Mid-March Celebrations

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Happy Pi Day! This is one of those silly holidays that's not really a holiday. In this case, a good excuse to eat pie! That's a tradition that we've followed for many years, and if our schedule allows, we try to eat several different kinds of pi(e) on this date. A couple of years ago, I shared some favorite Pi(e) Day recipes, and I'd like to share some of them again today. And in a few days, we'll all be pretending to have an Irish brogue, wearing green, and hoping to find a pot of gold. Although a feast day in honor of a saint, St Patrick's Day is also a fun holiday that celebrates all things Irish. Or, things we like to think are Irish, even if they are not! It's a day to drink Irish breakfast tea for breakfast and Guinness or shamrock shakes the rest of the time. And a good day to try to Irish foods, I think. Our social studies a few years ago included our own attempts at international cooking, and I shared many of our recipes here in the series A Taste of Europe. I pulled up one of those posts about food from Ireland to revisit today.

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Today, March 14th is Pi Day, one of my favorite "holidays" simply because it's the perfect occasion to eat pie! I don't care much for meal planning, so having a day that gives me a chance to be silly and creative in thinking up something for dinner. Believe me, we are not such big fans of math or geometry that we celebrate Pi Day solely for the numbers!

Usually on Pi Day, we try to have every meal include pie. Depending on what day of the week it is, that's sometimes a challenge. Today is one of those very busy days when we're running most of the day so there aren't as many kinds of pie on my menu today.

I planned ahead a little bit and baked butter tarts yesterday. Because tarts are small pies, right? And they are delicious. I made a fairly large batch so we had some to share at co-op and with friends, but I don't think they are my best work. But tasty anyway. 

You can find the recipe in my post Canada Day Butter Tarts.

French-Canadian Tourtiere
(A Hearty Meat Pi)

And speaking of Canada, this is my favorite meat pie - Tourtiere. 

Tourtiere is a French-Canadian meat pie that originated in Quebec. Variations of the dish are also common in other French-Canadian areas and in parts of New England. The recipe I use is probably the most common - with a mixture of finely ground pork and beef - but other meats are used as well; and the dish may or may not include root vegetables. I prefer to serve it with vegetables on the side. What makes Tourtiere different from other meat pies is the use of allspice and cloves.  Also different from most other meat pies - the meats and seasonings are boiled and simmered, not fried. It's best with meat that is very finely ground, but I use what I have available. I use leftover mashed potatoes in the filling, but if I don't happen to have any, the bread crumbs work just fine, and then I make potatoes as a side dish. The hubster and I squirt some ketchup on top of our slices of Tourtiere, but I've heard that in some places it's eaten with maple syrup (so Canadian!) or even molasses. Now I love maple syrup, but I don't know about that.

French-Canadian Tourtiere

Pastry for 4 pie crusts (your own recipe, or use a mix or refrigerated pie crusts)

1 pound ground pork

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped fine - or use onion powder

1/2 tsp allspice

pinch of ground cloves

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1-1/2 cups water

3/4 cup mashed potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes, or substitute bread crumbs)

Prepare the pastry, and line two 9-inch pie plates. 

Put all the ingredients except the potatoes into a Dutch oven or stockpot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and stir. The mixture should be moist and thick. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for a bit. Fill the two pastry-lined pie plates with meat mixture. Cover with pastry, seal and crimp the edges, dampening with water if necessary. Cut several slits in the top crust. Bake at 375*F for one hour, until browned. 

You may also cut the recipe in half, and make one deep dish 10-inch pie, or two 8-inch pies.

If I'd made these on Pi Day, the vents would have been cut in the shape of the pi symbol.

Kotopita me Feta

(Greek Chicken and Feta Cheese Pi)

This savory chicken pi takes a bit of time to assemble, thanks to the phyllo crust, but is so good! I really wanted this for dinner today, but had no time. If you want to try it, you can find my version of the recipe at Favorite Pi(e) Recipes for Pi Day

We're having just very basic chicken pot pie for dinner tonight. And now for dessert!

Pasta Frola
(Paraguayan Guava Jelly Pi)

I love this South American pie! I first learned about this delicious dessert from a Paraguayan friend and use her recipe. It's also popular in other parts of South America, sometimes made with other fillings, and the recipe may originally come from Italy where the name 'pasta frolla' refers to the cookie-like crust. Find this recipe in my post Eating the Americas - Pasta Frola or Favorite Pi(e) Recipes for Pi Day.

   

Even simpler? Just cut a pi symbol into the top crust of your favorite pie. Done.

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And now for a little fun with food for St. Patrick's Day! (I'm thinking about a more serious post about St. Patrick for another day. We'll see how that turns out!) We have a silly tradition in our family - we have Lucky Charms for breakfast on St Patrick's Day! I've already purchased the big package of Lucky Charms in preparation for the day, although I'm starting to wonder if there will be any left by then! 

   

This might be my favorite Irish recipe - a sweet loaf filled with raisins and currants called Barm Brack. It's often served toasted with butter, along with a cup of tea in the afternoon. The name may come from Irish words meaning "speckled loaf".  Many years ago, the loaf was associated with Irish Halloween celebrations. Small tokens such as a stick and a coin were baked into the loaf, and these had a meaning sort of like fortune-telling for the person who received that slice.

Barm Brack

1 cup cold tea (use leftover after brewing your hot cuppa!)

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup citrus peel (or about 1/8 cup dried peel)

1/2 cup currants

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 melted butter

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Put raisin, peel, currants and sugar in a large bowl and stir in the cold tea. Cover and let stand overnight.

In the morning, beat egg till frothy, then stir into the fruit mixture. Stir in melted butter.  Combine remaining dry ingredients and stir into fruit batter, just until blended. Spoon into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 350* for 60-70 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool completely. Serve sliced with butter.

A little more silly fun for St. Patrick's Day - I share this video every year!

An earlier version of the Pi Day recipe collection appeared on Homeschool Coffee Break in March 2017 as Favorite Pi(e) Recipes for Pi Day and an earlier version of the St Patrick's Day recipes appeared in March 2015 as A Taste of Europe - St Patrick's Day

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