it's all about pie

one thing about portland is they have great fruit and it's not expensive. the butter is even $1 a pound cheaper than los angeles. i've made 3 pies since i've moved to portland. the first week i was here i was too depressed to make pie or really anything. we ate out for almost every meal. i missed my o'keef and merrit stove in los angeles. i miss my kitchen view of the japaneese maple and ginko trees in my back yard. i miss the distant smell of the wet salty ocean sneaking through the front door. back to our temporary home here. a 3 story brick condo in a neighborhood of strangers i am forcing myself to get to know. they asian family next door that lines their shoes against the inside of their garage wall, all 30 pairs. the bum who sneaks a smoke in front of our front door, i can smell him sometimes when i leave the condo to take molly (our rescue dog) for a walk. i'm not scared, i'm just numb with fear of never coming back home and walking in my kitchen.

my first pie was key lime pie, an easy recipe that i found on the internet. even a non pie person guy friend of mine liked it so much his wife called me for the recipe the next day. my contribution to a dinner last week that friends invited us to. they moved from los angeles 3 years ago. also to raise their happens here i say to myself this would never happen in la. as if to fill up my portland cup withmore. just the other day i saw some people carrying a hand full of fresh lavender and i thought there must be a farmers market up ahead. all of a sudden aman from nowhere had a huge bundle of lavender and handed me a hand full for free with a smile. that would not happen in la.

my second pie was an apple pie made the same night as the boeuf à la bourguignonne night.
that was a good one too. everyone took a big piece and there were no leftovers for the next day. so when i saw that fresh peaches were $1.69 a pound this past saturday, less that a week after the apple pie, i made a fresh peach pie just for the 3 of us. i usually don't bake unless it's for a potluck or birthday. it's tuesday and we still have a half a pie left. by accident i used 2 sticks of butter instead of 1 and a half and it is so yummy and flaky. i've altered my sister, the chef's recipe not sure if i should tell her! i'm usually not into baking as much as this but i'm not sure what else to do with my self. at this rate 1 pie a week, i'll get fat and die of a clogged artery.