Home made always tastes better...

We hear that a lot.  Home made always tastes better than shop bought...  But do we really believe it?  Or do we think, deep down, that shop bought, because it's shop bought, has to be better?  I know that kids have a hard time accepting that something that's home made is actually superior to anything shop bought.

I think it's because we say it tastes better.  It doesn't necessarily taste better, but it certainly will taste different. 

For me, home made is always better, because I know what's gone into it.  How much sugar, butter, cream, eggs etc.  I know the eggs are home laid, from the girls out the side.  Most of the time whatever I make is cheaper, although if I factored in electricity and make time, it wouldn't be... 

So - why am I rambling on like this???  I know I'm sick, but no, I'm not running a fever (I think anyway).  Last weekend, my brother showed me how to make home made apple pie, and gosh it was good!  Pastry from scratch, pie apples (ok, it was all we had) and some spices & sugar.  55 minutes, from start of process through to taking the pie out of the oven.  And it was great!

Did it TASTE like the store bought ones?  Nope - it didn't.  I like their pastry better, but I'll also bet that the pastry we made was an awful lot better for our waistlines than the store bought pies. 

My brother, Mick, feverishly working on destroying my kitchen while Ken looks on in the background with a drink (onya!!) and the gorgeous Lorraine is cleaning as fast as Mick's messing...

He did make a mess, but the pie was good!

Here it is - sprinkled with some caster sugar, decorated with leaves & some cinnamon.  Mmmmmm...

High Top Apple Pie

1 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
Milk
125 g of butter
Custard powder
Cinnamon



Rub the butter into the flour untill it looks like sand.  Add milk to the flour until you have a dough that doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.

Knead till smooth (< 5 minutes)

Combine 1 large and 1 small can of pie apples together in a bowl with sugar to taste and dried fruit (if you like it)

AND - here is the secret to the difference between a good pie and fantastic pie - add custard powder to thicken around the apple as it cooks

Roll out the pastry till thin, either put it into a deep pie dish, or onto an oven proof plate, fill with apple mix, cover with pastry. 

Make an egg wash (egg & dash of milk) and wash the top of the pastry. Sprinkle top of pastry with some caster sugar and cinnamon. Bake on 220 degrees for about 40 minutes. bake in a moderate oven untill its golden brown (aprox 45 min to 1 hr)
serve with thickened cream