Butterscoth Pie I

     I love butterscotch pie. Until recently, the only person I knew who made it was my Grandma Fisher. I can only ever remember having hers and what a treat it was. I received this recipe from my aunt Gladys and was so surprised when I saw it. I never knew anyone on the Craig side made this. I now have three recipes and will post all three because they are all a little different. Mostly the same ingredients, but different ratios and different cooking techniques. That all adds up to different tastes. I can hardly wait to test all three.

Butterscotch Pie

Ingredients

1 prepared pie crust, baked

Filling

1 ¼ cup brown sugar

2¾ cup of milk, divided ¾ cup, 2 cups scalded

1/3 cup of cornstarch

½ teaspoon of salt

3 egg yolks, reserve whites for meringue

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Scald 2 cups of milk, remove from heat

In a heavy bottomed pot (to prevent scorching) combine brown sugar,

cornstarch, ¾ cup of milk, salt and egg yolks.
  
Whisk until well combined.

Heat over medium heat, slowly adding scalded milk.

Bring mixture to a boil and cook 2 minutes longer until thickened.

Stir in butter and vanilla and cool slightly.

Pour into baked pie shell and cool completely.

Top with meringue and bake in 350 degree oven approximately 10 to 12 minutes

until meringue is lightly browned.

Meringue

3 egg whites

¼ teaspoon of baking powder

1/3 cup of sugar

Directions

Combine all ingredients and beat until soft peaks form. Spread on top of completely cooled pie.

       Recipe number one for butterscotch pie and apparently Gladys is well known for this delicious recipe. I can't believe the family was holding out on me. LOL I improvised a little on the directions. Most of the family recipes are lists of ingredients and a few if any cooking instructions. The people who make them know how they do things so don't need extensive instructions. It is the challenge in trying to re create what other people have made. If I have made a mistake, feel free to correct me.

     Gladys also included this little tip. Leave the pie in the oven about 15 minutes after you have turned off the heat. It dries the meringue a little and prevent weeping.

Enjoy.

Butterscotch pie, the prequel, Pie Crust Recipe

    A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...... Just kidding LOL I was getting ready to post my aunt Gladys's Butterscoth pie recipe and realized I needed to do a post about pie crust first or you have nothing to put the pie filling in.

Fibonacci spiral illustrating the "Golden Ratio"

     Anyone who has studied mathematics or art has undoubtedly come across the "Golden Ratio". In our house, it refers to the ratio of pie to pie crust. LOL My dad swears by it. For years I didn't believe him until I made a strawberry rhubarb pie that called for eight cups of fruit. Go big or go home I thought but I have to admit, I didn't really like it. Too much  fruit to crust, just like Dad always said, who knew?

     I have several pie crust recipes but this one is my "go to" one and the one I believe most of my relatives use. It is copied directly from the Tenderflake lard box years ago and has never failed me yet. It is simple to make, makes a lot and freezes well, all good in my book.

Pie Crust

Ingredients

1 pound cold shortening, lard or vegetable, cut into pieces, about 1” -2”cubes

5 1/2 -6 cups of flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon of vinegar

Water

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and vinegar. Pour into 1 cup measuring cup and add water to make 1 cup of liquid. This is your binder for the dough.

In the bowl of your food processor, combine flour and pieces of shortening. Pulse until it reaches the consistency of coarse corn meal, you should still see little pieces of shortening.

Gradually add egg mixture while continuing to pulse, until the dough gathers up into a ball.

Chill about half an hour to make it easier to work with.

     That's it, you have enough pie dough for three double crusts or six singles with a little left over to decorate with. Any left over you can freeze for up to six months or more, mine never lasts that long. This is my go to recipe because I can use it for sweet and savoury fillings, no fussing around with the million and one other specialty crusts. I do have them, I just don't make them very often.

     If you don't have a food processor you can always use a pastry cutter or a fork and do it by hand in a large bowl. I did it that way for years but like the convenience of the food processor.

