No it’s not. And neither are the dogs on Tonya’s Blog. They are just dehydrated. So they are sad dogs.

Thanks to everyone who submitted pie recipies, more than I could ever make for one year let alone one week. Here are the ones that I brought in to the studio. Chosen for the same reason everyone chooses a recipie, it sounded good. Pear Pie from Violet Bramwell of Hyas, Pumpkin Apple Pie from Sandi Chomyn of Togo and Sour Cream Raisin Pie from Thelma Watson of didn’t indicate a town. Here they are.
Can’t wait to tie into this one.

Pear Pie

Ingredients:
FOR THE CRUMBLE
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
FOR THE PIE
• 6 cups peeled and sliced pears
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• unbaked pie crust
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Combine the flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar and Cheddar cheese. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Toss the sliced pears with the lemon juice. Combine the 1/2 cup brown sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Add the sugar mixture to the pears and toss to coat.
Transfer the pears to the pie crust and top with the crumble mixture. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

It just sounded so different.

Pumpkin Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 pastry pie shell
2 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

PUMPKIN FILLING
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

TOPPING
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons cold butter
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions

Transfer pastry to a 9″ deep dish pie plate. Flute pastry edges. In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar flour, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Spoon into crust. In another large bowl, whisk the pumpkin filling ingredients. Pour over apple mixture, Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. For topping, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly; stir in walnuts. Sprinkle over pie. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until a knife inserted into pumpkin layer comes out clean (cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent over browning if necessary). Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

Never liked Raisin Pie, so this sounded different enough to have a shot.

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

1 cup raisins
1 cup white sugar
3 egg yolks , beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Meringue

3 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
Beat until stiff and will stand in peaks.

Mix all ingredients together excpept for the baking soda.Cook
on top of stove , stirring constantly , until mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and add the 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
Stir and pour into a baked 9 inch pie shell . Top with meringue.
Bake at 350 degrees until nicely browned. Aproximately 8-10 minutes.

Tonya has questioned it, and other family members who shall remain nameless. Yes, I am making all these pies! This one in from Marcella Shewchuk of Rama. It looks like a cream pie but it’s not. Check it out and remember in Canada we have the right to celebrate National Pie Day!

Snow Pie

3 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups boiling water
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 egg whites
1 Deep 9 inch crumb crust shell

Mix cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Stir in boiling water and lemon rind. Cook until thick. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat. Beat egg whites and remaining sugar together to for a stiff meringue. Fold in lemon mixture and scrape into prepared shell. Garnish with blueberries and chill until set.

Yes, I’m making these pies. (Tonya of little faith.) Helen Rupchan of Yorkton sent in this Pumpkin Pie variation. No crust, honey instead of sugar, and I used low fat evaporated milk and whipped topping. Good for those cutting back but still want a satisfying dessert. PIE CAN DO IT ALL!

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

3 eggs
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin
1 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 325F

Beat eggs slightly.
Add honey, spices, salt and pumpkin & mix well. Then add evaporated milk and mix well again.
Pour mixture into a 9 inch well greased pie pan. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes. Check by putting a knife in centre, if comes out clean it’s done. Let cool and chill befoe cutting into wedges and serve topped with whipped topping.

Martha Dawe of Invermay sent in this sweet beauty. Good with any berries.

Strawberry Rubarb Pie

2 cups strawberries
2 cups sliced rhubarb

1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
1 unbaked pie shell (deepdish)

Mix fruit. (if using frozen, thaw and drain prior to use)
Place in pie shell.
In a bowl combine sugar, flour and sour cream. Beat until smooth and pour over fruit.
Bake at 450F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more, until lightly browned.
Cool completely before cutting

Friday the 13th is unlucky when people talk too much about it. Here are the numbers on the day.

While Friday the 13th can feel special, it isn’t. In a 400-year period, the 13th falls on a Friday more than any other day: 688 times.

Three Friday the 13ths happen every few years. The last was in 2009, and the next is 2015. What’s special about 2012 — and what won’t occur again until 2040 — is that this is happening during a leap year.

That’s not all. For the first time since 1984, those three Friday the 13ths — today, April 13 and July 13 — are exactly 13 weeks apart.

If this all comes as a shock, it might be because last year we had just 1 Friday the 13th.

Jan 23rd is National Pie Day, so let’s celebrate with pie! Lots and lots of pie! Send me your pie recipies before the 23rd and I’ll post what I can. This is the legendary Impossible Pie. Make it with kids…they love it as it’s great and so easy. Remember, everything gets mixed in one bowl. Enjoy Pie!

4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups milk

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Pour into greased 10 inch pie pan. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
(Flour settles to form crust, the center is an egg custard, the coconut forms the topping.)
IMPOSSIBLE? NOT FOR PIE! Now send me yours. bbazin@harvardbroadcasting.com

Bush
Can’t believe you missed it.

It’s always amazing when a couple has been married for 50 years or more. Just to be healthy together for that period of time is fanatasic. That’s why we honor them as Golden Westeners every day at 6:20am, 10:20am & 2:20pm. Just send us the info and we announce, and send them a nice scroll. Now some couples go well beyond 50 years. Some over 60, we’ve even had 70! Now when it’s a famous couple it seems even more stunning. The couple in the photo above are famous all over the world, and today celebrate their 67th wedding anniversary! Guess who. Hint, we have to send the scroll to Houston Texas.

Once again this year the fine folks at Lake Superior State University have provided a list of words and phrases that must be banned for the coming year. Used too often, and should be left alone, “moving forward”. (banned 2 years ago.)

AMAZING
Received the most nominations. LSSU was surprised at the number of nominations this year for “amazing” and surprised to find that it hadn’t been included on the list in the past. Many nominators mentioned over-use on television when they sent their entries, mentioning “reality” TV, Martha Stewart and Anderson Cooper. It seemed to bother people everywhere, as nominations were sent from around the US and Canada and some from overseas, including Israel, England and Scotland. A Facebook page – “Overuse of the Word Amazing” – threatened to change its title to “Occupy LSSU” if ‘amazing’ escaped banishment this year…

BABY BUMP
Although nominated by many over the years, this phrase came in as a close second to “amazing” this year.

SHARED SACRIFICE
Usually used by a politician who wants other people to share in the sacrifice so he/she doesn’t have to.

OCCUPY
‘Occupy Wall Street’ grew to become Occupy ‘insert name of your city here’ all over the country.

BLOWBACK
MAN CAVE
THE NEW NORMAL
PET PARENT
See a full list here. www.lssu.edu