruction, but very forgiving... 

Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble

Approx. 2-3 lbs Rhubarb, cut into inch chunks

Approx 16 oz. Strawberries, stemmed and cut in half

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

1 Teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 Cup minced crystallized ginger (optional but nice)

Combine the rhubarb, brown sugar and ginger(s) in a saucepan and cook covered over gentle heat about 10 minutes, and then add the strawberries and cook another 5 minutes.

Transfer the cooked mixture to some sort of ovenproof pie/cobbler/casserole dish and sprinkle with crumble topping and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown and bubbly.

---Basic Crumble Topping

1 Cup unbleached flour

3 oz. butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

***

I add a handful of oats and/or chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts

Cut in the butter and flour and then when it's well, crumbly, add the brown sugar and the extras if so desired. 

This is good warm or cold, with vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream or even a little English style custard.

Garden2Blog: Hanging Out with P. Allen Smith

It's not everyday I get to hang out with a celebrity. But first, P. Allen Smith would gently correct me; he considers himself foremost a teacher, and shies away from the glossier term, that has indeed made so many of his garden visions a reality. 

I was lucky to have a chance to spend a few days with about two dozen other bloggers for the first of hopefully many Garden2Blog events with the noted garden designer and personality. Here's just a little of what I experienced!

The mighty oak in front of the Garden Home Retreat

I hate to use the phrase "boyish good looks", but can't find a suitable substitute to describe him. In his trademark blue, he presents a disarming southern charm with the smallest touch of weary aloofness. It's forgivable as you see him work, constantly on for the variety of cameras that record his every word and move.

P. Allen Smith talking about water features and garden geometry for Garden2Blog

He delivers his lines with a believable freshness and good timing, as when he relates that his grandmother told him the P in his name stood for "potential". And he's not above poking fun at his fame, when he calls out in a nasal tour guide impression, "New Dawn Rose Alert", as we frequently pass huge masses of the ubiquitous, blushing pink climber that he introduced to Little Rock. 

New Dawn roses at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion in Little Rock

This is no garden variety-type HGTV star, there's a gravitas behind the brand. Coming from generations of nurserymen, he has the hands-on knowledge combined with the historical depth and breadth from his study of classical gardens in England. 

An allee of alliums at P Allen Smith's Garden Home Retreat

As he shows you through the home it becomes quickly obvious that the myriad books artfully placed on round tables are not for looks. Weighty tomes covering garden design, politics, culture and history among others inform his living and gardening. His concept of Garden/Home integrates indoor and outdoor living spaces in such a way to increase your enjoyment of both by blurring the lines.

One of many library tables laden with books at P. Allen Smith's Garden Home Retreat

I found myself thinking while following him through the gardens at his "Garden Home Retreat" on Moss Mountain in Arkansas that is was perhaps a little like being able to peer into the thought process that went into the making of Jefferson's Monticello. In fact, there are nods to the horticultural hero at every turn, like the octagonal pavilions flanking the strolling gardens. His twist being the vegetables and fruit trees sitting upfront with ornamentals.

Looking past the art studio to the pavilion and orchard beyond

I found it especially fascinating to see the holistic approach to design throughout, even the tool sheds were a thing of beauty. Interior and exterior colors, like tinner's red, butter yellow, lichen green with deep dark brown bark all reflect the surrounding environment for a harmonic feeling.

Small kitchen gardens fronting the tool sheds where we sheltered from a few storms

Sustainability is evident in all aspects of his farm and gardens, however it's pragmatic rather than nostalgic. Composting for soil amending is a given. While heirlooms are grown, he feels that hybrid plants that perform well with the least intervention are in keeping with the mission. Even the breed of sheep and poultry that forage picturesquely in the pasture are chosen for production and hardiness.

Buff Orpington poultry sharing the pasture with Dorper sheep

As he looks to the future, the next garden goes back in time and then forward. He is developing a historical rose garden featuring a time line of American roses, from the Charleston legacy of noisette varieties that he cherishes  all the way to new low-care Knockouts. 

