We had a wonderful RS meeting on Tuesday night...featuring dinner and specialty witches who taught us some new skills. Our "soup witch" Judy made a wonderful variety of soups to eat. Janet taught us about the simplicity of "Roads rolls" and some fun things to do with them. She made pies and also was the "emergency preparedness witch".
She discussed The basics of Water Storage. Our October Goal: Obtain your families 2 week supply of water.
A few important Water Storage Facts:
1. It's recommended to store at least 14 gallons per person, a 2 week supply.
2. Water can be stored in clear 2 liter pop bottles, or juice containers,water bottles, and large Drums/Containers.
3.Purifying water my done in 2 steps. A. Clarify:Cloudy or dirty water must be made clear. It may be passed through filter paper, fine cloth, or other filter. It may be allowed to settle and the clear water on top carefully drawn. Filtered water must be disinfected before use. B. DISINFECT: Boiling method: Bringing water to a rolling boil for 3-5min. will kill most water-born microorganisms. However, prolonged boiling of small quantities of water may concentrate toxic contaminates if present.
Bleach method: Adding 1/8 tsp.(8 drops) of fresh liquid household chlorine bleach to evey gallon (4 liters) of water kills most microorganisms.
For more info. talk with Janet.
Pie Witch
I was the pie witch for the night. My mom was known for her amazing apple pies and taught me the skill of making pie crust when I was a teenager. Since then I have loved to make pies (especially apple.) I made a pie from scratch and shared a few tips on making pies.
1. Use crisco (no generic substitutions) it makes a difference in the quality of the crust.
2. Measure exactly. I've found that the more precise I am, the better it turns out.
3. Pastry blenders make cutting the shortening and flour so much easier.
4. ICE COLD water! When adding your water make sure it is ice cold!
5. Use a mixture of apples (Granny Smith and Gala are my favorites).
My recipe:
Ambers Apple Pie
Pastry for a double pie crust Apple pie Filling
2/3 cup + 2 Tbs. Crisco shortening 2/3 cup sugar
2 Cups Flour 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon
4-5 Tbs. ice cold water 6-8 apples
Peel apples and combine filling ingred. in med. size bowl. Let sit while making the pie crust. Use a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the dry mixture until the pieces are the size of small peas. Slowly add water and combine with a fork. Once dough is moistened, using your hands form into 2 equal balls. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to flatten the dough. Roll dough from center to edge into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer dough to pie plate. Add apple mixture. Take 2nd ball of dough and roll it out and place on top of apple mixture. Pinch edges together and cut a few slits in top to allow steam to vent when baking. Brush the top with melted butter and cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 425 for 40-50 min.
Janet also made some great pies! Here is her Peanut Butter Pie recipe:
Peanut Butter Pie
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 baked pie shell
Mix sugar and PB together until crumbs form. Cover bottom of pastry shell with crumbs, reserving about 3 TBS. for top.
1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt 3 eggs, separated
2 1/2 cups milk 6 TBS sugar (for meringue)
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix together 1/2 c. sugar, cornstarch, and salt in med. saucepan. Beat egg yolks slightly; add milk and stir until well blended. Cook over med.heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to boil and boils 1 min. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool to room temp. Spoon into pie crust. Beat egg whites till foamy. Add sugar, 1 TBS. at a time, beating well after each TBS. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over filling. Top with remaining PB crumbs. Bake at 425 about 5 min. or till brown.
The "Neighborhood Witch"
Barbara shared with us some fun neighborhood ideas with us. She put cute gumballs in this jar and used a ribbon to make it fun.
1. Her yummy "The Best (and Easiest) Gooey Carmel Popcorn
Pop 2 bags of butter flavor microwave popcorn. Place in a large mixing bowl and Remove any un-popped kernels of corn. In a med. saucepan combine: 1 can condensed milk, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 TBS. vanilla. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and cook to soft ball stage (approx. 8-10 min). Pour over popcorn and stir to evenly coat...YUMMY!
2. Candy corn cookie ideas
3. You've been Boo-ed..be watching for the Neighborhood Phantom to make it's way to your doorstep!
Hey Ladies....:)
The "Cute" witch
Thanks to everyone who came to support this fun night of sisterhood and hopefully learning some new skills or helpful information. Thanks to all those behind the scenes for decorations, food prep...all of Judy's yummy soups, publicity and set up and clean up.
