Little Women

I am rereading Little Women.  I haven't read it or watched the movie since I was a kid. The only thing I really remember about the story is that I wanted to be Jo, I always cried and I called my Mother "Marmee" for a while afterwards.

(from Anthropologie)

A while back I purchased this lovely Penguin Classics edition of Little Women. I suspect that reading from something so aesthetically pleasing enhances your reading pleasure. So far I am definitely enjoying.   I particularly liked the introduction by literary critic Elaine Showalter. Her reminder that the late, great Simone de Beauvoir was heavily influenced by Little Women as a girl tickled my fancy. Elaine Showalter opens her Introduction by quoting Beauvoir:

There is one book in which I believed I had caught a glimpse of my future self: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott....I identified myself with Jo, the intellectual. Brusque and bony, Jo clambered up into trees when she wanted to read; she was more tomboyish and daring than I was, but I shared her horror of sewing and housekeeping and her love of books. She wrote; in order to imitate her more completely, I composed two or three short stories. 

To think of what seems like a quaint, moral American story having an impact on the mind of the future  feminist thinker and co-founder of Existentialism seems, to use Jo's word, a "lark".  Especially when you consider that Simone de Beauvoir lived a life that was considered quite scandalous at the time. I wonder if she took it to heart when Marmee cautioned Jo "...better be happy old maids than unhappy wives..."(p.98).

Simone de Beauvoir

Pumpkin Pie + Ghosts = Fall

Well, it's that time of year again for certain. Despite the invigorating swim I had with Christina and Scott on Monday at Rainbow Haven Beach, there is no fighting it.

My October 10th Beach Cartwheel

(Christina Arsenault)

It is fall.

The leaves are crispy and changing and it is becoming night earlier. I am craving dark, frothy beer, comfort foods and thick, wooly sweaters. On Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving with Scott's family. Luckily we visited a farm down the South Shore on Saturday so I had all of the necessary ingredients to bake my first pumpkin pie of the season.

I just love pumpkin pie and I enjoy the meditative process of baking too, so it was a perfect fit for a lazy Sunday after a Saturday night bonfire. I used the Pumpkin Pecan Pie filling from my Martha Stewart Cookbook (The New Classics, p.472) and omitted the bourbon and pecans since I didn't have any on hand, I also added finely chopped vanilla bean pod to the mix. The crust was a combo of Martha's Perfect Pâte Brisée recipe from my Martha book (p.647) and the Pâte Brisée recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 139-40).

It was yummy; luxurious and smooth with just the right amount of zing and a light, buttery and crisp crust! Mwah (kissing my fingertips to emphasize my point). Since I only made one pie I have pastry and pie filling in my freezer for another use.

My big plan is to make extra small pumpkin pie tarts and outfit them with whipped cream ghosts for a Halloween Party we will be attending in a few weekends. It is dorky, I know, but I have been so excited about making these danged ghosts that I have been telling everyone. Even you!

In the meantime, check out these funny food ghosts:

(Pumpkin Ghosts from ifood)

(Ghost Cake Pops from Bakerilla)

(Candy Pac-man and Ghosts by Holly Green)

Marshmallow Ghosts from Stars)

Alright, alright. Enough already!