P. Allen Smith with rose garden plans

During the entire time we were tested with dangerous to merely annoying bad weather. Allen shepherded us through all the event with a gracious and unflappable ease. We were treated to fabulous food including many of his recipes and even eggs from the farm. His staff, and they are many, were efficient and helpful too.

I ducked out of dinner for a moment to look over the bluff to the Arkansas River after the storm

Putting faces to names of all these talented bloggers was a great experience. So many backgrounds and so many different angles! .

Anxious to increase his exposure and presence with social media, I like to think that he's making an effort to partner with and harness the power of bloggers. In fact, he's now blogging too. I didn't feel any pressure to put a face on anything I didn't agree with. I felt comfortable with the information I was given and will be sharing in the future. It's not going to be all P Allen all the time of course, but I'll be posting more pics and tips from the event.

Let me know if you have any questions about or for P. Allen, post them in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer!

Careful partnering with sponsors like Corona, Proven Winners, Garden Safe, Bonnie Plants, Stihl, Berry Nurseries, Jobe's Organics and Laguna Pond Pumps has made the construction of this Garden Home Retreat possible, only proving that he is an astute businessman in addition to artist, interior designer and chef.

P Allen Smith with the Berry (yes, that's their name)representative offering blueberry tips and treats

Meanwhile I didn't so much drink the Kool-Aid as the blueberry lemonade. I've tried hard not to gush, but it's hard not to admire P. Allen Smith for the Renaissance man that he is. 

 

 

Just in Time: P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes from the Garden

Every time I see more snowflakes falling from the sky I have to turn my head to the heavens and ask, "Really?"

So when P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes from the Garden showed up, it was not a minute too soon. If I can't be gardening, cooking and reading are next on the list; better yet when the two are put together. But be warned, don't read this while you're hungry, you'll stop mid-book and start rattling some pans.

 

Just in time for spring, and for some of you that will be sooner, way sooner than for me, this book is plum-packed with delicious ways to prepare dishes from all the great produce in your garden. Cooking from the garden is such a joy; instead of asking yourself what's for dinner, the garden tells you what to make. Having P. Allen as a guide only makes it nicer.

Mr. Smith and my family come from the same neck of the woods. Like the family photos at the front of his book, mules loom large in mine as well. I may have been a California kid, but I was raised on beans and cornbread. My mama made sure I knew the pleasure of shelling peas on the porch and picking blackberries in the sticker patch. So I don't so much as read the recipes, but hear them in a familiar voice. Don't think you have to be a southerner though to enjoy it.

I love how the book isn't just about vegetables, but includes recipes for the meat, eggs, fruits, herbs and flowers he raises at his new home, The Garden Home Retreat. I was able to visit there with fellow Master Gardeners as it was being built  and I can tell you it is a gorgeous fantasy homestead brought to life.

I've been using his recipes for some time via his online Garden Home newsletter, so I know they're straightforward and not the least bit fussy. I have a knack for being able to taste a recipe as I read it, and let me tell you, I can't wait to try these.

Divided into four seasons, I'm anxious to make the Crawfish Etouffee, Broccoli with Lemon and Hazelnuts, and Radish Top Pasta for spring. I'm defintely curious about his Speckled Strawberry Ice that uses lots of cracked black pepper!

Summer includes among others: Grilled Summer Salad, Savory Grit Cakes with Oven-Smoked Tomatoes, and Peach Moon Tart. Fall features Allen's Favorite Sweet Potato Pie, Killer Apple Cake and White Cheddar Parsnips. And while I'm so over winter, the Winter recipes for  slow-cooker lamb, roasted quail and duck gumbo seem like a tasty culinary distraction from all the white stuff outside.

And like the good boy that he is, he includes his mother's cinnamon rolls, even though they don't have a garden conection at all.

More importantly, the recipe for Cornbread Dressing, not 'stuffing' y'all, sounds the same as the lost recipe for my mother's version...could this be the holy grail of cornbread dressing I can now pass onto my daughter? Let's hope.

