Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Vote YES on Measure B

Sometimes we all get compulsive.
I baked 10 old fashioned American pies over the weekend and what a fascinating lesson that was in the dangers of romanticizing the past. Two of the pies were delicious, two were ok, and the rest found their best and highest use as lunch for the chickens. I have to finish the story about the pies today. Whenever a deadline looms, I decide I need to write a blog post, even when I have little to say.

Here's what I want to say: Michael Ruhlman put up a great, thought-provoking  piece yesterday about the propriety of sharing political views on a food blog. Then he shared his political views. If you have an hour or so to spare, you should read the post and then read the 200+ comments, which run the gamut from "Rock on!" to "I believe it is abhorrent to murder unborn babies for the 'convenience' of a woman, and will never visit your blog again, Mr. Ruhlman. Have a nice life."

What do you think about politics in non-political forums? I can't decide what I think. I admire the way Ruhlman just put it out there and let people bark at him. You have to be tough to take that, tougher than I am for sure. I'm glad he did it, but I'm also glad everyone doesn't because the whole internet would burst into flames and explode and we'd all just end up hating each other even more than we already do. Am I the only one ready to get back to Facebook posts about cats?

You're all wondering now, so I'll just spit it out: I really am voting yes on Measure B. But I have to finish this pie story first, so it's time to get cracking. I'll link to the story when it's published and will leave you with a piece of advice: If you're planning to bake the sour cream raisin pie on page 273 of Marjorie Mosser's Good Maine Food (1939), you should reconsider.

sour cream raisin pie.

23 comments:

  1. I have my grandmother's recipe for Raisin Cream Pie -- not sour cream -- and it is delish!

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  2. The sour cream was the problem. Is your grandmother's pie recipe wettish or dry?

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  3. Sour Cream Pie is one of my favorite pies - but I think I would only eat it if my mom or grandmother made it. I'll check and see what their recipe is and give it to you if you would like. Or maybe it is not worth the effort and you should just keep making pies that you love...life is short.

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  4. I like sour cream and I like raisins, but baked together in a pie -- in this pie -- they didn't work. I was introduced to the concept of raisin pie from my own late grandmother, who once told me how much she liked it. I had never heard of such a thing.

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  5. My recently passed grandfather loved raisin pie. I am not a fan.

    I am fine with and even enjoy political speech on non-political blogs, as long as it is respectful, intelligent and articulate, and if the person seems to have spent time thoughtfully considering the issues before arriving at an opinion. I also like unicorns.

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  6. While I believe that successful blogs are successful blogs because they are focused (more or less), I also believe that so much of what we call "politics" is also wrapped up in every aspect of our lives. As human beings, we're just not that compartmentalized. So, good for Ruhlman. (Would I be saying that if I didn't agree with him? I hope so.)

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  7. I agree that it is too hard to comparmentalize, but I also think that sometimes we tend to only look for our own viewpoint reflected back. I wish we could go back to when you could respect another's decision to think differently. That being said, since I live in Ohio and this last week has been one loooong political attack ad, I am ready to be done. I vote for pie, or maybe danish.

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  8. Great Photo Finish to your blog today, Tipsy.

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  9. My vote: Raisins should only be used in Kellogg's Raisin Bran (not Post or any other) and Sun-Maid cinnamon-raisin bread (no knock-off brands or homemade; must be eaten toasted with butter). Otherwise should only be eaten by the handful.
    Salads? No. Pies? No. Indian food? No. Cookies/pastries/rolls? No. Etc? No.

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  10. If your blog commentary leaves little to guess as to your political positions, then go ahead and bring it out in public. There are "mom blogs" I subscribe to which dabble in that territory and I'm ok with that. If a cooking blog or gardening blog went that way... I'd probably ignore it at the beginning, but if the politics were (to me) obnoxious, I'd unsubscribe.

    love the chicken pic!

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  11. I love your chickens, too cute especially the fuzzy white one. Just curious, is there anything a chicken will not eat?

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  12. My grandma's recipe is thick and pudding-like. It's very much like vanilla pudding with raisins in a crust except that that 'pudding' is caramely, and smooth, and sweet, and delicious!

