Pie 101-Cherry (Helen’s Cherry Pie- Constructed, Deconstructed and Reconstructed)

 

“Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?  Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?”

She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother….  is poor Billy’s lament.  She can, however, bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can blink an eye!  (Click on above link to hear the song; guitar chords included.)

I was just minding my own business.  I had stuck the hot cherry pie on a rack on an empty shelf in a kitchen cupboard.  A good place to cool pie if you have two golden retrievers. (I made four different pies for Thanksgiving; everyone deserves their favorite once a year.  I’m convinced.  Cherry is my sister Helen’s favorite.   Hence “Helen’s Cherry Pie.”  Also my loved “niece,” Kathy’s.)

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Helen and Alyce’s Fish Tacos in Five Minutes


What a fun thing this blog has turned into. My kitchen is full of notes for current and future recipes, as well as ideas from other people for meals they’d like simplified so that they, too, can spend more time at the table together. Looking at life OUT of the fast lane.

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I have been a little amazed by how many people have said, “Oh, I bought the stuff to make ________ and I’ll make it this weekend.” This is for a meal that takes 20-30 minutes to fix. It makes me realize that folks who work full-time often don’t cook at all during the week. Maybe sandwiches or leftovers, certainly take-out and I’d guess a couple of restaurant meals. So, try this fish taco meal. My sister Helen made a version of this once while visiting and we’ve been making it ever since. This dish is faster than going and picking something up at the local pizza shop. The fish is done in FIVE MINUTES. You can make other things to go with it and it will take longer, but you can make a fairly balanced meal in nearly the time it takes the fish to cook.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like fish tacos. They’re on menus as main courses with beans and rice; they’re also listed as a starter some places. They may come with tartar sauce and lettuce and tomatoes or with coleslaw and jalapenos. However you like them, I am sure you’ll make this super-easy and incredibly fast version one day soon—maybe today. This is one of those meals for which you would want to shop the day you’re cooking or, at very most, the day before.

Could serve with: A can (or homemade) of black or pinto beans mixed with sautéed bits of onion and green or red peppers. A side of Southwestern rice if you’ve got time. Homemade pico de gallo–why not? If you have a Cuisinart, you have pico in 30 seconds.  Easiest: some finely shredded lettuce with minced tomatoes on top. Continue reading