Besides the inspiring recipes, the beautiful photographs along with gardening and cooking tips make this book one I would have bought anyway, but thanks again to P. Allen and his people. It's a winner!

 

 

 

Pumpkin Palooza: Great Ideas for Pumpkins

 

The great pumpkin shortage is over! According to reliable sources, the pumpkin panic of '09 is history. Indeed there seems to be a plethora of pumpkins this year, much to the delight of connoisseurs of cucurbits everywhere. No more hoarding or stockpiling the Libby's is necessary.

This is good news for gardeners too; as our gardens mellow and fade with the season, pumpkins and squash piled artfully in the garden give one last hurrah before winter.

Recently I had the chance to visit some spectacular gardens, both private and public in Dallas. We were told that the slogan there is "Live large, think big", and nowhere is it more evident than the autumn displays at the Dallas Arboretum where 20,000 pumpkins are used to great effect to show that the south can do autumn splendor with the best of them.

Yet it doesn't take a gazillion gourds to decorate our own gardens. As always, I think you behold the big idea and scale it down to fit your particular site. Consider these grand examples and then translate the take-home message to your own little patch.

 
Pumpkin mulch if you will, top dress an already planted container with mini-pumpkins like Baby Bo

 
Orange pumpkins with purple dark foliage is a winning combination. Add chartreuse, even better.

 
They float! Who knew? Don't have a swimming-pool sized fountain, yeah, me neither. How about a water feature or birdbath?

 
Line beds with small pumpkins, use them alongside grasses and potted plants.

 
Back home I used them to fill my windowboxes with fall flavor.

A benefit of last year's pumpkin shortage was that I found the inspiration to roast small sugar pumpkins that were available for making soup and re-discovered the pleasing taste of fresh pumpkin.

 
And then there's always pie.

 

 

Mint Madness: The Fattoush Salad I Forget to Photograph Cuz It's So Good

Toothpaste. Doublemint gum. Peppermint Patty. Starlight mints. Listerine.

If those are your only meet-ups with mint, I feel sorry for you.

Maybe you've flirted with that mint leaf garnish on your julep or iced tea.

Then like thousands of mothers before me have said, "You don't know what you're missing".

Spearmint "Kentucky Colonel"    The Garden Buzz
  

Last week before vacation, my daughter and I cooked up a little minty-fresh madness all in one meal. Every dish contained mint from Mama's little mint patch, yet each one had it's own subtle sweet and bright green tone and never even came close to mint overkill. There was definitley none of that frosty-hot flavor found in candies and dental concoctions.

The Menu:

• Marinated rosemary lamb kebabs with mint pesto
• Fattoush salad featuring mint and sumac
• Mojito granita

My daughter might discuss the lamb and the dessert on her new food blog, Kitchen Oddity, although she's in a gourmet popsicle phase right now. But for me I'm all about the Fattoush. I mean all over it, like third helpings and already thinking about the leftovers that haunt me until the last soggy pita crumbs are gone.

It never fails that I forget to photograph the salad, such is this dish's power over me.

I found fattoush in Kansas. You may know the state as the land of Dorothy, wheat fields and aircraft factories. For me, it's the Lebanese food. Due to some serendipitous stroke of luck, a large contingent of these fabulous food lovers settled in Kansas back at the turn of the century. At any given time there are at least a dozen Mediterranean restaurants serving all manner of mouth-watering dishes. And that's just in Wichita.

Fattoush salad accompanying lamb kebabs and mint pesto   Courtesy of Hannah Hayes

Fattoush is deceptively simple, in spite of the long list of ingredients. It's open to improvisation. Just don't leave out the mint, and please, please consider the sumac* (No, it's not the posionous plant that causes rashes). Otherwise it's a good salad, but with the mint and sumac, it's easily two or three ticks above great.

Let's break it down into three parts. Two of which, the dressing and pita toasts, you could make ahead, up to maybe three days.

The Dressing:

1/4 C. Fresh lemon juice

1/2 C. Olive oil or vegetable oil

1 Clove garlic, minced

1 t. Salt and 1t. black pepper

Simply whisk these ingredients until well-blended. Store in a sealed jar up to three days in fridge.

