The other day I bought a Pie Maker. Actually it was a Fly Buys freebie worth 290 points and is a Sunbeam Pie Magic 2 Up PM4210 with a unique crimper seal, non-stick cooking and extra deep plates. I also got my husband the Sheffield Pocket Knife and Multitool Set (380 points) for our Anniversary on July 11th ... I'm sure he'll be pleased with it as he does a lot of tramping and it is pretty flash, a Sheffield, which is a really good brand and the Multitool 18 in 1 set is stainless steel. I have my eye on other things as one does. I know Louis really needs the Dog Coat - Cotton lined (470 points) as he hates the cold and is shivering on his blanky at the moment. The Lee Child 'Gone Tomorrow' (195 points) would be perfect for a Christmas pressy for him (husband). There is a nice 9" Portable LCD Television which would be great for 'The Truck' (motorhome). We have an old 5" b/w model from the 70's at present. The tuner is operated with a lead pencil stuck in the tuner input hole thingy to replace the broken knob .... but anyway back to the pies.

The Pie Maker has had heaps of use (almost daily for quite a while). It came with a book '101 Great Pie Ideas' and I think I've tried most of them. We've had the usual mince and cheese (btw Georgie Pie is opening up again in AK ... I used to love those GP Mince and Cheese ... did you?), steak and kidney and all sorts of leftover surprises. Apple and marshmellows was a big hit! But here's my fav Persimmon & Apple ... not really a recipe per say but these are the ingredients you must put in ...
Gingernuts (crushed), brown sugar, persimmons (sliced), apples (sliced). Do the usual sweet short pastry as the base. Sprinkle the base with some of the ginger crumble. Layer your fruit and sprinkle with the brown sugar then more of the ginger crumble over the top. Usual bake for 10 mins with a 4 min rest period. If you have a Pie Maker yourself you will know what I mean. Most all of the pies in the recipe book state a 10 min bake and 4 min rest period. The thing is not to overfull or you will have a terrible sticky mess to clean up after ... I always have a sticky mess no matter how careful I am and even when they have a pastry lid they still tend to erupt. Just leave it to cool and use a plastic fish slice to peel it off. Give it a wipe around with a warm soapy cloth and it's like new again. I put a pastry letter on the top so I know what is really in the pie ... this usually works.

It's been a godsend. A great way to use leftovers and the freezer is pretty full of pies and friends and family get them too. Handy for when guests pop in or you feel like a quick snack or two.
Thought for the day: A meat pie walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a cold one.
The bartender replies, "Sorry, we don't serve food here." (Heard it before? I think it was a ham sandwich way back then).

Check out also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ying_Tong_Song
The Goons have always been a fav of mine from radio days
Thought for the day: What age would you be if you didn't know your age?