Madwoman's Attic: In The Attic

My Grandmother's Orange Coconut Cream Pie

Alrighty then, here it is-- straight from my  mom's book:

3/4 cups sugar (a little more if the oranges you're using are tart)
1/4 c + 2 tsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 c whole milk
1 c fresh squeezed orange juice
3 egg yolks, beaten (separate and keep whites for meringue)
grated orange rind of two oranges, split in half
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c flaked coconut
1 baked pastry shell
meringue (see recipe to follow)
additional coconut-- toasted--  to top meringue.

Prep tip:  Bake the pie shell and measure out all ingredients the night prior to making the pie.  You can leave everything out except the milk, of course.  The OJ may need to be stirred a little, but hey. . .   The milk can be measured and put out prior to assembling.  This will help speed up the process and keep your cream filling from scalding while reaching to add ingredients.  Eggs are also easier to separate when they're room temperature.  Also, consider toasting your coconut topping the night before or before you start the pie.  It'll need time to cool before putting it on the meringue. 

Instructions:  Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy sauce pan.  Mix them thoroughly.  Add milk and OJ.  Blend thoroughly over low heat.  Making sure the temperature isn't very high, temper the egg yolks into the mixture (add a little bit at a time and stir to make sure they don't cook in there).  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent scalding.  Once the mixture thickens a bit and begins to boil, continue stirring for at least 3 minutes to thicken thoroughly.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, butter, half the orange rind, and coconut.  Pour into the already baked pastry shell.  Make meringue per recipe to follow.  Place meringue on pie, place in moderately heated oven (350-400) for five minutes to brown peaks.  Sprinkle toasted coconut and leftover rind on top.

Substitution:  If you lack cornstarch, you can substitute about 5 tbsp of flour as a thickening agent.  Beware, though:  flour dulls the flavors in the pie and when it eventually stands up (you'll have to stir longer) it'll be heavy as all hell.  ~Heather

Meringue:
3 egg whites (room temp for greater volume)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a grease free bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2-4 minutes).  Add vanilla, beating just until blended.  Spread and style on top of pie.  Bake according to your individual recipe.  Yields about 2-2.5 cups.

Meringue tips:  Copper, stainless steel or glass bowls work best.  Don't add the sugar too soon or too fast as it will collapse the meringue.  The fresher the eggs and the closer to room temperature will help the meringue stand up. 

Merry Christmas!

Since my family are the latest holiday eaters in all the land (between 5 and 6 p.m. for Christmas Dinner), I get to spend a leisurely day with my sewing machine whilst the dinner rolls rise. 

Mom is particularly tired today.  I think the additional two pies did her in  yesterday.  She mentioned to her extremely busy hairdresser that she (and now 'I') make some rockin' cream pies for the holidays.  Her stylist of course turns to her and says, "If you give me two pies I'll do your hair for free." 

How do you say no to your hair dresser? 

So yesterday we produced an extra orange coconut cream and extra butterscotch cream pies.  We officially have no eggs left in the house (esp. now that the rolls are rising) and the milk is dangerously low.  Really, in cooking terms, those pies bankrupted us. 

And today, Joyous Christmas though it may be. . . complete with foggy-English-countryside atmosphere. . . my arm hurts from stirring those mofoing cream pies for the total of an hour and a half yesterday (they weren't wanting to set up!  grrrrr). 

So, time with the sewing machine will be a bit theraputic, I'm thinking. 

That being said, though, if these are the worst of my problems on Christmas, I shall count myself a lucky bastardina. 

Christmas update

Things have been very busy, as one would expect at this time of year.  But there also doesn't seem to be much blogworthiness.  I suspect that this is really just because I'm too tired and too busy to be introspective or snarky about anything.  Such is life. 

Mom and I have been hella busy with Christmas baking.  The vast majority of our presents this year are in the form of edible goods.  We've made coffee cakes, orange rolls, cream pies (butterscotch and orange/coconut cream), cookies (russian tea cakes, peanut butter blossoms, oatmeal walnut), and candy (chocolate peppermint bark).  We even managed to throw in a Romanian Christmas bread with chopped walnut-raisin filling for our family physician who is Romanian.  We still have two pies and dinner rolls to go. 

I'm also slowly making a new blouse for Christmas day.  Ready to wear clothing is actually harder for me than historical costumes.  It has more nuance of draping and fit and requires more delicate stitching skills. (I tend to be very guerrilla warfare regarding the construction of my garments-- something I need to get over). 

I did spend the $50 gift certificate my dad gave me to Joann's on sale fabric for some new faire garb.  I haven't been excited about making new faire garb in a while, but I am now.  I got some blue linen on sale for $4 a yard for a new working-class outfit to go over my kirtle.  And I got some pre-smocked silk on sale for $6 a yard for a loose-gown inspired by the burgundy one Catherine Parr wears in her portrait. 

So, I am back safe and sound.  By this time, Kat has reached Bakersfield and taken a bit of a break before she has to head to rehearsal.  I honestly can't imagine doing a musical rehearsal after an event weekend, but hey. . . she is ten years my junior.  I probably could have done it at 25. 

Dickens Fair was again a great deal of fun for us.  We danced at Fezziwigs, Kat finally caught the French Postcard show, had tea, listened to orators at the Adventurer's Club, watched some scenes from Dickens works, and sat and observed the Queen and her Court for a goodly amount of time. 

We didn't feel as much interaction with the performers this year as we did last year, but perhaps that is because we look less like playtrons than we have in the past.  We rather know our way around now, so. . . .  AT one point I was purchasing gloves and the vendor asked for my "card".  After a bit of confusion we realized she was asking to see my performer's pass.  I was like, "I'm not a participant.  I'm a regular patron." 