     The secret to good pie crust is all in the handling. The more you work with it the tougher the gluten becomes. This is what makes a tough, impossible to cut through crust. There are two areas where people over work the dough, in the initial mixing and rolling it out.

     Mix until it is combined and stop. That's why you use the pulse setting. It literally takes only a minute or two. Don't worry about a few larger pieces of shortening, they will be worked out in the rolling. The same thing goes when you are adding the binder. When it gathers into a ball, stop.

     When you are rolling out the dough, start from the middle and work out. Don't roll back and forth across the whole surface of the dough. If your crust starts to pull back a lot while you are rolling it out, you have over worked it. The gluten has toughened making the dough elastic. There is no fix, just adjust your technique next time.

     I roll my crust out on a floured pasrty board, with a floured rolling pin. I have read about doing it between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap to prevent sticking but it has never been a problem for me so...
The other methods seem like too much fuss. An empty wine bottle works as a substitute rolling pin if you find yourself short. Believe it or not I did somehow manage to lose my rolling pin.

     After all the caution about over working the dough, I find when using vegetable shortening I have to work the dough a little longer to toughen it up a bit so I can work with it. D**m vegetarians and no animal products. LOL

     For the butterscotch pie you need a pre baked or blind baked crust. I usually just poke a million holes in the raw crust with a fork and put it in the oven at 350 degrees until it turns a golden brown, anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. I go by the colour of the crust not the cooking time and for whatever reason it can vary a lot. You can also line the inside of the shell with tin foil and add beans or pie weights and cook it that way. Again too much fuss for me and I don't find it makes a lot of difference but use which ever method you like.

     You can always opt for the pre made pie crusts and skip all this, I won't judge. Of course I'll judge, that's cheating. LMAO Seriously, making good pie crust is a bit of an art but once you've mastered it................

Enjoy.

Picture posts update

     The response to the picture posts has been amazing. Thank you all for the comments, emails and facebook responses. I have a lot more pictures, but I'm going to wait to add them to the individual pages I want everyone to have. If I go in order, it should be a page for Marlyn Fisher Jackson and Roy Craig. The firstborn on each side of the family. I don't have enough pictures of either to start pages so I'm going to leave it open for now. If you want your page started, email me the pictures and add any captions you'd like me to include. If I get my wish, and I can be very determined sometimes LOL, there will be over a hundred pages of pictures with thousands of pictures to look through. What a celebration of our family.

    Speaking of family, thanks to Susan Hull and others I don't yet have permission to name, I have amassed quite a lot of family history and pictures. So much material has come to light I'm going to do posts on the four family lines of mine, the Craigs, Fishers, Lumsdens and the Sadlers. If there is anybody the family knows who has information on the lines please get them to contact me, especially the Fishers and Sadlers. I have good starts with both but could use some help.

     I have updated the posts for both sets of grandparents and will continue to do so as I get pictures so check them occasionally to see what's new. This month I have added Chrystal's, Rodney's and Grandpa Craig's  pictures and a couple of new ones on my page as well.

     Now back to the recipe pages for a bit, butterscotch pie form Gladys. Thanks for dropping by.

Beatrice Elizabeth Sadler Fisher

This page is dedicated to my maternal grandmother

Beatrice Elizabeth Sadler Fisher

September 24, 1918 - January 8, 2010



Grandma as a girl, not sure where the picture was taken

And another

And another, this is taken at her family home

This is the house she grew up in

Another shot of the Sadler farm

This is a picture of her father at their farm, Johnston Sadler

He married Mary Emma Craig, no pictures of her yet

Beatrice, her father Johnston and her sister Lola

Grandma's brothers and sisters

I can only identify Grandma and Grandpa (Herb and Bea) and Lola in the front

Grandma's brothers and sisters

Wilbert, Orval, Milburn, Percy, Edwin, Gordon, Lola and Beatrice

Beatrice and Lola

This is how I remember my Grandmother, smiling

Grandma and her daughters, she was happiest when surrounded by family

Jean, Marlyn, Susan, Deb, Barb, Rita and Joan

Grandma's smile again

Leslie sent me this picture, it seems this is how we all remember her

As well as raising eleven hooligans, I mean children

Grandma made beautiful quilts

I remember her quilting frame out in the sitting room with her latest work in progress

Marlyn and her husband Donny holding one of the quilts

My grandmother was also famous for her bread.

