cheer you up cherry pie

I couldn't help but give this pie a special name after watching the movie Waitress. We recorded it off of Pay Per View a month or so ago and really liked it. I don't think we will ever call a pie by it's regular name again. :)

Anyway, I finally bought the right cherries and made this pie yesterday. It is SO good but dangerous to have around the house! Especially after already having cake this week too. I haven't done any running this week. I'm using the excuse that the eliptical is covered with a tarp and that it's too messy downstairs. Scott said he's taking the tarp off it later today though. Bummer! (And not just so I'll run. :) He's training for the half marathon as well.)

So, here's the recipe for Cheer You Up Cherry Pie. See how happy it's making Ava in this picture? Actually she preferred the vanilla icecream.

more cookbooks

I've already confessed my weakness for cookbooks here on my blog so it should come as no surprise that I got these in the mail today to add to my collection. :)

I used to belong to a cookbook club and recently received an offer in the mail from them to pick 4 cookbooks for $1 each plus shipping and my only obligation is to buy 1 more book from them throughout the year. How could I turn that offer down when they had Giada's latest cookbook and Martha's new Homekeeping Handbook (I realize this isn't a cookbook but I love homemaking books as much as I do cookbooks!)?! Two books I have had on my wishlist! :) I have heard such great things about The Joy of Cooking and when I briefly flipped through it I think what I've heard is going to be true. It will be a great reference guide to go to when I need to cut up a whole chicken or things like that that I do not do very often when I cook. I've also wanted to learn more about incorporating whole grains into our diet so the King Arthur book was right up my alley. I can't wait to get reading!

how to not cry when chopping onions

I bought a 2 lb bag of onions a few weeks ago and have been storing them in a basket in my pantry. One of them went bad recently but all of the others were fine so I decided to just have one big cry session and get all of them chopped and in the freezer ready to use. And cry I did! I decided to go online and get some ideas to minimize the tears the next time I do this. Here are some of the suggestions I found -

- Light a candle next to the cutting board while chopping the onions.
- Chew gum. (I did try this half way through the basket of onions and I think it helped a little.)
- Wear swimming goggles.
- Hold water in your mouth.
- Hold an unlit match in your mouth.
- Put the onion in the freezer for awhile before chopping it.

My favorite is this one though -
'Place a mini marshmallow in each nostril. It is the tetrasodium pyrophosphate that neutralizes the chemical released by the onion. Break off the first 3 pieces of a Hershey bar and place in between two graham crackers. Place this sandwich in between your front teeth. The chocolate is what works, the cracker just keeps it from melting. Then, chop away!' So this is what I might look like the next time I chop onions.

Of course I had my kids model! This idea is so practical because after you are done chopping onions you have a snack all ready. :)