Crust for pot pie

I made Alton Brown's Curried Pot Pie this evening. Gearl decided he wanted a real crust, so I adapted Alton's pie crust to be higher in fiber (to at least try to maintain some semblance of WeightWatchers sensibility!)... Because of the vodka, you won't get as much gluten and the crust will remain quite flaky. With all of the bran and whole wheat, don't skimp on the moisture or the crust will turn out a bit too dry.


6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ounces vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons vodka
2-4 tablespoons broth
9 ounces whole wheat flour (by weight)
1.5 ounces oat bran (by weight)
1.5 ounces wheat bran (by weight)
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Place the butter, shortening and vodka into the refrigerator (vodka into the freezer) for 1 hour.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brans, salt and pepper by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until the texture looks mealy. Add the shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times until incorporated.

Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of the vodka. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add broth as needed, and pulse again until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Weigh the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Great dip for fresh, sweet strawberries

Got some amazingly sweet strawberries and wanted a nice way to serve them as a simple dessert...

1/3 c. greek yogurt
1 Tbl. honey
1 tsp. sugar
small pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat the honey in a microwave safe bowl until just slightly liquid. Stir in rest of ingredients until thoroughly combined. Dip strawberries and enjoy!

Raspberry BBQ sauce

This morning for breakfast I made a raspberry/blackberry puree/reduction (berries, water, sugar, pinch of salt cooked on the stovetop, then pureed and passed through a sieve). I made a bit more than what I needed to top the morning's steel-cut oatmeal. I wanted to use it up, so this evening I made BBQ sauce out of it, which we put on tofu (for me) and chicken (for Gearl) during grilling. I didn't measure, but here's the general idea:

equal parts:
berry puree and ketchup

then (to taste):
veggie Worcestershire sauce
chipotle Tabasco
orange marmalade
salt/pepper

Microwave briefly to soften the marmalade then mix thoroughly. It's slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and nicely tangy.