Holy cow! I about died when I opened this month’s issue of Real Simple. Guess whose smiling mug is you’ll see on page 237? Mine! And my mom’s! A few months ago, we were invited to share our family recipe for a pasty, which is basically beef, onions and potatoes wrapped in a pie crust. This recipe has passed down through the women in my family for generations.
We had so much fun together at the shoot. Notice how nice my mom’s pasties look in the photo below. Then, look how long and weird mine looks.
And now, look at the gorgeous one the food stylists made.
I guess the great thing about the pasty, much like the great thing about pies or really any homecooked meal, is that it doesn’t really matter how pretty it looks. It always tastes good. I like poking a little hole in the top of my pasty and pouring in some melted butter before eating it.
A few days after the issue came out, I got this sweet email through facebook from a woman named Gail Higgins Ledin. Here’s what she wrote:
“I am on my lunch hour in Minnesota, picked up the REAL SIMPLE magazine to read, as I saw “Just Like Mom Made” on the cover. I was so curious what the recipes were… Pasties are one of my BEST childhood memories with my grandmother. My grandfather came from Cornwall to Michigan, and then lived in Northern Minnesota. He and his father were both Miners, and of course Pasties were eaten during their lunches. How fun to read your article!…When you know about pasties, you LOVE them!”
So true! Here’s the pasty recipe, if you’d like to try it tonight. What recipes have been passed down through your family? Do tell!
xo,
Erin
One of my favorite recipes is for whole wheat bread. The ultimate comfort food. My great-grandmother, grandmother and mother are experts. My mother remembers that she and her sister would knead their pillows at night pretending to make bread like their mother.
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
1 cup warm water
1 TBSP sugar
2 heaping TBSP yeast
Combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand until foamy. In a mixing bowl put:
4 cups water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
2 TBSP salt
Mix well and add:
2-3 cups whole wheat flour
Mix well and add:
Yeast mixture
Mix for about 5 minutes and then add:
5-6 cups whole wheat or white flour
Be careful here as whole wheat flour absorbs a bit more liquid than white.
Mix until dough is soft but not sticky to the touch. Knead for 5 minutes. Cover and let rise until double in size. Pour out on floured surface and punch down. Make into 4 loaves. Put loaves into greased loaf pans. Let rise until not quite double. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Turn out on rack and as my Grandpa says “Break open a loaf and grab the butter and honey!”
Phew – a long comment!
Oh! Pasties are awesome. In Australia, they’re practically mandatory at every bakery and pie shop (where savoury pies are sold, not sweet pies like in North America). Yum! Glad to hear you guys like em, too!