I can remember the kitchen table covered in bread rising in all manner of baking pans. 

I wish I had a picture of that.

She made all kinds of preserves, jams and jellies.

Her crab apple jelly inspired me to try and make my own and the rest is history.

I like to think she would have been thrilled to be the subject of all of this,

but she wouldn't have understood all the fuss.

It was just what she did, nothing special.

She would have loved the family pictures though.

The farm where Grandma and Grandpa retired to.

She loved watching the birds from that picture window.

One final picture of her smiling

"If you eat a little of the main course, you can have a little dessert"

Grandma, I have been eating lots of both LOL

and made from a lot of your recipes.

I miss you terribly.

     There are lots more pictures out there. Please pass along your favourites and I'll post them. For all of the Sadler and Craig family members, if you would like to contact me directly, click on my profile, About Me on the right. It will take you to an email link. You can always leave an email address for me to contact you in the comment section and I will repost the comment with the address removed.  However you decide, please do get in touch, it is always good to hear from family. Take care, Paul



Herbert Leach Fisher

This page is dedicated to my maternal grandfather,

Herbert Leach Fisher

December 6, 1919 - June 24, 2006

A classic pose, Grandpa in formal driving gear

Grandpa's parents

William Albert Fisher (Sept.3, 1875-Dec. 6, 1966) and

Maria Lavina Porter Fisher (June 22, 1878-Jan 24, 1952)

They were married on October 16, 1901

Here is a link Carly gave me to the Porter family database if you were interested in some more family history
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~porters/database/d90.htm#P11712

Grandpa's father's parents

William Fisher (1840-1909) and Sarah Leach (July 12,1838-August 15, 1924)

William Albert is behind them, (that could be a picture of Butch)

This is a picture of Sarah Leach Fisher, right, and her sister's I think

If anyone can identify the other two ladies, please help

This photo is of Mrs Nicolas Leach, one of Grandpa's great aunts I'm guessing

The Fisher family,

 Commentary
circa 1945 (Lois Fisher was born in 1944)
Ernie Fisher, Ned Daly?, John Fisher, Ida Fisher (Geddes) (with Lois
Fisher ) Maria, Jennie (Porter) ? Harry Geddes?  William
Front Clarence Fisher, Marion Fisher, Lloyd Fisher, William (Willie) Fisher
Sorry, I don't have the dogs name.

They had nine children;

William Duncan,

Ellen Mildred"Nellie",

John Arthur,

Howard James,

Iva May,

Marion Evelyn,

Harold Lewis,

Herbert Leach(Grandpa)

Ernest

William, Maria and Family
c 1941 - Lloyd Fisher was born in 1942 and is not in the picture.
From lower right
1st row - Howard, Ernie, Herb, Lawrence Fisher, Willie Fisher, Clarence
Fisher, Marion Fisher
2nd row children from left - Glenn Fisher , Dorothy Fisher, Evelyn Fisher
3rd row from right - John, Ernie Smith, Bessie (Brownlee), Ned Daley?, Iva
Fisher , Marion? Nellie, Laura (Graham)?, Ida (Geddes) Harold Fisher,
Eveline (Montgomery)?, Gerald Fisher? (with Maria), Maria, William

 

I think this is a photo of Grandpa, his father and brothers

That is definately Grandpa in uniform beside his father with John in the hat behind him

I can't identify the others, a little help please

From left -John Fisher, Ida Fisher (Geddes)
Front - William Fisher (Willie), Clarence Fisher, Marion Fisher

 Lloyd Fisher in Ida's arms

Taken at Henry Porter's farm, Maria's brother,

bordered William and Maria's farm on the east side

 

Another brother or sister?

