few and far between

Roasted Figgy Custard Pie

Truly these posts are FEW and FAR between but I am determined to not to let my blog completely die!  Juggling a household with our sweet babies and our new six year old foster child takes up more time and energy than I seem to have!  Anyhow, I have not completely forgotten about pie but certainly have not kept up to speed with 'pie day Fridays.'

I did make a fig custard pie about a month ago which was delightful and used fresh figs from our fig tree!  I was so excited because last year the birds and the squirrels ate them all and I was left with none.  The fig pie was a recipe from Ashley English and although it was tasty, I think I would leave out all the spices next time and just go for a vanilla bean custard fig.  Her recipe called for a lot of spices which I felt over powered the figs and you could barely taste them.

I also made an absolutely divine nectarine & plum tart with walnut-mint pesto, also based on a recipe from Ashley English.  This was spectacular and a perfect summer tart.  The walnut and mint pesto just brought and extra delightful flavor that was not overpowering just the perfect compliment.

Nectarine & Plum Tart with Mint & Walnut Pesto

This week I am doing a ladies Friday Pie Night for some of the nearby college students from our church.  I am testing two pies for a future pie making job (for a wedding).  I will be testing out a gluten-free gingersnap pumpkin pie recipe and chocolate chess pie.  I also just got some delicious Asian pears in my Horse & Buggy veggie box, so I might have to make a pear tart as well!

Hopefully I can give you all a run down of my favorite pie recipes by the end of the year and you can actually try some of these out for yourself!  I am doing some baking for a local women's creative retreat next weekend (Sept. 27-28) and will be selling my edibles on Friday night at the 'Craft Fair' portion of the retreat, so if you live in RVA come and check it out!  I am also co-teaching a session on Homemade Pasta & Sauces on the Saturday afternoon.

September is birthday month and I am dreaming that for my birthday this year I could just do a 'tablenosh' style dinner for all my friends in Richmond - and of course if you want to come from Australia please do!  I have not mentioned it to my husband yet, so we'll see...and who knows if I really have the creative juices for such a thing but oh to let the noshing continue!