The other thing is that Kat and I are quite adept at entertaining ourselves in character.  We feel duty bound, as Ren faire performers, to provide a responsive audience for street gigs, stage shows, and character performances at other events, so I suppose we could be easily mistaken for participants from another area or in for a weekend gig or something. 

Anyways, aside from that (which totally isn't a big dealio), it was a charming time.  Kat will be returning next weekend with a bevy of 18 year old girls attending their first Dickens Fair, so that should be much, much fun for her!! 

Hopefully, she'll get the few photos we took to me sometime this week.   She has to get some time to breathe first! 

Okay, so. . . . I'm mostly packed and after a few errands and Kat's arrival in the Dina, I'll be off to Dickens Fair in SF. 

I have to thank Catboy and Jen for the CDs that arrived in the mail on my birthday.  I finally got to listen to them yesterday and am in love with them both.  Kat will be subjected to them on the drive northward.  I have to say the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss collaboration is rather brilliant.  Moody.  Very good stuff. 

And thank you to all of my friends for being my friends!!! 

XXoo

H

Surprises

I am posting this from my flannel pajamas in front of the Top Chef Holiday Special. 

How surprised was I to check in with my blog to find that the comments had jumped and Alyson had commandeered my blog!  It was a pleasant surprise, though. . . a very happy one. 

Yesterday, was indeed my birthday, and I have a raging headcold.  It is so bad that I had to cancel a rehearsal last night.  I was literally zoned out in front of the dvd player, slowly sewing glass beads onto my Dickens Fair bodice.  Basically I'm trying to get as much of the sick-time done before this weekend. 

So thank you for the Birthday Wishes. . . . they were well-timed wishes in the midst of my DayQuil fog.  :D

Hopefully I'll have a few pics from Dickens Fair to share with you next week. 

H

Happy Birthday, Madwoman!

posted by Alyson

It's past midnight, so I'm commandeering Heather's blog to send her a little surprise happy birthday greeting.  Here's wishing you a lovely day and a great year, my sweet.   Peace, love, happiness, and all the rest. 

You're a fab gal.
xoxoxox

ETA:  http://youtube.com/watch?v=yj6cbM-h8xg
(hee!!)

Steampunk: addendum

addendum:  I obviously have a long held interest in understanding fandom and subcultures in American society.  An observer by nature, I'm also a bit of a dillettente and like to dabble in a lot of different aesthetics, passions, etc.  It really comes down to my love of ideas and my respect for the synthesis of ideas.   There's a lot of stuff in the world that exists just for the sake of being fascinating.  I dig that.  Humans, after all, are the only animals on the planet that can imagine something in our heads and make it come to fruition in the material world-- in the world outside of ourselves.  Any  culture, sub or otherwise, that encourages that imagination is pretty damned cool.

Steampunk, anyone?

This tidbit was passed in front of my eyes by Don Wood at his message boards. http://offbeatbride.com/2007/12/a-steampunk-wedding#referrer
It brings to light something I think I should have known about for a long time, but somehow, strangely, didn't:  Steampunk. 

Have you heard of this?  And if you have, why have you not mentioned it to me?   This definitely will require further research into the nefarious Internet realms of strangely cobbled together fictions integrating historical settings with modern technologies. 

As defined by Wikipedia:
"Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction which came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history–style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality. Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely."

You can see why I'm intrigued, eh?  Hmmm. .. . I'm just going to have to think about this for a bit.  Poke around a bit.  Yeah.  I mean, I could find the aesthetic very appealing.  Or it could be just the mish-mash of Sexy-Renaissance-Victorian stuff that people walk into a costume shop at Halloween and ask for.  (As has actually happened in my friend, Kat's, experience.)

This is why I haven't posted in a few days

Dickens Fair Gown!

And here is the finished (well minus a few snaps and trim handsewn on) version of my seventh historical costume.  (I have eight, but I didn't contribute to the gown on that one). 

Although the light plays with the color, it's a camel silk dupioni skirt (box pleated) and a camel and gold silk brocade bodice with pagoda sleeves and pink cotton undersleeves (made from an old sheet). 

Underneath the ensemble is a period chemise, corset, corset cover, and matching bloomers. The bonnet was a gift for my birthday two years ago from the talented Miss B-. 

I keep looking at this thing with great pride.  It's easily the best constructed garment I've made thus far (although I still have to learn how to finish my seams properly).  It's also the first thing I've done where I didn't have to improvise any fixes for major screw ups and that actually looks like 1855. 

So Dickens Fair on the 15th will get a grand dose of Worthington Sister fabulousness and the dancers in Fezziwig's Warehouse will stand in awe!

Or not. 

And here is the finished (well minus a few snaps and trim handsewn on) version of my seventh historical costume.  (I have eight, but I didn't contribute to the gown on that one). 

Although the light plays with the color, it's a camel silk dupioni skirt (box pleated) and a camel and gold silk brocade bodice with pagoda sleeves and pink cotton undersleeves (made from an old sheet). 

Underneath the ensemble is a period chemise, corset, corset cover, and matching bloomers. The bonnet was a gift for my birthday two years ago from the talented Miss B-. 

I keep looking at this thing with great pride.  It's easily the best constructed garment I've made thus far (although I still have to learn how to finish my seams properly).  It's also the first thing I've done where I didn't have to improvise any fixes for major screw ups and that actually looks like 1855. 

So Dickens Fair on the 15th will get a grand dose of Worthington Sister fabulousness and the dancers in Fezziwig's Warehouse will stand in awe!

Or not.