Snow Day

Today was a day for much rejoicing. It’s our 10 month anniversary. Has it really been that long? Has it only been that long? It’s the first and probably only snow day this academic year. Huzzah! And it’s pi day, which is both geeky and delicious.

Late yesterday afternoon the university announced it would be closed today in light of the snow storm moving through the region. It was rather unexpected for them to make the call ahead of the federal government, but make the call they did. I could not have been more pleased to open the e-mail announcing the extra day off. I may be in my 30s, but I love a good snow day just as much as I did when I was a kid.

In honor of all of these momentous occasions, I decided that pie baking was in order. Last fall I had roasted and puréed a sugar pumpkin, but for various reasons I hadn’t had a chance to bake a pie from the purée. Today seemed an appropriate day.

I made the recipe my mom always used: Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie with a basic pie crust from scratch. I’m sure there are other delicious pumpkin pie recipes out there, but on snow days comfort food is in order. In this case, mom’s pumpkin pie was in order.

The biggest difference was that I used pumpkin I’d roasted myself instead of store-bought canned pumpkin. I strained the pumpkin to minimize the extra juices and to avoid making a  watery pie. I also whisked the eggs until they were light and fluffy before whisking in the other ingredients.

The pie crust dough seemed softer than normal. I think I may have added a little too much water. Even so, it rolled out beautifully, but the softness made crimping the edges a little more difficult that usual. Oh well! And of course the dough scraps also made for a tasty treat (just like mom always made).

As a whole, the pie turned out really well. I think it was lighter and fluffier than pie made with canned pumpkin. The crust also turned out nice and flaky. The verdict? Absolutely delicious! I may or may not be having pumpkin pie for breakfast tomorrow morning…

Tomorrow I’ll be back to commuting and work and normal life, but I appreciated the opportunity I had to pause and rest. It was the perfect bit of breathing room in the midst of a busy week.