The Toasted Pita:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Split pita bread (I make a lot) and then cut or tear into pieces about 2-3 inches, although it doesn't matter once you crumble them. Brush with olive oil (and add za'atar* if you want extra chips for snacking) and toast on a baking sheet for 3-4 minutes until golden.
Set aside until tossing the salad. Store up to three days in aritight container.

Salad materials:

1-2 Heads of romaine lettuce, torn

1/2 Head iceberg lettuce, torn, if you want.

1 Cucumber, diced, peeled if you insist

4 Tomatoes, sliced and diced, or 1 Package cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 bunch green onions, sliced

Handful of shredded purple cabbage (optional, but colorful)

Handful of grated carrots (optional, but colorful)

1/3 C. Crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh mint

2 Tablespoons ground sumac

When ready to serve, combine all the salad materials and add enough dressing to toss and coat. Use it all or save for another dish (it's good with basil and tomatoes alone). Crumbled the toasted pitas into the salad and toss again lightly. Serve and enjoy.

*Sumac is a spice that comes from the Rhus coriaria plant, native to the Mediterranean and Middle East. the berries are ground to make the spice. It has a tart, almost astringent but pleasant taste.

*Za'atar is the combination of ground dried thyme, sumac and sesame seeds. sprinkle it on your toasted pitas for a delicious snack. They are one of the most requested items here at the Hayes house.

The mint I love and use for cooking is Mentha cordifolia spicata or Spearmint "Kentucky Colonel". I love its fresh color and texture. It behaves somewhat better than some mints in the garden, so I choose to grow it in the ground in an area where I don't mind mildly aggressive behavior.

Thanks to Margaret Roach at A Way to Garden for hosting the Summer Fest cross blog culinary event. Bon Apetit!

 

Cilantro: Persnickety and Delicious

Sometimes the best meals are made from ingredients scrounged from the fridge you thought had no food in it. Like last night, some ground bison a bit past its sell-by date seasoned with lots of cumin, the last shreds of sharp cheese, a few green onions that overwintered out back, hothouse-grown cherry tomatoes, a dab of sour cream, and salsa atop raggedy corn tortillas made a stellar taco. Then the piece de resistance---tender green sprigs of cilantro straight from the garden.

Just because everybody loves cilantro (and in reality not everyone loves it) doesn't mean everyone can grow it. It is, to me and many gardeners the most difficult, and downright persnicketi-est of all herbs.

In fact I used to tell people at my herb lectures to get it at the grocery store!

But it's just so nice to have it right out the door for days when you need to dress up a tenuous taco. Or make corn salsa, or sprinkle on blackened fish, or...

Cilantro is what I call a cool-season herb. Though not foolproof, there are a few strategies to growing it. Still keep in mind it likes to bolt, that is, flower and go to seed. That's not all bad, because then you have coriander, which is used in curry, sausages, meat dishes, teas, etc.

Cilantro is like a clematis; it like its face in the sunshine and its feet in the shade. I grow mine where it gets only mild morning sunshine. Planting it in your landscaped areas and crowding it among other plants is another way to help it keep its cool. Unlike Mediterranean herbs subject to crown rot, keep cilantro mulched to maintain cooler soil temps.

I have found that when I sprinkle the seeds in fall, they come up quite early the next spring, those plants thenre-seed themselves. As for next year's germination, they seem to know best.

Succession style planting, or planting every week or so, will keep a more continuous supply. Or do as I do and plant cilantro in several different places around the house, every year a different spot seems to be the magic site of cilantro success.

Sneak Peek at P. Allen Smith's New iPhone App!

During the gardening season, a muddy trail marks the route to my laptop. I am constantly running inside to look up things like planting times, cultural requirements, growth habits and plant varieties, in addition to seeking photos of plants at mature size and design ideas. 

The natural next step is an iPhone app. Combine that with the booming new interest in veggie gardening and you've got the new Grow and Go Together app from P. Allen Smith and Bonnie Plants. What a great new tool for gardeners!

