Wet Wednesday

ART IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

It started raining last night here in NH and it hasn't let up it is still dripping. The plants are loving it of course. It is quite cool though and only 54. I love the sound of the rain dripping outside of my open window in the studio. I like it better than any music. Do you live somewhere where there are a lot of murals painted on garage doors in alleys and on the sides of many big buildings? One of my current photography projects is to take pictures of the many murals around my city where I live. We have graffiti too like any big city but this is art to encourage others to see beauty in their surroundings and to create some of the most beautiful murals they want to, instead of the graffiti that plagues our city. My latest art challenge is to create a cityscape: day or night, my choice. I am also working on a mountain scape. Small scale though not big like these fantastic murals. I hope you are inspired to create by your surroundings wether you live in a big city or way out in the wilderness, by the ocean or far away in some other foreign land. This article was not written to offend any true graffiti artists. I have seen some very nice random murals created by graffiti artists. I am talking about the kind of amatuer graffiti random vandalism to our beloved homes....that we work so hard to own. The kind of graffiti that is sprayed on the sides of businesses that the owners work so hard to run.

Lattice Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Recipe


INGREDIENTS

Pastry

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp each cold butter, cut in small pieces, and trans-fat-free shortening
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 to 4 Tbsp cold water

Filling

1 1/4 lb rhubarb, trimmed and cut into
1/2-in. slices
1 container (16 oz) strawberries, hulled and halved
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp butter, cut in small pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

PREPARATION

1. Pastry: In food processor, pulse flour, salt, butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With motor running, add lemon juice, then water, 1 Tbsp at a time, just until dough separates from sides of bowl.

2. Gather dough into a ball and divide in half. Press each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll out.

3. Place a sheet of foil on a rimmed baking pan on bottom rack to catch any juices. Heat oven to 425ºF. Coat a 9-in. pie plate with nonstick spray.

4. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface or between 2 sheets of wax paper to a 12-in. circle. Fit dough into pie plate, pressing gently onto bottom and up sides. Roll out remaining disk as above into an 11-in. circle; cut into 1-in.-wide strips.

5. Filling: Toss rhubarb and strawberries with vanilla in large bowl. Mix sugar, cornstarch and ginger in a small bowl until blended; toss with berry mixture to evenly coat. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate; dot with butter.

6. Arrange 5 dough strips across pie. Arrange remaining 5 strips at right angles, weaving. Press ends into edge, fold under and crimp. Brush strips with water; sprinkle with sugar.

7. Place pie on center oven rack; bake 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF, rotate pie 180 degrees and bake 50 minutes more (loosely shield pie with foil if crust gets too brown) until crust is golden and filling bubbles. Cool on wire rack. Serve at room temperature. Makes 8 servings. ENJOY!

When I was a little girl this was very similar to one of the pies my Mother made. She loved to cook and bake. I do to.

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