Domestic Skills

I don't know, it's just in my blood.  When the temperatures are mild at this time of the year, I just get the urge to hang my laundry outdoors.  I must be addicted to that clean fresh smell.  When it's 42 degrees, I need to take advantage of the mild conditions because old man winter will be returning very soon.  I think I heard him knocking at our door the other day!  I yelled at him and told him to go away.....don't come back until December 1st. 

Today was one of those joint efforts kind of day.  I headed out on a late morning run and then returned to Bike man in the kitchen feverishly working at his homemade pasties....Cornish pasties that is.

Before Bike man was retired, I always made the pasties because my family heritage is actually Cornish & Irish.  My mom taught me how to make pasties when I was a very young girl.  Surprisingly, the Upper (Upper Michigan) residents took great pride in their cornish pasties.  Of course, they make them slightly different then how I was taught. since growing up in Southwest Wisconsin.  So after Bike man retired from his job, he started making pasties the Upper way with lots of rutabagas, onions, carrots and beef chunks.  Go Bike man......thank you for being my personal chef.

Well, a last minute call from our oldest son Mike asking his dad to go fishing, transferred the pasty making over to me.  Ohhhhhh yes.  It was like old times.....rolling the pie dough, spooning the meat filling in the middle and gently folding over the dough.  This time, I decided to make an egg wash so they would brown nicely.  I had enough dough to make one more baking sheet.

Voila, after 50 minutes for each pan, the pasties were a nice golden brown and ready to remove from the oven.  We ended up make 9 pasties total.  These babies freeze really well, so I'm thinking we have pasties for the next few months.

And how do you eat a pasty?  With ketchup of course.