 

It's a how-to app for vegetable and herbs with all the basic information for getting things growing; when to plant, light and water requirements, and harvest information, including an option to sort by seasons. Delicious recipes follow every vegetable and herb, answering the age-old question of what to do with what you've grown. Container suggestions and garden projects round out the features on this app.

I can see gardeners, especially beginners taking this app to the garden center to help them decide what to grow among all the possibilities. After that it's a great companion for the farmer's market or grocery store to remind the cook of recipe ingredients.

For more experienced gardeners, with 50 vegetable and herb profiles and 50 recipes, it might inspire experimenting with something new or a new way to prepare an old favorite.

I just wish there was an audio version with P. Allen dispensing his gardening advice with that smooth, southern accent that makes every gardening dream seem possible.

Who knew an iPhone would end up in your garden tool tote?

National Pie Day - January 23 (Pear Tree Pie Recipe)

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy National Pie Day! Who knew? The American Pie Council (nothing to do silly song lyrics or naughty boy movies) designates January 23 for this auspicious occasion to help in "preserving America's pie heritage and promoting American's love affair with pies". Their aim is to "raise awareness, enjoyment and consumption of pies". Heck, I'm there.

 
Pumpkin Pie     The Garden Buzz

What, you say? Is The Garden Buzz going all foodie? Occasionally. In this case, I don't think it's that far from the pie pan to the garden, or vice versa. Name a pie that doesn't need produce to produce its filling. Cherry, berry, or kumquats, it all starts in the dirt. Chocolate cream? Little cocoa groves in West Africa. Rum raisin? Vineyards and cane fields. Chess pie? Maybe you got me there, but I like mine with a little lemon zest.

And lest we forget. Bees make pies. Every bite is just buzzing with bee-power. Without pollination, what could we look forward to; wheat pie, corn pie?

I love pie. I love how it is all contained in a crust, sort of like the perfect packaging of an egg. I love making pies; the fluting of the crust, paring apples, peeling peaches, or whisking the filling in a big bowl, and finally the finished piece. I love how it looks in the kitchen, the ultimate symbol of domesticity. I love slicing it in eight perfect portions and feeding it to people to watch them swoon. If I had one of those wide windowsills like in the cartoons, I would make pies just to see them sit there.

I remember some pies better than people; that purple raspberry/rhubarb/custard from last year that still elicits sighs and haunts us with its elusive qualities, the sweet-tart gooseberry pie at Kansas family reunions, the sweet potato pie when I grew my own, the dainty lemon meringue my mother-in-law makes. Yet my mom never made proper pies, but rather these messy, misshapen fried apricot pies, greasy and good, eaten with your hands, and even better cold.

Any day with pie would be a little bit happier. But here's a pie to honor the spirit of the American Pie Council's special day. It was inspired by the pear tree that grew by our old limestone house in Kansas. It provided shade, honey-scented blossoms and voluminous quantities of lumpy little green pears every other year. I miss it, now, every year.

Pear Tree Pie  

Use your favorite crust recipe or buy a ready-made frozen one, I wont' tell, it's only for the bottom.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

6-8 Bartlett Pears (or whatever kind is available) peeled and sliced

3 T. Lemon juice

1/2 C. Sugar

2 T. Flour

1-2 T. Chopped crystallized ginger (this is what makes it good, I think more is better)

Combine fruit and other ingredients in a bowl, then spoon into pie crust. Sprinkle with crumble topping.

Crumble Topping

1/2 C. Flour

1/2 C. Sugar

1/2 t. ginger and 1/2 t. cinnamon and 1/4 t. nutmeg

You can add oats or chopped nuts for more flavor

Combine and then cut in 1/4 C. Butter

Bake in oven for about 45 minutes.

Serve  with vanilla ice cream if desired.

PS: You can double this recipe in a 9X13 baking dish without a crust for a delicious fruit crumble, but then that wouldn't be pie. SHHH..Don't tell the pie council.