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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    We are harvesting our new red skin potatoes now in Florida. They are delicious and a treat this time of year.

  2. Idaho, spuds, what could be more perfect?

  3. Gwendolyn Lebahn says:

    I’m thankful for the photos of this recipe, simply because you did not say if the spuds were peeled, whole, cooked & then smashed … see what i mean ??? And, judging from the pictures, it’s a simple process !!! Thank you so much !!!

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    It is well into strawberry season here and last weekend was the opening of the closest U Pick farm. Strawberries are the best!

  2. Terry Steinmetz says:

    I’m enjoying fresh strawberries while on vacation In sunny Florida. Yummy!!!! At home strawberries won’t be ready until 4th of July:-(

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Devoured!

If I have to run errands in town, I make it a point to show up on my daughter’s doorstep at the very moment my granddaughters are ready to be tucked into bed so that I’m the one who gets to read them a bedtime story.

Last week, Meg and I discussed that I’d be stopping by, so she reminded me, “Make sure you get here right at 7:15 so they get to sleep on time.” I arrived a few minutes early, so I decided to wait in my car until the exact moment of 7:15 (my arrival often sets other things in motion besides jammies and brushing teeth:)

I was looking down at my Blackberry when something (someone?) knocked on the door of my Jeep. I couldn’t see anyone, but then I heard two little people yelling, “Nanny, open the door!” Stella and Mia (not in their jammies yet) were ever so excited to have me … eat bedtime pie with them (no matter that it was past their bedtime).

As it turns out, Meg decided too-late-in-the-day to make a pie with the fresh fruit I’d sent home the day before (left over from a photo shoot). Lucas, Meg, the two girls, and I DEVOURED most of a warm pie. The flavor was extraordinary, and it wasn’t because it was flavored with so much family love; truly, she’d built a magnificent pie. Here’s her improvised (“I didn’t have all the ingredients I usually use”) recipe that’s a keeper as is—happy accident.

 

Photo Mar 14, 5 46 54 PM

 

Megan’s Berry Pie

Simple Crust
2        cups flour
1/8     t salt
1/8     t sugar
1        cup (2 sticks) cold butter
1/2     cup cold water

Filling 
1        cup fresh blueberries
4        cups fresh strawberries, quartered
1/2     cup sugar
3 1/2  T cornstarch
1        T fresh lime juice
1        T salted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Make crust: Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Working quickly to prevent softening, cut in butter with a pastry cutter or two knives. Add cold water and mix just until the dough sticks together.
2. Roll half the dough to fit into a 9-inch pie pan; trim the overhanging dough.
3. Position a rack on the lower third of your oven with another rack just beneath it. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
4. Combine filling ingredients and let stand for 15 minutes.
5. Pour filling into prepared crust and dot with the 1 T butter.
6. Brush the edge of the bottom crust with cold water. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into strips. Cover the pie with a lattice top.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Slip a baking sheet beneath the pie on the lowest rack, reduce oven temp to 350°F, and bake 25–35 minutes more.

Serve slightly warm. Also delish the next morning straight from the fridge (or so I’m told).

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    What a perfect way to end the day and properly prepare for a bedtime story!! Yum, that pie looks good!

  2. Terry Steinmetz says:

    I am so glad that you got to enjoy this time with your grandgirls. Mine live 11 hours away, so I only get to be with them twice a year! But we have pie, too, whenever we can!

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    What a perfect vintage wheelbarrow for the garden. It would be so picture perfect outside yesterday’s red barn with a red tractor parked outside. I think Duluth Clothing sells red stripe overalls for women. Wouldn’t that be a perfect match?

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Hmmmmmm, rainbow Swiss Chard!
    Mary Jane, I sent you an email about some very special Farmgirl Mail!!!!!

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Delicate and amazing.

  2. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Mary Jane~ I was reading in my newest magazine that autographed copies of your new book will be available soon. When I checked the current book offerings, it does not show the new book yet. Will you be telling us when autographed books are available to order? After sampling your cheese last summer, I cannot wait to get this newest book!!!! I am also totally in love with the milk cow labels shown on the latest Milk Cow Kitchen fabrics? Did you make any of those labels for your current milk bottles that are in the grocer? I am loving the one that says Mary Janes Milk-O-Mat $ Creamery! I currently have several of your first bottle labels for all of my big canning jars that hold my dry goods like beans, grains etc. I would love to have several of the mIlk-O-Mat labels for my current jars that have no labels. Any chance they are available to purchase? Etta Rose carries on the line this year and what a perfect baby photo to market this new book!

    • MaryJane says:

      Guess we need to get on the ball and update our website. Milk Cow Kitchen was printed this past week but it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll have them in hand. I suppose we should start selling them as a pre-order like Amazon does. Duh. The labels in the fabric (good eye Winnie!) were just us having fun in our design studio. But I can print them any of them on paper and send them to you. What size, etc.? Would LOVE to help you out with your collection. You are soooo sweet to notice all these cow details:) The sun has come out, the a.m. singing birds are back, and I’m on my way out to greet my cows, feed them, muck out their stalls, and then take three of them for a long walk. I’ll kiss Rose Etta for you!

      • Winnie Nielsen says:

        Whoop!!! I would LOVE,LOVE,LOVE 6 labels that fit wide mouth jars as that is what I currently use for all my storage items. It is so wonderful each time I grab a jar to see the current Mary Jane Creamery labels smiling at me. It’s like having MJF always close at hand!!

        About the books. Are you going to offer any autographed ones from your site like you mentioned? I would much rather wait for that opportunity to purchase one than get one off Amazon. Hey, I saw on weather.com that Boise was going to get close to 61 today!! Maybe Moscow too?? Etta Rose won’t need her blanket on today as she soaks up an taste of Spring!

        • MaryJane says:

          Labels on their way this week! Yes, we’ll get a pre-order website thing going as soon as possible, and then the minute I get my load of books, I’ll sign them and mail them out to YOU and anyone else that buys one from us instead of Amazon. Thanks for the nudge. One of the last things I did after walking my cows was to take Rose Etta’s blanket off. But by tonight, we have 100% chance of rain again. Enjoy it while you can, right?

  3. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Oops, I forgot to mention that I finished the Bees in America book today and it was a great read. I love american history and the story of bees in our nation should be in every school curriculum. It was fascinating and I am so glad you mentioned it in your blog.

    Yesterday, I started and could not stop till finished, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. The story is compelling but for flower lovers, the book is based on the meanings of all of the various flowers. For example daffodils mean New Beginnings, Basil means Hate. Totally fascinating! I never knew there was a whole language about flowers and what goes with what in a bouquet. A New York Times Bestseller, I highly recommend this if you have not already read it.

  4. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Yay!! Clap, Clap, Clap!!! Thank-you so much for the labels. I am in love with the graphics! Getting a signed copy of your new book is a must have as I was lucky enough to taste some cheese. It was so creamy and delicious. Just let us know when we can order from you. Thanks again so much and I hope you have been having a great thaw out today ahead of the early spring rains.

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Ohh, I love rainbow chard! We eat it all the time.

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