July 5 – Apple Turnover Day

July 5, 2021 (Monday)

Today, July 5, is Apple Turnover Day.

The article that I read about it said that the turnovers can be made by baking or frying. OK, that rang a bell with me. When I was growing up in Texas, “fried pies” were sold in grocery stores and restaurants. They were almost always in a giant jar, without any sort of wrapping. Most of those enjoyed at our house were homemade.

I looked up recipes for Apple Turnovers and was surprised to learn of a product known as frozen puff pastry sheets, available at the grocery store. I thought I had seen all the products in the store, because I’m one of those guys who, instead a making a list of what I want, goes down every aisle hoping that something will attract my attention. (I have not been to a grocery store since April 24, the day I bought groceries, then came home to have a session with Demand Ischemia, a heart condition in which the heart beats too fast and outruns its own supply of oxygen). Anyway, back to the point, since I walk by everything in the store with my cart, I am amazed that I knew nothing about frozen puff pastry sheets.

Back to apple turnovers. The recipe says to thaw the pastry sheets, then cut them into squares, into which you put the apples and all the stuff you have prepared, like butter, brown sugar, cinammon, etc. Then you fold the opposite corners of the square pastry, insuring they will not leak by pressing the edges with a fork. Pop it into a hot oven and let it bake a spell. If you are not in the mood for apples, you can use the pastry for a wide variety of foods.

As I think about variety in the use of puff pastry, my mind takes me back to my grandmother’s style of cooking, a pinch of this and a palm full of that, mixed up and pressed with hands, and finally on a pan of some kind, inserted into an wood burning stove or kerosene oven. It was never exactly the same twice, but always great to eat. If the stores carried puff pastry, she never knew it. She used flour, baking powder, soda, salt, canned milk, and what-have-you as she performed the art of cooking as her mother had taught her in the nineteenth century. As I said, the food she prepared was always good.

Some folks study the Bible the way they shop, with a prepared list of what they want, while others go down every aisle, taking it as it comes. It’s fine for you to search for what you want in the Bible, but it’s probably better to study it book by book, getting the complete picture before choosing verses you like. You are more likely to discover the true meaning of the verses if you take the time to study it all.

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