Shoofly Pie...a real Amish treat!

Ingredients

Pastry:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (set aside a little for dusting)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted, cold butter, cut into small chunks
• 2 tablespoons ice water (add more if needed)

Filling:

• 1 cup dark molasses or Pennsylvania Dutch Table Syrup
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Crumb Topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

To make the pastry: combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Sprinkle surface and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll out the dough into a 10-inch circle; to check the size, put the 9-inch pie pan upside down over the dough. Carefully roll the dough up onto the pin (this may take a little practice) and lay it inside the pie pan. Press the dough firmly into the bottom and sides so it fits tightly. Trim the excess dough around the rim. Place the pie pan on a sturdy cookie sheet so it can prevent spills from burning in the bottom of the oven.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the filling: In medium-size mixing bowl, combine the molasses and water; stir in baking soda, eggs, and spices.
To make the crumb topping: With a pastry blender, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and butter, until it is the texture of coarse crumbs. Take 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture and put it in the bottom of the pie shell, pour in the molasses filling, and scatter the remaining crumbs on top.
Bake for 30 minutes, until the filling jiggles slightly and the top is firm. Let cool to room temperature before cutting. Serve with whipped cream.

Patience is a virtue??

When most people think of being patient, it makes them feel even more impatient! Who wants to wait for anything? Especially when they don't have to. When I was little, my parents would tell me things like "in a minute", or "Just a minute", or my all-time favorite; "not now".  NOT NOW??!! To a child that can be torture...but even as an adult it still strikes a nerve.
Fortunately for me, I have found a way around the "not now" syndrome. Using simple self pep-talks, if you will, to achieve the things I need or want, I no longer have to worry about being patient. Yes, this method of changing your thinking takes time, but because you come to expect the results you ask for, you no longer need to feel impatient because you KNOW it IS coming to you. Most people would refer to this method of changing your thinking as the law of attraction, or the power of positive thinking...some even call it divine intervention. Whatever the case may be, it DOES work because I live my life by it. I no longer chase after things with an impatient heart. I don't need to. I simply repeat my request as though I have already achieved or attained it, and sit back and wait (yes, I said wait) for it to come to me. Claiming you already have that new car, or enough money to pay your bills, or whatever it is you want no longer requires patience. It simply requires belief in your mind that you CAN afford that new car, and that you DO have enough money to pay those bills every month.
I have a list that I made for myself. I add to this list often, and I highlight the things that I have achieved, gotten, or things that have come to pass in red to remind me this method DOES WORK...needless to say, most of my current list is covered in red highlight!!
Be brave. Make your own list. Speak it out loud every day. And while you are saying "I have enough money to pay my bills on time every month", mean every word of it. Push away all negative thoughts. In fact; put that on the list...it's on mine! Tell yourself every day that you have patience if you have to. I told myself that every day, and now I no longer worry about time because when you remove impatience from your thought process, the world will come to you at warp speed.

Solitude

Greetings! As you can see, things are changing every day, so be sure to check out the site as often as you can!

Today has been a day of solitude...much needed, though not always fun to endure on your own. As I end this day with the many tasks I was yet unable to complete, I have to wonder if the time went by too fast, or if the list of tasks to be completed may have been too long. For someone like me, who has to be constantly challenged, lest I become bored; I would have to admit that I set my to-do list at such an unattainable level for the sheer amusement of predicting whether or not I can out-do myself...as I am forever in competition only with myself.  

Pick up your copy of my new book at http://amzn.com/1453602968

Jane Abigail Reeves is LITTLE WILD FLOWER.

Raised as a city girl; her father moves fifteen-year-old Jane

and her entire family to farmhouse in the heart of a rural

Amish community in Indiana as a respite for her alcoholic mother.

Finding farm life more complicated than city life; Jane shuns

herself from family and neighbors until she stumbles upon

sixteen-year-old Elijah, the Amish boy next door. As she slowly

ventures out of her comfort zone, she begins to mimic her family's

acceptance of Amish living, realizing it's a practical solution for

squelching the dysfunction of her family's past. Set in the 1970's,

Jane's story is full of obstacles she must overcome in order to

preserve her growing friendship with Elijah that could tie them

together for a lifetime, or tear them apart in the process.