Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1870-08-04
Sumnacr Pies.

It is with some reluctance and
many scruples of conscience that l
indite the head of this article, and
address myself to the confiding read
er as commender Of pie. Not pie
in the abstract. Oh, my unfortunate
and muab.abuscd stomach how thou
hast suffered, aud what pains thon
hast borne, from the substance called
pie.
The American concrete pic of the
hotel is thing to wonder at. 1t is
generally luinpy on top, no matter
what is inside OF It, rather friable and
brittle, and OF a dull, sodden, vicious
glucosity beneath.
l have seen people making pies.
They take . wad OF dough aud grease
aud knead one into the other, roll it
out thin-or thick, oitcner-aprcad
it over the top of some indescribable
mixture, bake it, aud eat it red.hot.
Once a lady said to me, in answer
to an inquiry as to the health Of her
family, "Oh, we arc not very well !
Charley do mt seem to be hearty, and
have the most terrible pains in my
breast" She then mentioned Incl
dentally that she tclt quite dred
after her exertion, having lust baked
seventeta pies"
A man, long-no, short-of q gen.
orally desicrated appearance aud
poor digestion. attended some lee.
lures ut . water-curc once, where
they told him and others that Ora.
ham flour was a panacea tor all the
ills that man is heir to; and, among
other things, that pies were generally
horrible (too truc), but that pie crust
made Of Graham flour in connection
with olive oil Tor shortening in the
place of tat, was wholly innocuous, if
not positively fattening. Absurd as
it may seem, thie man absolutely
caused one OF these things to be
made, and had it brought on the ia
bic. 1t was during the war, when
Fort Sumptcr was bcsicged, and this
pie, from its generally invulnerable
appearance, was at once dubbed "the
bomb. proof" aud it well merlted the
name. 1t was stomach.proof and
knife. proof. Vulcanixed rubber could
not have been more durable, but 1t
was not . bit worse than those gen
orally hawked about the street or
sold At bake shops.
l said Summer pies" at the head
Of this article, tor it there be any ex.
cuse for eating pastry at all it is when
summer fruits are ripe. Fruit pies. II
properly made, are not pies but tarts,
aud that is what I call o summer
pie. The under crust is not soggy
or wet: aud if the top Que is proper.
~ made it has no more consistency
or weight than crumplcd rose Leaf.
] have seen tarts that fell into lcav IS
at q touch-that could be no more
cut apart without breaking into mi.
ute fragments than cigar ash. THIS
was p-stery, and q man might eat Of
it and defy indigestion. II the read.
or fecls that she has been basely be-
trayed after reading this aud finding
no directions or recipes for this ar
ticle, offer an apology at sight.
You can't expect to know how to
make such tarts! None OF 10 know
except the inspired one who docs it.
But We can make very good ones,
nevertheless, and SO light that they
will hot disturb even weak stcm.
ach. You neel in the first place
sweet lard and good butter. Many
persons use lard only, but to our
mind the union of the two makes
much more delicate pastry. In the
second place, hard moulding board,
marble or soap.stone slab is the
best utensil; ditto rolling. pin; very
cold water in summer, aud the lard
and butter in the same condition.
You arc now to take . cupful OF
-four and butter-not mixed togeth.
er, but in that proportion. The flour
IL to be wet with cold water 80 soft
that it cam just DO rolled out without
sticking, aud is to be handled as
lightly and dclicately as possible.
Roll tho paste in thin sheet, dab it
oil over with pats Of butter on the
end Of . knife, dredge with -four,
sprinkle few drops Of water over,
and roll it over aud over into 4
bundle. Roll it out again; this time
apply lard, and re-roll It into . bun.
die again. Do this three times light.
~, tksa put the paste away for nm
hour or two into = refrigerator or
cellar bottom; at tho proper time re-
peat tho operations previously de-
scribcd three times, and then pro.
coed to make the pie. Have the
dishes ready. the fruit ready stewed,
aud put tho paste on the pie dish;
prick the bssttom all over with q
fork, and put It in the oven without