Life Simplifier of the Day

When O was little, like a good and lonely new mommy, I regularly attended La Leche League and a Hippy Mommy Playgroup. Although I don't go anymore, they both served me well at the time. I learned a lot in LLL:

• Breastfeeding is normal.
• I don't have to defend my parenting choices, but I can, if I'm willing to risk boring the heck out of other people.
• Some people take the whole natural parenting thing too far and are extremely boring when talking about it.
• Even hippies can be judgmental and small-minded. Okay, I already knew that, but I got to see it in action.
  

The Hippy Playgroup meant a lot to me, too. I made some good friends and these are some things I learned:

• A. can take care of his own children just fine while I go out with friends for a few hours. Really.
• I can still carry on interesting conversations, as long as I have coffee, even though my brain has gotten more and more addled with each child.
  
• Bringing food to a family with a baby is a super nice thing to do. Doesn't matter what the food is and doesn't matter how well you know them. After the X-Man was born, we had food almost every night for over a month. I still get teary thinking about how much that meant to me. Not all of the food was our preference and we didn't know some of the people very well. I'm eternally grateful to them and I try to help other people when I can, without worrying if it'll seem weird.
• I don't have to defend my parenting choices and, if I want to be a good friend, I won't question the choices of my friends. I can assume all of my friends are intelligent (cuz I aM so sMarT.) If they want my opinion, they'll ask. If they have all of the information they want or need, they'll make a great decision based on that, without my help or judgment.
• The vast majority of people who choose to homebirth and/or homeschool do it for great reasons. A very, very small minority make those choices because they are socially phobic and/or very small-minded.
  
• Hummus is not appropriate for a party.
• How to make a pie crust right in the pan, no trouble, no mess.

The last was courtesy of my friend J's grandmother, who I've never met, but suspect I would like immensely. And now, I am passing it on to you.

Pat in the Pan Crust, by Madeline Colletti*

Right there in a 9 inch pie pan, dump and mix the following:

1 1/2 cups + 3 tablespoons flour. If you want to use whole wheat, I recommend whole wheat pastry flour. But what I really recommend is good old all-purpose flour (organic and unbleached, of course!)

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons milk (It works fine with whatever kind of milk: soy, rice, goat, cow, skim, whole, etc.)

If you want to get fancy, you can mix the dry ingredients (in the pan!) with a fork first. Then pour (in the pan!) the milk and oil. When I made it last night, though, I dumped everything right in the pan (!) and it came out great. Mix it with a fork (guess where!) until the dry ingredients are moist and the dough is chunky.

Now press it into the pan with your fingers. I recommend pressing it into the sides first, then use what's left for the bottom. After you add your filling, you can go back around the edges and press the dough lower if it was too high. I like to make it a little bit too high so I can get a nice fat edge around the top.

This crust is great for a pie or a quiche. If you're a quiche maker, here's a base recipe:

4-5 eggs

spoonful of mustard (any kind, even good old yellow hot dog mustard, but I prefer something with a bit of zing.)

cup of grated cheese (any kind.)

splash of milk

salt and pepper to taste

That can be dumped over whatever veggies or meat you like in your quiche.

Now cook the thing at 350° for 35-45 minutes, until the crust is slightly brown. let it sit out on the counter until the center is truly set. Eat it hot or cold.

Namasté, y'all!

*copyright © 2001 Madeline Colletti