From right William, ?, Maria, Nellie Smith (Fisher) , Ida Fisher(Geddes)
behind and to the left of Nellie.,
Evelyn Fisher (Brownlee), Iva behind Evelyn Fisher
John and Harold, Laura (Graham) in the rear
Ernie Smith behind Maria, Ernie Fisher, behind Nellie and partially blocked,
Unknown behind Ernie Smith, maybe Herb (looks like a military hat)
Eveline (Montgomery) Fisher in front, child may be Gerry Fisher Duncan's
youngest

Grandpa in uniform, before he met Beatrice

He had a problem with his leg so never saw combat,

we all might not be here otherwise

Grandpa as a young man with an unidentified person beside him

Grandpa riding

There were always horses at the farm and a lot of us ride

Grandpa carted us all over the countryside to various horse shows,

and Grandma always made sure we were well fed LOL

Grandpa also drove and had quite a collection of buggies

This is a picture of him and the carriage he drove for my aunt Karen Craig's wedding.

That's Butch standing beside him I think

Grandpa's prize winning Arabian stallion Wiregrass Gabriel

It was Hackney ponies when I was a little kid and Arabians later

The ponies went to us, Deb had Lindalee, Beauty and an old workhorse Queen
Sherry got Top Sale King Adore "Leroy"

We called him topsoil to make Sherry mad LMAO

 Grandpa was also a dairy farmer and this is his Holstein bull Magician

That's my uncle Bob on his back

I remember that massive animal, we were terrified of him as children

Grandpa was also an avid hunter but I don't have any pictures except this one

If you look closely, there is a bear head in Grandpa's lap

They shot it moose hunting one year and the rug was in the living room for years when I was little

Grandpa always had hunting hounds and raised pheasants to hunt as well.

The farm he and my grandmother retired to

No more milking, just some horses and dogs to keep him occupied.

     There are lots more photos out there, I just don't have them, yet. Please pass along your favourites and I'll post them for all of us. To all of the Fishers, Porters et al out there, if you would like to contact me directly, click on my profile on the right, About Me. It will take you to an email link. Alternatively, you can leave me your email address in the comment section. I will repost the comments with the email address removed.. However you decide, it is always good to touch base with the family.

Grandma and Grandpa Fisher

 Herbert Leach Fisher and Beatrice Sadler Fisher

My grandparents on my mother's side

Married December 16, 1942

Here they are again, 50 years and eleven children later

I'm not even going to try and name everyone, it will take the rest of the page

All of us again at the Fisher reunion

If you look at the picture full size(just click on it)

You can see Sheryl and Kevin just turning away from the camera, probably rescuing Riley LOL

A very early aerial shot of the home farm

There they are, all eleven children, late 70's maybe early 80's

Back row: Herbert(Butch), Leonard and Gordon

Middle row: Deb, Barb, Rita, Marlyn, Jean and my mom, Joan

Front row: Bob, Grandma, Grandpa and Susan

Everyone again a few years later, 1992

These are the only two pictures I could find of all the Fisher's just as a family.

Grandma with all the girls

Back row: Rita, Jean, Joan(still my mom), Susan and Deb

Front row: Marlyn, Grandma and Barb

Grandpa with the boys

Leonard, Butch, Bob, Gordon and Grandpa

All of us saw that finger, usually minus the grin LOL

Next is a series of pictures of the girls,

Jean, Joan, Rita and Susan

They seem to have posed for pictures at the drop of a hat.

There are lots of them (and I love them all) but what happened to your brothers?

