A week ago I was filled with such anticipation of being on the cusp of history. Since then I’ve been in complete shock, along with a lot of the world.
I wore my version of the pantsuit. I don’t actually have one so a suit coat would have to do! I also wore white and purple for the colours of the suffragettes. I was excited! But after the evening wore on I could see the writing on the wall. Going to sleep that night I was hoping beyond hope that the numbers would be wrong. The first thing I saw in the morning was a message on my iPad from a friend in Scotland asking what the hell did this country do.
Clinton wasn’t great shakes but I am having trouble wrapping my head round the fact that so many people accepted the sexism, the racism, the ego, the inciting of violence, and outright lies of Trump. It pains me that these weren’t deal breakers and in fact celebrated. I don’t know what is in store in the next few years but I can’t say my normal optimism is in play.
It was also difficult talking about it with our kids. Fortunately they are old enough to recognise what is right and what is wrong. Let’s just say my daughter can’t wait to be old enough to vote!
In the meantime we have to get on with our lives. Given we had another weekend of home improvement and how the week went, comfort food was definitely in order.
Because we still have a ton of apples from apple picking I thought a pork hand pie with apple and sage would do the trick.
For the pastry I cut in 1/2 a cup of butter into 1 1/2 cups of flour and a 1/4 tsp of salt. When the mixture is reduced to the texture of bread crumbs and they stick together, gradually add cold water until the dough comes together. It doesn’t take much so add a bit at a time. Cover and set aside until it’s time to fill the dough.
In a skillet heat up about two tablespoons of olive oil. Add about 1/2 a cup of finely chopped onions and begin to cook. Once the onion starts to become translucent add a pound of ground pork. Finely chop 2 large cloves of garlic and mix in.
When the pork is half cooked add a small handful of chopped fresh sage and a small handful of sliced fresh cranberry. Then add a spoonful of mustard and about a 1/4 cup of dry white wine. Season with sea salt and pepper.
Roll the dough out thinly and cut out circles. I used a bowl for this.
Fill one side of the dough with the filling. I had filling leftover because I only needed one pie but that would be good for a later pasta dish! Brush beaten egg round the edge of the pastry and fold the pastry in half. Pinch with a fork round the edge and then put 3 small slashes in the top. Brush with the egg and bake at 425F/220C for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden and flaky.
My husband made a fabulous dessert with apple and frangipane so it was a lovely meal.
Now that a week has passed I hope the grass roots efforts that are springing up to hold on to the progress we’ve made for equality and to make this place better continue. It won’t be easy but we do have a voice.
