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.
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).
Yesterday’s post, “Calling All Sisters,” introduced you to our Farmgirl Sisterhood, the Merit Badge program, and the “Sister Issue” newsletter. Today, I’d like to show you how we feature Merit Badge awardees in the newsletter. (Did I mention that Sisters have earned over 8,000 Merit Badges to date??!!) If you participate in our Merit Badge program, you’ll find your own congratulations in print each month as you complete new badges. In our March newsletter, we had five pages of Merit Badge awardees and one page for badges earned by their kiddos.
If you enjoy my daily Raising Jane Journal but haven’t yet discovered my Farmgirl Sisterhood, read on …
We are Sisters — a sisterhood of, you guessed it, farmgirls. We’re country, we’re city, and every texture and stripe in between. It’s not at all about where we live, but how we live. We get together to chat online, or we form in-the-flesh Farmgirl Chapters. We love to share stories, to craft, to garden, and to nurture the next generation of Farmerettes and Young Cultivators. (“Sister” is an endearing term for adult women that I grew up hearing every day. If you’ve read my books, you’ll know what the Sister thing is all about.)
Did you know you can get exclusive farmgirl privileges and specials when you join the Farmgirl Sisterhood? When you add your name to the Farmgirl Sisterhood list, you will receive a consecutive number according to when you signed up (for example, Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #750). We’re now 5,800 Sisters strong! Once you’re signed up, we’ll mail your official Farmgirl Sisterhood badge depicting an adorable aproned hen, our official logo, ready to wear or embroider, and an official Farmgirl Sisterhood certificate. We also offer for purchase a Sisterhood necklace customized with your unique number. Over on the Farmgirl Connection chatroom, you’ll get a special hexagonal Farmgirl Sisterhood designation by your name. And then every day we round up the day’s new blog posts from our Sisters in one handy place on Girl Gab so you can see who’s gabbing and who’s gushing.
In addition, you’ll start receiving our beautiful 70+ page monthly e-mail newsletter called the “Sister Issue,” an easy way to click (er, cluck) your way back to the farm in between magazine issues.
As with any nesting hen, we prefer to accomplish our work with regularity. That’s why, if you’re an official member of our Farmgirl Sisterhood, our Sister Issue will be showing up in your e-mail box on the first day of every month (well, except for January, because we head henchos take a much-needed break every December). It’s packed with articles, exclusive recipes, favorite finds, special offers, and more. With a cluck-cluck here and a click-click there, we’re here for you just when you need a sisterly cyber hug the most.
Here’s Ashley’s (my DIL) Farm Kitchen recipe from this month’s newsletter:
And here’s one of our five “favorites” pages (we love to share our finds!).
You’ll also be eligible for “Members Only” special product offers from MaryJanesFarm, and you can start earning Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badges right away (think Girl Scouts for grown-ups) and post photos and narratives of your projects on our website (braggin’ rights). In other words, you’ll be strutting your farmgirl skills for all the world to see! Sisters have earned over 8,000 Merit Badges to date!
Members are also the only ones permitted to mentor Farmerettes (farmgirls-in-training between the ages of 14–18) and Young Cultivators (girls and boys between the ages of 6–13) and work with them to earn their own Merit Badges. But if you’re not inclined to earn Merit Badges, there are plenty of other benefits to joining up. Whether it’s cooking, stitching, gardening, make-it-yourself projects, going green, cleaning up, or just getting together, you’ll gather with other farmgirls for lots of fun!
Ready, set, find out more!
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Teresa Julian!!!
Teresa Julian (#1348) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Backyard Farmer Merit Badge!
“I used to purchase farm-fresh eggs from a woman around the corner. I had always wanted my own flock, but my husband was not convinced that our suburban neighborhood would welcome them. Finally, after much debate, hubby agreed! I ordered 5 chicks from mypetchicken.com, and a few months later, we welcomed our newest additions to our family!
Buying organic feed is pricey, but at least I know that my chickens will be their healthiest … especially when they get to enjoy organic kitchen scraps too.
It’s turned out AWESOME! My fresh eggs don’t even compare to my neighbor’s … I think it has something to do with the super-freshness from nesting box straight to the pan.
And by the way, not too long ago, I caught my wonderful husband taking pictures of the chickens. I guess they won him over.
We are expecting six more this April!”
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