Jean, Rita,Joan and Marlyn down in front
I so remember those zipper front overalls, everyone had them, preferably in corduroy

Back: Susan, Deb, Joan and Jean

Front: Barb, Rita and Marlyn

Jean, Grandma, Deb, Rita and Joan

Jean, Marlyn, Susan, Deb, Barb, Rita and Joan with Grandma

Don't mess with the Fisher girls, Deb will .....
Marlyn, Jean, Deb, Joan and Barb at Deb's KPF service awards

Deb is one of three police officers in the family so....................

Now for some grandchildren. As with the Craigs, there are a lot of us with more popping up all the time. I apologize in advance if I omit someone, spell your name wrong or mis-identify you in a picture.

Mom, Dad and I

We were just too slick for words

Leo, Jean and Adam (he's such a ham)

Barb and Sherry

This picture is adorable

Rita and Leslie

Leonard and Judy with their three, Emily, Rebecca and Ian

Gordon and Sue with Melanie, Carly and Megan

Bob's daughter Sheryl with her husband Kevin

Bob's daughter Kathleen



Marlyn's daughter Wendy

Marlyn and her son Wayne

Butch's daughters Sara and Chrystal with my other cousin Kriket

Butch's son Wesley, Rebecca and their daughter Alyssa
They are expecting their second soon.

There are a bunch of great grandchildren as well.

Here are Leslie's three, Colby, Zoey and Alaina

Kathleen's two, Brittany and Matt

Sheryl's two, Riley and Nathan



Wendy's daughter Harley

Adam's two, Katie and Curtis

Carly, with Matt and their daughter Ashley

Wesley's daughter Alyssa

Wayne's son Adam, definately Wayne's son LOL
This is the only picture I have of Adam

Butch's daughter Chrystal and Jimmy

The first picture of Chrystal's new baby "Peanut", incredible

Here's Peanut now( and a very close up picture of Jimmy)

Meah Leslie Anne Heffren

Born at 2:22am April 5, 2011, is 19.5" long, and is a whopping 7lbs 11oz

Meah, ready for her close up

Meah and her aunt Sarah
 

Wesley and Rebecca's new daughter

Hana Anne Elizabeth

March 7, 2011 at 3:58 pm

Hana with the proud Grandmother, my aunt Deb.

Hana with her aunt Sarah

Now just some random shots of us

Adam and Leslie

Me, Sherry, Adam and Leslie

Carly and Melanie

Back row: Leonard, Butch, Jean and Susan

Front : Eric (my dad), Debbie, Sherry, me and Gordon

Me, Wayne and Sherry with Donny at their (Marlyn and Donny's) cottage

Bush league hockey on the flooded beaver meadow at the home farm (Grandpa had four farms)

It's all fun and games 'til first blood, then it's a sport LOL

Debbie, Leonard and Wendy in the back

Wayne, Kathleen, Leslie, Adam and I in the front

Grandma with Harley, Rebecca and Melanie

The same three with Grandpa 

Riley, ya gotta love that face

Grandpa and Grandma with Marlyn in between

Rita and I dancing
That is my aunt Marilyn Craig on the side and Grandma Craig on the couch

Grandma and Grandpa again

Rita, Leonard, Wayne, Sherry and I at Marlyn and Donny's cottage on Christie Lake 

One of my favourite Fisher family pictures, 1955

All the children from Bob up to Marlyn

The original is tiny and I asked my mother who this was

Scanned you can pick them all out easily, too cute

Still don't know who the woman in the photo is or where it was taken

Bob and most likely David Sadler up front

Rita, Jean, Joan, Barb and Marlyn in the back, priceless

As with all the pictures click on it to see full size

One final picture of Grandma and Grandpa together

These are the two who are the start of all of us.

I miss you both.

     Feel free to pass on your favourite photos of Grandma and Grandpa and I'll post them. I will continue to update the family info on this page, new arrivals etc. For all of the extended family, if you would like to contact me directly, click on my profile on the right, About Me. It will take you to an email link. You can always leave your email address for me in the comment section. I will repost them with the address removed.

Look forward to hearing from you, Paul.