Train Wreck to Chain Wreck

This year, our son’s 14th birthday happened to fall on Election Day and, similar to everyone, we improvised celebration in the midst of a pandemic. Quieter than usual birthdays, but quite crazy given the state of political affairs, we recognized that he will be able to vote in the next presidential race and are hoping it’s not such a train wreck.

We set out to make him a pie and had his favorite red velvet cupcakes from Sweet Violette, just in case. Thanks to Lauren Ko’s phenomenal new book, Pieometry, we deliberated between “Chainwreck,” a ginger-peach-mango pie with basic butter and beet crust, or “All Strings Considered,” an apple and gingerbread caramel pie with blueberry crust. All of her recipes are works of art, with incredible patterns and detailed instructions on assembling, including pictures for those of us who are more in the beginner category. From a farmer perspective, if I can use fresh fruits and veggies all the better, and this time of year red beets are delicious, nutritious and plain gorgeous. Her recipes utilize juice from the beets in the crust and the magenta hue it takes on is stunning. If I can’t get my son to eat beets fresh, perhaps this format, or pickled, will do the trick.

We are busy washing beets and celeriac most of these early November days, as the sky turns a million shades of grey and the weather is unpredictably wild. The resident adult eagles have already started to perch side-by-side, and we have seen them curating nest materials almost as fast as the beaver drags away kale. It is a lovely time of year and, with warmer hats on and thicker material for our masks, well-worth the cold cheeks.

Stay safe and try some new pie recipes for inspiration.