Apple-banana loaf

This is my all-time favorite snack bread! I like it with butter or cream cheese or cream cheese mixed with honey. My son loves to bring this to school with him as a "sweet". It takes about as long to make this from scratch as a box of brownies - really! And it is healthier too (well, except maybe that butter bit). I mix it all up in a big mixing bowl with a wooden spoon - so easy that it isn't even worth getting the mixer out for!

You can make it without the apples by using 2 bananas instead - and it is good. But trust me, it is REALLY good if you use the apples. I am just saying - don't let the lack of apples stop you from making this bread, that's all.

1 3/4 cup flour
2/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 small cooking apples (I like macintosh) or 1 big - peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 ripe banana

Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a smaller mixing bowl mash the banana (I use my pastry cutter - a tool I don't use for making pie crusts since I make those in the food processor - but it IS a handy gadget for mashing bananas!). Shoot - you could probably just slice the banana into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients, or mash it up in that bowl - this is just the way I like to do it!

In another small mixing bowl beat the 2 small eggs.

Now combine everything together into your big bowl and stir it up with a wooden spoon.

Put into a greased bread pan and bake at 350 for 40 - 45 minutes.

Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then flip it out of the pan.

Did I mention that this bread is especially yummy warm?

Oh - and about cutting it - the BEST way to cut this bread is if you have a serrated bread knife.

Enjoy!

My favorite summer fruit pie filling

Guess what, I don't have a set recipe. Basically, I use 5 cups of soft fruit per pie. 5 cups will give you a nice thick slice of pie! My favorite is 2 cups blueberries, 2 cups raspberries, 1 cup peaches. Or may I don't have raspberries so I will use more peaches. Sometimes I have blackberries and will use those. Using 1/2 blueberries and 1/2 peaches is very good too! You can used canned peaches if you don't have fresh - I've even used a canned of drained mandarin oranges before with good results. I freeze my berries in the summer - and they are usually all gone by Halloween - so I have no idea exactly how long berries actually keep in the freezer, but in my household - not long!
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5 cups soft fruit
1/4 cup flour - plus 2 teaspoons
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/4 cup nutmeg
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2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice

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Use your favorite pie crust recipe. Don't have one? The post right before this one has my favorite!
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In a large mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients. Mix in your fruits. Put this into your pie crust. Cut the butter into little pieces and evenly sprinkle over the top of the fruits. Put the lemon juice on top - I sort-ov splash mine so it is a bit evenly distributed.
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Top with top pie crust. Put the pie in the fridge for 15 minutes. Cut your slits on the top of the pie crust, crimp the edges with a fork. If you are using decorative cut-outs for your crust it is easier to use these before you put the crust on - usually I just cut slits with a knife. Put your hands under running water and gently smooth wet hands over the top of the pie crust. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar - my son likes cinnamon/sugar and I always have that mixed up for toast - so I usually use that instead of plain sugar.
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Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Adjust temperature to 425 and bake for another 20 minutes or so - this higher heat will brown the crust so keep an eye on your crust - depending on your oven you might need plus/minus 5 minutes.
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I always bake my pies at the lower temperature 1st and then the higher temperature to brown. This way I don't have to be putting foil around my pie crust edges and worrying about it the whole time. I mentioned on my pie crust recipe that I think the reason why people always start with the higher temperature 1st and then adjust to lower is because a long time ago people made pie in the woodstoves - and the fire was hotter at the beginning. There really is no reason why you can't reverse the order so you pie crusts don't get overly browned!
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Anyway - I hope you enjoy making fresh fruit pies. Pies are easy to make as long as you allow yourself enough time.

