Tarte a la Bouille
Dad looking emo about some article about him or them? Mom looking cute.
Mom (on left) playing house with her dolls and neighbor friends. Kingsport, TN.
I’ve shared this before but thought it was appropriate for today’s posting. I’ll bet there’s some Crisco somewhere in that kitchen! Mom pours the milk in this lifestyle photo from the Kingsport, TN newspaper.
Gorgeous Mom & Dad on their wedding day with a large, foofy cake!
Mom’s captions always crack me up. Lady was both organized AND funny! See above.
Me with the kitty birthday cake I requested Mom make for my 10th birthday. The whiskers were licorice strings. I like that Mom served salad with our pizza. ha ha
Elisabeth celebrates 49 in Mom’s room at the Carolina Meadows nursing unit. Chapel Hill, NC. (This was when we had to shut Mom’s oxygen off because of the candles and Elisabeth was taking too long to make a wish so we had to yell at her!)
Another day, another cake. This one was for my 18th birthday at Lake Champlain, VT.
My daughter is introduced to the wonders of cream tea at the Orchard in Grantchester, England.
The Reed stockings, many of which Mom made. (You’ll see what I’m talking about in a minute.)
Me looking massively uncomfortable in front of the Reed family fireplace at Watauga St., Kingsport, TN. I still have that creche that is in the background. My father and aunt purchased it piece by piece from the 5 and Dime Store with their pocket money when they were kids.
Dad and Mom on the back porch of our Mallette St. house. Chapel Hill, NC.
I’m writing to you from my bed. No, it is not 7am. Or 10pm. It is 1:49pm on a Friday. I prefer to do most things from my bed, something I believe I get from my mother. As I’ve mentioned before, we Reed ladies like to recline. When I drove to Maine from Texas this summer I had to strike a deal with my husband. I would let him drive the bulk of the time IF I could put my feet on the dashboard and tilt the seat back. He hates my feet on the dashboard. He claims it is because I would be maimed if we had an accident. I know it’s really because he loves his car and hates my feet so damn much.
Today’s repose makes me really appreciate my million dollar memory foam mattress. It supports and cradles in all the right places. It’s lovely. I like it so much that I’ve had friends come over to try it out! That’s a funny experience, lying in bed chatting with someone who you’ve only seen vertically before. Now it seems that most people I know have some version of foam in their mattress. But, you know who pioneered that technology? My parents in the 1970s. I’m not sure how they discovered it but, growing up, we all had “foam rubber” mattresses. These were not glamorous and everyone thought we were a little crazy. Dad would take a bed measurement and go to some place that sold industrial foam (maybe 4” thick?) and VOILA we had a bed. Sheets were tricky, they always fell off in the corners because the mattresses were so thin. But, we all liked hard-ish mattresses (nature or nurture?) and foam was surprisingly comfortable. And, as thrifty Dad would point out, affordable! Now look who’s getting on the foam mattress bus? Everyone!
At one point I also had something called a “Water Pillow”. I ordered it from the Lillian Vernon catalog. Do you remember that? Gosh, how I loved that publication. It had every impractical item you could ever not need, as well as lots of monogrammed notepads and such. I used to pore through the catalog, dog-earring pages and circling items. One year I convinced Mom to let me order Christmas presents from Lillian Vernon WAY in advance. I was just too excited! When the items arrived I could barely stand it. Eventually I caved and gave everybody their stuff early, resulting in me having to buy another round of Christmas presents come December. For some reason I don’t remember Mom getting mad at me about this. Maybe because the bulk total of the items was like $15? Or maybe because she had better things to get mad about. The Water Pillow was my gift to myself. (As you do.) It was simply a plastic rectangle with a plug that you filled with tap water and slapped a pillowcase on. Sleeping on it was cold and kind of nauseating. It was not the luxury experience I had been promised by Lillian!
Speaking of luxury experiences, I was just given some lovely body butter by my husband’s aunt. It’s French, it smells good, and it is in a pretty container. I’ve come to really enjoy the finer things in my old age. One year during a childhood Christmas in Kingsport, TN we arrived at my Reed Grandparents’ house to find our stockings hung on the fireplace with tubs of Crisco shortening placed above them. Why the Crisco, you ask? Well, the Reeds suffer pretty uniformly from dry skin, especially on their hands, and someone figured out that Crisco was a reasonable moisturizer. (I’m using “reasonable” generously.) So, I guess that SANTA got in on the life hack, so that year we sat around my Grandmother’s formal living room rubbing hydrogenated oil on each other's limbs.
Mom always had super soft hands. Not from Crisco, mind you (that trend only lasted for a short season, thankfully), but from old fashioned hand lotion which she kept around the house. In Mom’s later years she developed Peripheral Neuropathy in her feet. In an effort to help with her circulation and keep the condition at bay, Dad would rub Mom’s feet every night. It was sweet. As I mentioned earlier my husband hates my feet so I will not be getting nightly foot rubs no matter what condition I develop! Oh well. At least I have my memory foam bed and French body butter.
Riffing on Crisco and French stuff, I thought I would share Mom’s recipe for a Cajun delight, Tarte a la Bouille (Burnt Milk Tart) which I found in her files today as well as Karen Barker’s recipe for pie crusts. Both use Crisco. Use some extra for your hands! ha ha
TARTE A LA BOUILLE
PASTRY CRUST
1 1/2 c ALL purpose flour
1/4 c Sugar
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1 TSP salt
1/2 Shorting (Crisco)
5-6 TBSP Cold water
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder & salt adding shorting a little at a time.
Blend together and form a ball.
Roll out on floured board.
Place in pie pan and pinch the edges to form a scallop. set aside....
CUSTARD
2-3 eggs,
3 TBS flour
1/2 C Sugar
2 1/2 c Milk
2-3 TSP vanilla.
Beat eggs adding sugar. Add flour...set aside.
HEAT ON LOW milk until it just begins to boil.
Remove from heat and add a little hot milk to egg mixture, whisk as you go until you add 1/4 milk.
Return milk to heat and add warm egg mixture and whisk until mixture thickens.
Add vanilla.
Remove and whisk 2-3 mins.
Add to pastry and bake 400o for 30-35 mins.
Best served cooled in refrigerator
KAREN’S BASIC PIE CRUST
From Karen Barker, Magnolia Grill, Durham, NC
Karen uses regular Crisco and Land of Lakes unsalted butter. Premium European style butter has a different moisture content, and will affect the crust.
2 2/3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 cup chilled vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup cold water or as needed
Place flour, salt and sugar in a food processor bowl fitted with a steel blade.
Pulse to combine.
Add chilled butter and shortening and pulse until the fat is evenly cut in and the mixture looks like cornmeal.
Remove to a mixing bowl.
Working quickly, gradually add the cold water while tossing and stirring with a fork, until the dough just comes together.
Divide into two even portions, then flatten into rounds.
Wrap in plastic and chill for several hours or overnight.
Yields 2 (9-inch) pie crusts.
AS USUAL, KEEP ME POSTED!
Email and subscription button below.