Pie Baker’s Block
I am experiencing an unexpected bout of pie baker’s block. Mimi needed pies for her shop this past weekend and – in spite of her letting me do six loads of laundry at her hotel last week, per our laundry-for-pie barter arrangement – I have not held up my end of the deal. I haven’t […]
Easy-Bake Oven
My friend Jim was teasing me about living in Texas, about how it must be so hot down here I wouldn’t need an oven to bake my pies. I thought of his comment this morning at breakfast, when I realized the croissant I was craving was still in the freezer, frozen solid. The sun was […]
Some Days Are Better Than Others
The only consolation is that once the pie dish is filled with apples no one will ever know. Still…
How to Kill a Spider in Texas
I was writing in my journal– about how I ended up giving the pecan pie to the married man after all, and how he liked it so much, and how I liked him so much, and how it would all just end up badly as these things inevitably do, and how tragic and doomed the […]
Buttermilk Pie – at the Big Bend Motor Inn Café
In my search for a UPS pick-up spot to ship a birthday present with overnight delivery from Terlingua, Texas to a friend in Washington, D.C. I went from the Terlingua Trading Company to the Cottonwood Convenience Store to the Lajitas Horse Stables and finally to the Big Bend Motor Café. None of the people in […]
Rhubarb Pie: A Community Effort
This is a story of how it takes a whole community to make a pie. I want to thank everyone for their generosity, help and enthusiasm – especially Jim Carrico for being the connector and catalyst. With the care that has gone into it, this is sure to be one delicious pie!JIM CARRICO OFFERS THE […]
The “Pie Sauna” & Other Spa Treatments of Terlingua
Between the pie baking during these hot summer afternoons and the subsequent body-cooling trips to Terlingua Creek, I’ve realized is that I’m living in the world’s biggest outdoor spa, surrounded by natural treatments — and all for free. Here’s the list so far. 1. Sauna: Bake pies in your kitchen during the height of the […]
Burnt Pecan Pie: It’s an Omen
This (see pic above) is what happens when you bake in a propane oven and you run out of gas thirty minutes into the hour-long baking cycle of your pecan pie – the one where you doubled the recipe, used the expensive organic eggs and emptied the bottle of Karo syrup you brought all the […]
More International Pie Stories (from Costa Rica this time) and Other Rambling Thoughts on a Hot Texas Afternoon
It’s fun – and can be rather helpful – to have a trademark, something that you love that represents you, something that makes it easy for people to buy birthday and Christmas presents for you. My dad has two signature themes: sailing and martinis, so if you see a pair of socks with embroidered sailboats […]
A Letter — and Gooseberry Pie Recipe — from Switzerland
I thought I would share this letter from Eve, my friend from Switzerland who I wrote about in my blog last fall, when I was visiting her. It’s a nice reminder that love of pie knows no international boundaries. Hi Bethli! It’s good you write a pie blog or else I would believe you’re dead. […]