Easy Double Pie Crust

Pie crust is easy - it just takes time... time as in - time to rest in the fridge, etc. So - plan accordingly and do other things around the house/kitchen on the day you make pie crust/pie. Believe me, after spending the day making cookies with my 5 year old son - I have come to appreciate the expression "easy as pie". Because pie truly is easy compared to cookies!
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This is a great pie crust for juicy, fruity pies because it holds up to the moisture - the trick is in "waterproofing" the pie crust - I'll get to that in a minute. I have a few crust recipes, but this is the one I use most often.
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The other thing - I make my pie crust in the food processor. So fast and easy! Just don't overprocess. Actually, it is just as easy to make 2 batches of pie crust as one - seeing you have all the ingredients, equipment and measuring stuff out anyway! I make 1 batch (1 batch is enough for a double pie crust - 1 top and 1 bottom) and then right away, make a 2nd. Who doesn't love 2 pies! My pie pans are old - a bit bigger than the standard size you most often see in the stores now - so this is good if you have a bigger pie pan or want to make a deep dish pie or if you love to make Mile High Apple Pie - it is enough crust no matter what pie you are making!
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You have to go to a different post for my favorite mixed fruit pie recipe... this post is all about the crust. As I make different pies, I will try to add the recipes.

1 1/2 cups flour - give it a little stir before measuring so it is nice and fluffy
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound cold butter - cut into chunks. For people in the US - this is 1 stick of butter
or if you are in Canada and buy the big block - it is 1/4 of a block.
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 egg yolk - save the white for waterproofing
7-9 Tablespoons cold water - this amount varies depending on how big your egg yolk is!

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Beat the egg yolk& water in a little bowl and set aside. You can add 1/4 tsp of vanilla to this mixture if you want too.
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Put flour, salt and butter in food processor. Quickly pulse on/off several times until the butter is mixed in. Add sugar and quickly pulse (I'm talking about 2 seconds here!). Sometimes I will add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, but most of the time I don't.

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Pour in the egg/water mixture. Pulse on/off until the dough is formed. I can "hear" it as soon as it is done - it only takes several pulses! If the dough is too crumbly - add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together. The amount of water needed really depends on how big your egg yolk is.
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Break the dough into 2 pieces. Put each piece between 2 sheets of wax paper (you want the sheets to be bigger than your pie plate). Flatten the dough down with your hands (while it is between 2 sheets of wax paper) into a pancake. Put is in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
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After the dough has chilled - keeping it sandwiched between the 2 sheets of wax paper - roll 1 at a time out to the correct size to fit into your pie pan - which means it has to be a bit bigger than the top diameter of the pan - I flip the empty pan upside down on the crust to double check for size. It should be about 1/4" thick. Put 1 back into the fridge. Remove the top sheet of wax paper on the 2nd one and flip it into the pie pan. Remove the 2nd sheet of wax paper. There is your bottom pie crust. Now beat the egg white with a fork, pour it into the pie crust, swirl around with your fingers to coat the crust and dump the left-over egg white into the trash. Set it in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill and waterproof.
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I know that many people pre-bake their crusts and also do the waterproofing as part of the pre-baking. I don't. And I really don't think it makes a difference for this particular recipe. Hey, I'm all for time-saving tips!
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The other thing I do when baking the pie - I start at the lower temperature and then at the end I turn the temperature up to brown the crust. I think that tradition calls for a higher temperature to begin with and then lower because a long time ago people would cook pies in their woodstoves and the fire was always hotter first. If you start with a higher temp 1st, then your have to foil the edges of your pie crust for the remainder cooking time and my oven is a powerful convection oven which just sucks the foil into the fan anyway so that isn't an option for me. So - start with the lower temperature and then switch to higher at the end (keeping a careful eye on it toward the end) to brown the crust.
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OK - so now your pie crusts are done - fill the pan with your favorite pie filling, remove the wax paper from the top pie crust and put over the pie, remove the 2nd layer of wax paper, cut your slits with a knife (if you want to use decorative cut-outs it is easier to do before you get the pie crust situated on the top of the pie!), crimp the edges with a fork and put it in the oven on a cookie sheet. About the slits - I usually just use a knife and cut inside slits toward the middle - almost as if you are cutting the pie - go back a bit and then cut a 2nd set of slits set further apart - again - following the shape a slice of pie would be. Mmmm - easy as pie!
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Did you all get that the wax paper should NOT be anywhere in your finished pie? LOL!