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LIGHT & LOCAL |
| • | A chef's travels |
My mom used to say, "You always have to learn the hard way."
I had to learn a hard lesson on buying food last week.
Without checking the refrigerator, I purchased my favorite Fuji apples at Costco. When I returned from my shopping expedition, I found that my boyfriend had another tray sitting in the refrigerator.
The next day, I returned them to the customer service counter. The friendly clerk looked at me with a poho (wasteful) look and asked me if I was sure I wanted to return these apples. I told her we had duplicates and thought I would just return them and have her credit my account.
She sadly asked if I knew what they were going to do with the returned apples.
I said I didn't know.
She said they have to dispose of them.
I told her that I wasn't aware of the store's policy. I could hear Mom, "What about all those poor people in China ..."
I thought back to a few years ago, when I returned ripe and mushy — an obvious reason for a return — and the clerk credited my account without question. On the same day, I saw man return six boxes of corn on the cob.
What a waste of good food.
Not only did I decide to keep them, I went a step further.
When I told the clerk that they should post a sign at the counter about returning food, she suggested I write a note with my concerns. Promptly doing so made me feel that I wasn't just waha (all mouth and no action).
Later that day, I gave some of the apples to my neighbors. By the end of that week, I turned my extra apples into apple pie.
How come moms are always right?
SAVE THE FUJI APPLE PIE
Double Crust recipe follows.
For the filling:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine all filling ingredients except egg wash, then place filling in bottom pie crust. Top with second crust, press the edges, cut off the excess and press the front side of the fork to finish the crust.
Poke holes on the top crust. Brush with the egg wash and place the pie on a cookie sheet to prevent dripping. Midway during the baking, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pie to keep the crust from burning.
Bake for 50 to 65 minutes, until golden and bubbly.
Transfer to cooling rack and allow to stand for 1 hour.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with a nonfat whipped topping.
Serves 8.
DOUBLE CRUST
Sift together flours, salt and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut the tablespoons of shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like corn meal. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of cold juice, mix with a fork. Add more juice until the dough holds together when pressed with the fork. Do not overmix.
Lay 2 large sheets of plastic wrap on the counter and divide the dough in half. Gather the ends of the wrap and squeeze into two balls; place each in a zip-closure bag and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
Prepare the counter by sprinkling water over the surface. Place a large enough piece of plastic wrap over this sprinkled section. Take one ball of dough and place another piece of plastic wrap (large enough to cover the rolled out crust). Roll out the dough in a circle about 2 inches larger than the pie pan. Lay the rolled out dough into the pie pan. Using the tines of the fork, poke about 6 fork impressions into the bottom of the crust. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Roll out the second ball of dough using the same method of the first ball.
Want a local recipe lightened up? Write Light & Local, Taste Section, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; or taste@honoluluadvertiser.com. Carol Devenot is a Kaimuki-raised kama'aina, teacher and recipe consultant, and author of "Island Light Cuisine" (Blue Sea Publishing, paper, 2003). Learn more at www.islandlightcuisine.com.
