Friday, April 3, 2015

Secret Subject Swap: Can You Haiku?

Welcome to the April Secret Subject Swap. This month 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject Swap posts.

Secret Subject Swap | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

My subject is: Write an Easter Haiku Smiley face graphic | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

It was submitted by: The Bergham's Life Chronicles

Oy Unsure face graphic | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics. On a number of levels.

First, there’s the whole I-don’t-celebrate-Easter thing. So . . . pretty much my participation in this holiday consists of my memorizing the egg and bunny-shaped treat options in the candy aisle. Don’t underestimate that, it’s quite an accomplishment. I know where all the good stuff is kept.

Second, sadly, I’ve tried my hand at poetry before on this blog and in most cases they were failures of epic proportions.

A Haiku is a very specialized form of Japanese poetry. It’s written in three lines and sticks to a syllable count, generally 5 – 7 – 5. It’s also supposed to marry two different, often contrasting parts and is frequently about nature. That’s a lot to accomplish in seventeen syllables.

I guess I should start with a few apologies. The first one goes to my friends who really can write poetry. Even those who can’t but have an appreciation of it as an art form. I’m sorry.

I also want to apologize to all of my friends who celebrate Easter. I know that it’s a very holy and serious time, not really reflected in my latest attempt at poetry.

Apologies well established up front, an Easter Haiku for my friends back home in Boston:

It’s now Easter time?
Good thing colored eggs stick out
in mountains of snow.

It’s also Passover time, a time when, not to boil every holiday down to food or anything, I cannot eat anything with leavening. We have tasteless crackers that take the place of bread and instead of rolls we have something that if black would resemble coal. There’s no question that we struggle through the dietary restrictions of these 8 days.

Last year when Passover ended, my boys drove to a local sub shop known for making subs using French bread they bake in the shop throughout the day. It was fine with me if they wanted to buy themselves subs for dinner. But imagine my surprise when they got home, sat down at the counter and started eating French bread. No meat, cheese or veggies, they just sat there gnawing on loaves of warm bread.

Since I wrote an Easter Haiku, in the name of fair play here’s my Passover Haiku:

I’ve got my boys beat
not bread when Passover ends,
dinner will be pie.

Yeah, yeah, I know, don’t quit my day job. Got it.

Peanut Butter Jelly Cookie Pie | www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #bake
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Pie


Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup and check them all out. See you there:



Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Pie
                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup baking cocoa
 
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
 
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
 
1/4 cup seedless blackberry jam
 
Directions:
*Cream the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla. Carefully, on the lowest setting at first, beat in the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 inch pie plate.
*Place the dough in the plate and evenly spread out on the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. *Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until it’s mostly set. Remove from oven and immediately, using a heat proof spatula, press down the center and along the sides to form the cookie into a pie crust.
*Cool on the counter for 20 minutes, then move to refrigerator to cool completely.
*Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks hold. Remove and divide evenly into two separate bowls.
*Beat peanut butter and cream cheese for one minute. Mix in the cookie crumbs, then add half of the whipped cream. Beat on the lowest speed for just a few seconds until it’s all mixed together. Place into the cooled cookie crust and put into the refrigerator.
*Beat the jam for one minute. Add the rest of the whipped cream and beat just until mixed together. Top the pie and refrigerate.

36 comments:

  1. I daresay you did well with you haikus-and they are perfectly timed for this Secret Subject Swap as it is National Poetry Month.

    I would be right there with your boys enjoying that bread although that pie looks good too.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I heard it was National Poetry Month, even more reason to hang my head in shame . . .

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  2. I think pie for dinner sounds amazing!

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    Replies
    1. Me too. And it's peanut butter and jelly pie so that even sounds kinda like a meal.

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  3. Excellent job there
    Haikus are fun to compose
    And PBJs rock!

    See what I did there? ;)

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  4. The pie looks beautiful and I'm no poet and I know it! LOL
    Thank you for NOT giving me this prompt.

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    Replies
    1. So funny, but the good news is you couldn't have done any worse with it than I did.

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  5. I am so glad I didn't get this prompt...but you rocked it babe! Pie for dinner is good with me.

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    Replies
    1. Pie for dinner seems to be good with everyone. Wish I had known this sooner . . .

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  6. Thank you for not giving me this prompt. I can't rhyme, and I am not into poetry.

    Love that you did a Jewish counterpart of the Easter Haiku!

    I've only visited my brother who lives in Israel twice. Both times it was spring break = Passover. I had NO IDEA how serious they are about no flour. Not only was there no bread, but also no pasta and pizza :-(

    Tough times.

    I would totally join your sons to the Baguette place! There are not many smells that are nicer than freshly baked bread.

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    Replies
    1. I agree, there's nothing like the smell of warm freshly baked bread. I bet those boys knew on the first day of Passover exactly where they were heading the minute Passover ended.

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  7. Funny Passover Haiku! That pie sounds interesting---never seen one quite like that, but it's creative and I'll bet it tastes good. I love PB&Js!

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    1. If you'd love PB&J with the addition of a chocolate cookie, and I know you would, this pie is worth a try.

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  8. So the only poem I ever remember writing was in primary school, and it was about a shoe. So don't feel too ashamed right now. I do love a good haiku though, and yours were pretty awesome.

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    Replies
    1. Ha, I want to hear that shoe poem, maybe it'll make me feel better.

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  9. I think they turned out pretty good! I am terrible at poetry. Man, I could use your cooking skills this weekend.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure I have skills exactly, but points for being determined!

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  10. Great job! And that pie sounds fabulous!

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    Replies
    1. The pie is fabulous. The poetry though, not so much.

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  11. I can barely write a poem, much less a haiku! That pie looks amazing! Your family is so lucky!

    Have a great holiday weekend!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I can barely write a poem too, and this blog is proof!

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  12. You did good, I can't do this just saying

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  13. I think you did AMAZING! I bet your Boston friends want to throw eggs at you. LOL Mine have gotten quite upset and sarcastic with me. Not my fault we are having such beautiful weather. Then again, it isn't perfect here either. We have quite the drought going.

    I sincerely think you did an amazing job with BOTH Haiku poems!

    In hindsight, I wish I had asked for a Spring Haiku.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you want a Spring haiku, you're going to have to write your own. I'm done with poetry for a while now.

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  14. P.S. I must make this pie! We love our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!!! Question.... Heavy Cream... if I use it, I cannot eat any.... Lactose Free Milk? Almond Milk? Soy Milk? Non-dairy, plain coffee creamer? Anything that would be a suitable replacement?

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    Replies
    1. I don't think any of those will whip to the right consistency. You may need to use a frozen non-dairy whipped cream product.

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  15. I think your Easter Haiku is really very good - I love the imagery!!
    And that pie - oh, my! (While this expresses how I feel, I'm afraid this little rhyme is the extent of my own poetic abilities!)

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  16. YILES and GOOD GRIEF!! Now that's a hard one!!!
    If it's any consolation, you did MUCH better than I would've done. MUCH BETTER!!! ;)

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  17. Haiku's are so hard
    I think you did a great job
    Happy Passover week.

    :)

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    Replies
    1. I see what you did there. I'm thinking you should have gotten this prompt!

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