Parenting from My Dad

I don't even remember how old I was.. We lived in Orlando in this small mobile home that I always thought was perfect. It's funny the things you realize when you get older! Now, I remember that the floor slanted and there were rodents in the walls...

I had trouble sleeping as a kid. For this time I was waking up during the night afraid. Dad says I would never tell him what I was afraid of, just that I had a bad dream.

One night, I remember going in their room and waking him up. I think I told him that someone was coming to get me. I remember him taking me to every window and every door in our dark house and showing me that it was locked. He told me that no one could get in, and he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. He prayed with me and asked God to keep me safe. He used phrases in his prayer that I've since found came straight from Scripture:

"Take my thoughts captive..." 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

"Send your angels to protect us..." Psalm 91:11

For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;

There is such power in Christ, and power in using Scripture against the enemy, Satan. Satan didn't want me to sleep peacefully, and he wanted my 5 year old mind to be afraid so he could plant the seeds of doubt. Jerk. I am so thankful for a dad who recognized that what I needed was reassurance and love, and what we needed could only be gotten from God.

We started saying prayers together at night. Until my older sister and I started staying out past the other ones' bedtime, every night we would gather the 4 of us plus Dad and each of us would take turns praying before we went to bed. This is one of my favorite memories!

What was I really afraid of at the time?? You might laugh. I think it's kind of funny now... I learned to read really early, and read everything I could get my hands on. I remember reading a newspaper over my dad's shoulder in the car one day. They would always get a paper after church on Sunday and I think Mom had gone in the grocery store or something. Anyway, I remember the headline on one of the stories - something about Jeffrey Dahmer. Yes, the cannibalistic serial killer from Wisconsin.. It didn't matter to me that he was already in custody and so far away from us; to my child mind he was coming to get us! I would lay in bed on the top bunk awake at night, watching the window, certain that every shadow was him.

My daughter has not been sleeping well lately, and if you ask her she'll say that she's scared of the dark, but won't tell you why. I found myself in tears the other night, walking around the dark house, letting her touch the window locks and door handles, reminding her that mommy and daddy are here, and that Jesus tells His angels to protect us...

Perfect Pie Crust -plus- Baking with a Toddler

It took me forever to master making pie crust. Tried every recipe I could find. Tried every method I could find. Gave up and bought Pillsbury many times... Until I realized I was messing up a couple of things:

Too much water.

Not having the right equipment

Too much kneading and messing with.

Too many ingredients. Flavorings? Not usually needed.

Not using butter. Really. Just use butter.

These days, I usually have a helper in the kitchen. I included her in this tutorial, so the little hands and feet you see belong to my almost-2 year old. I washed her thoroughly before starting so the dough would be fit for human consumption...

Here's what you need.

Butta, flour, sugar, salt, and ice water. You don't have to use kosher salt, and real bakers would probably tell you not to - it's just the kind I have on hand (thank you, couponing).

Start by chopping up your butter in large pieces. For this recipe, use 2 sticks. It makes 2 crusts - you can always freeze one for a while. Or use them both!

Cut it in half lengthwise, then roll it over and cut it lengthwise again so you have 4 sticks. Then chop it into cubes.

You want your items to stay cold. I like to dice my butter, then put it into the freezer while I mix up the dry ingredients.

Put 2 1/2 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl. Or, scoop it and let your toddler pour the cups into a bowl. Use a half-cup measuring cup because that means she can pour it 5 times - what fun! Add another tablespoon of flour to compensate for what got spilled on the counter. Leave the counter - you'll need it when you roll out the dough later.

Add/have the princess add a teaspoon of salt, and a teaspoon of sugar.

When she adds two teaspoons of salt because you weren't paying close enough attention, scoop as much of the salt out as you can. Add another teaspoon of flour as compensation for what got scooped out with the salt.

Have the princess stir the mixture. See the sifter in the top right corner of the above picture? You could use that, but my kosher salt is too big to go through the mesh, so I very effectively sift out the salt whenever I use it.. Still, it's fun for the girl to use, so I usually let her sift the flour by itself into the bowl. Don't forget that extra teaspoon of compensation flour back to the bowl!

Add your cold, cold butter to the bowl. My daughter loves to eat butter. Straight. Pure, unsalted, butter. Paula would be so proud. Me, not so much. Can a toddler's arteries get clogged??

When I was talking about the right equipment earlier, I wasn't talking about big fancy food processors or anything - I was talking about this. A $7 pastry blender. Sure, you can use a food processor, but who wants to clean all those 43 moving parts after? Besides, the girl's still slightly afraid of it.

Take the blender and start mushing.

You want to cut in the butter until you have the obligatory pea-sized chunks. Stop to clean off the butter when the wires of the blender get clogged. Allow the toddler to do some mixing too. They tire quickly and you'll be able to get back to mixing shortly. You want it to look kinda like this:

Don't mix it in too fine. The chunks of butter melt when cooking and create air pockets which in pastry land equal a nice flaky crust. It's heaven.

While I was mixing, the girl decided to take some more pics for me..

After you get your butter mixed in, add your ice water. Start with about 1/4 cup, and sprinkle over the top. I saw an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown said you should use a spray bottle and mist the top of your flour and mix it in each time after 5 squirts of water.

                                                             

Thank you, Sweet Brown. Besides, the girl would wreak havoc with a spray bottle. Better safe than sorry, and let her play "fishing" with the ice cubes in the water cup. Err... After this part is not an exact science. You need to add more water a tablespoon at a time because the flour's moisture content varies so greatly you can't say for certain to add a specific amount of water. Is that vague enough for you?

See, needs more water.

Good. You still want it crumbly. Better less water at this point because it will be easier to roll out after it's chilled. Wash your hands. Wash your toddler's hands. And face. And legs. And feet. Don't ask...

Cut your dough into two pieces and plastic wrap each piece. Toss them into the fridge for at least 30 minutes or the freezer for about 10. I prefer the freezer method for two reasons - less waiting & toddler attention spans. Also, it's less time I have to leave the kitchen a mess.

After the allotted time, get them out. The girl loves to "frinkle" flour on the counter, so let her put down a couple of tablespoons for rolling. You can sweep the floor later.

Roll from the center out. Yes, I use two hands, just not when I'm trying to take a picture....

Roll it and rotate it, and make sure you turn it over also to keep it from sticking. Each time you rotate, let the toddler frinkle more flour underneath..

When you get it about 1/4 inch thick or a little thinner, it's ready! From here you can put it in your favorite pie pan and fill with something yummy. My current favorite thing to make is homemade pop-tarts! Just cut it into rectangles about 4"x8" and put a spoonful of jelly or whatever on half. I made these with Grandma's awesome raspberry jelly (for the girl) and chocolate philly cream cheese (for me!).

Fold it over, and use a fork dipped in flour to crimp the edges.

Make snowmen and pancakes with your daughter with the scraps. Do not eat them after such artistic projects.

Toss those suckers in the oven at 350 for about 12 minutes or so and enjoy! Turn the oven light on so the princess can watch then bake. Probably more educational than watching another episode of Spongebob, anyway.

I neglected to take a picture of the finished product because there was a flour mishap with the camera. It will be ok. Trust me when I say these are delicious! So much better than those store bought ones with the flavorless crust that the girl insists that I break off before she'll partake of them.. You can control the sugar too which is a must with an already rambunctious little one.. Don't want to be completely gray before I'm 30.

Try them and let me know what you think! :)