Improvising Recipes and Loving those Pirates

I have this problem. I always think I have more than I do. This can apply to time, food, or really anything. If I see the bottle, I think there's plenty, and I'll offer you a glass. Until I pour, and realize all I have is a sip. If I have 30 min. until I have to pick up River from pre-school, I can hit the store for a couple things. It's like I'm afraid of wasting any amount of time, or something wacko like that. You know, always using my time "wisely".

And on and on.

It's been passed down to me rightly by my father who is notorious for being behind schedule. I've tried to overcompensate for my scheduling, by trying to have my "leave time" for something be like 30 min. ahead of when I should be there, so that maybe I'll actually be leaving on time. It's a sickness.

So anyway, this past weekend, I wanted to make some of these really yummy apricot crumbles to take to a family gathering. I figured since I had seen the apricot perserves in the fridge, that I could make them. I knew that I didn't have the ginger, so it was between lemon, lime, or orange. I decided to go with lime, even though I wasn't real sure how apricot-lime crumbles would be. But, it didn't keep me from starting the recipe.

I began mixing together the ingredients. Butter...No problem. Flour....I only had about a cup left of all purpose, but 2 whole bags of self rising. Why? I have no idea. I probably thought I was getting all purpose. So, in went 1 cup of self rising. Which meant that I had to adjust the baking powder amount. So, down I go, everything else is ok. Sugar...fine. Brown sugar....plenty. Until I got to the apricot perserves. I went to get the 3/4 cup out, and only about 1/4 cup comes out. Definitely not enough to spread across the entire crust. So, I decide I'll do strawberry instead. I stuck to the plan to use the lime instead of the ginger. So, I added lime zest and a little lime juice.

My crust was supposed to still feel crumbly, but it wasn't. And it wasn't at all the same recipe that I had wanted. I almost didn't take them. We were supposed to be bringing "our favorite cookie", and this was something I had never even tried.

Here's the original recipe for apricot crumbles - which are quite delicious.

2 sticks unsalted butter (cold and cut into pieces)

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup apricot jam or preserves

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

Heat oven to 375. Coat 8 inch square baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Add remaining butter and mix until crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix until it comes together, but is still crumbly. Transfer 1/2 cup of dough to a small bowl and refrigerate. Use your fingertips to press the remaining dough into the dish, pushing the dough up 1/4 inch around the edge. Combine the jam and ginger in a small bowl. Spread mixture over crust evenly. Crumble the remaining refrigerated dough over the top. Bake until golden, about 35 min. Cool before cutting.

But here's the recipe that it ended up being. - strawberry lime crumbles - which were also pretty impressive.

2 sticks unsalted butter (cold and cut up)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup self rising flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup brw sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup strawberry preserves

1/8 grated lime zest

1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice

Follow the same directions as above, just substitute the strawberry preserves and lime for apricot and ginger.

I guess it's good to improvise. I'm just glad they were edible. ;) I did get lots of requests for the "loveliness" as my sister named them. Mainly, it was just really good to get together with family. Family that I love a lot, but see a little. Family that is always fun and never boring. I really enjoy them a lot.

And the day ended more perfect than I could ever have imagined, because my unranked, sometimes unknown, hometown team, of East Carolina, beat #8 ranked West Virginia 24 to 3!!!! That's right - they didn't even let them get a touchdown!!!!! Go PIRATES!!!