Comments on: Home Made Pie Crust–Made with 100% Whole Wheat Flour?

By: Jean Johnson

Jean Johnson — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:47:03 +0000

Sam–thx for cruising through–glad to be finding my larger cast iron community. I know sometimes people will get confused when I bring a pie in a skillet. “Did you do it stove top” etc…Sigh

Anyhow, glad you get it. Best, J

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:23:36 +0000

You’re a rockstar. Thank you so much for the details on cooking a pie in cast iron. Everyone I know thinks I’m crazy for using cast iron, but no other materials can hold up against my dreadful cooking habits (like forgetting that I did, in fact, turn the burner on 20 min ago). Most also feel that I’m crazy for measuring by sight and cooking by instinct. I love your title, btw. Definitely going to visit again. Thx

By: Jean Johnson

Jean Johnson — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:04:55 +0000

Hey Natalia—always lovely to hear from you–although no questions too out of the loop to ask–and I know that you as a former teacher would be the first to say that–chuckle

On Thanksgiving, I don’t have any family–can you believe it? I’m it. The sole survivor. But a couple houses of friends have said cruise over, so I’ll be out and about doing the holiday gig.

On your pie crust questionnes:

1—yes: in my lingo, cube = stick

2—dunno about the latest science on women of a certain age & their iron needs & cast iron pans—but little details like that never stopped me from holding forth:

First as Michael Pollan points out (In Defense of Food), health/food claims come and go, often on the basis of rather thin science–as well as science sponsored by industry.

Second, and here’s my experience: I have a whole family of cast iron that makes my kitchen life easy and very very enjoyable—

a wok for flash cooking grand piles of kale,

a griddle for making cheese crisps,

a small small skillet for frying red chile,

and standard skillets for pies, rolls, focaccias (called Tangled Up Focaccia in Hippie Kitchen after Dylan’s Tangled Up in Blue), pizzas, and roasting winter root vegetables.

It all started in grad school with a single griddle, but over time as I realized how easy the rinse and swipe clean-up is with cast iron, I happily courted the rest of the crowd—–and have even given over the big back burner spot to the cast iron wok where she sits ready and waiting day after day (and I don’t have to heft and hoist).

I may take a flying leap off into the big beyond earlier than later because of my cast iron dependency (and wouldn’t join Cast Iron Anonymous even if a group started up) but the reward will have been years of pleasure, ease, delicious eating.

Carve that on my gravestone—& be sure not to leave the Dylan part out! All best, J

By: Jean Johnson

Jean Johnson — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:59:08 +0000

Natalia and I happened on one another at Midland Public Library last year when I did a recipe from my first book. She was one of three or four who showed up for the event–sigh, the pain of being an unknown with a fat and sassy message–but Natalia was a pal. She bought a book, helped me lug stuff out to the car at the end, joined the blog, and stayed in touch. Here’s the message I found waiting on Thanksgiving morning. I’m answering back pronto in case she’s thinking of trying a pie today.

Hi Jean,

What an incredibly fabulous edition of your mailing to us!

Thank you very much!

You are always so very generous with all that you send.

I do have a couple of questions, if you can oblige, please:

1. Idiot question #1

What is a cube of butter for the pie dough? Do you mean
what I would call a stick or do you mean that you cut it off to
be as long as it is square?

2. I have an old cast iron pan that I used to love and use but hesitate to use it now because we post-menopausal women are usually told to go out of our way to avoid extra iron. What say
you for us older types and iron pans? other than “moderation”?

Thinking of you with much fondness and wishing you and your family and friends a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and every day.

Love,
Natalia