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  13. Oh, forgot to mention: Grandma sometimes called her raisin-cream pie "funeral pie." My mother told me that funeral pies were named as such because raisins were cheap and easy to get access to year-round so many folks took the pies to funerals. Mom's also had a two-crust raisin pie that is similar to a traditional fruit pie. That doesn't sound as appealing to me. If you'd like Grandma Chloe's recipe, I'll be happy to post it.

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  14. I mostly agree with paragraph 3. The thing is, if it's my blog I can say, within the limits of the law, anything I want. I can express my opinion, if I happen to have one, on any subject I choose. But that may leave me only with readers who share that opinion and it most likely has nothing to do with the subject of my blog (which happens to be quilt making. I do post reviews of gadgets. Agree or not, doesn't matter to me. It won't change the world for better or worse). I think about that even when I post about cooking since it's not relevant to my topic. I'm not going to convince anyone with a blog post that they're idiots and should agree with me to avoid being one.

    I've never had raisin pie, with or without sour cream. And I very much enjoy both apple pie your blog. I'm looking forward to the article.

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  15. I was one of the commenters on Ruhlman's blog and was quite surprised at the vitriol engendered by his remarks about politics.

    If people don't think our elected officials have a profound impact on our food, they should only look at the governments of countries like Cuba, the former Soviet Union, Guatemala and Somalia {where they don't have enough to eat} China {where the post-revolution government destroyed thousands of years of the country's culture, calling the arts and high end cooking decadent, and where there is now so much pollution and corruption that the entire food supply is suspect} and France, which is outlawing many of its ancient processes for artisanal cheese making, ruining the variety and complexity that has always characterized France's cheeses.

    I wonder if the people who told him he had no right to talk about politics on his food blog are very young and so don't remember when we couldn't easily buy imported olive oils, real parmesan, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. And before that, there was rationing because of the war!

    We are so accustomed to easy access and abundance that we don't understand just how unbelievably lucky we are that we have healthy, safe food and water to eat and drink every day and how good food is so utterly central to our lives. Most of us have never done without it and can't imagine having to stand in line for hours to buy a loaf of bread, or carrying water from a stream

    If we are what we eat, and if our governments deprive us of food, or access to healthy food, {such as allowing corruption in the USDA and denying food stamps to the poor} we all suffer the consequences.

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  17. I'm finally reaching the age where I realize my favorite internet people may not (and frequently don't) agree with me politically. In any case, I adore your blog (and your book).

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  18. Since you're using an old-timey Maine foods cookbook, I have to ask...have you ever checked out Sandra Oliver's "Saltwater Foodways"? Or Karen Hess? Or historic-themed cooking as a general topic? I've run into people who have an interest in medieval food (mostly English professors), colonial American food (mostly reenactors), and even ancient Roman food (well, that's just this one friend of mine). When I look closely at truly old recipes--for instance, I transcribed a teenage girl's mid-nineteenth century manuscript cookbook at a local library--I'm always mystified as to how people derive the methods they claim as "traditional" from the actual instructions received (very sparse, in most cases).

    I've never heard of raisin pie. I know you're warning us away from it, but I'm intrigued. Looking forward to reading the article!

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  19. The Personal is Political. In all things. Domestic and otherwise. - Hilary

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  20. I'm sad your sour cream raisin pie was no-go. I recently made one from an old German Mennonite cookbok, and loved the butter tart texture and plump raisins. Of course, there are all sorts of things that could be different from recipe to recipe, and I know that Canadian brands of sour cream have a different flavour than Hood's...
    I love your blog and book - I made the english muffins this morning! :)

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  21. كما تقوم المؤسسة بادخار متخصصون متخصصين للعمل على متابعه الزبون وضمان استحوازه على أفضل خدمه ممكنه بقرب أن المؤسسة تقوم بادخار أسعار لا مثيل لها بالمقارنة بالأثمان التي تكون متواجدة في مؤسسات تطهير الموكيت الأخرى.
    شركة تنظيف شقق بالطائف
    شركة تنظيف فلل بالطائف
    شركة تنظيف مجالس بالطائف
    شركة النجوم لخدمات التنظيف

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