Vegan Sour Cherry Pie with Flaky All-Butter Crust (Knitted Cuteness: Snowmen, Gnomes and Stars. Is This Supposed to Happen with A Broken Ankle?)

Consider baking a pie for someone for Christmas. I did. Except I decided I needed my pie earlier and I baked this pie for myself on Thanksgiving. I ate most of it myself, too. I had never tried an all-butter (vegan butter) pie crust before. But my taste buds were not disappointed. The recipe could not have been easier--once you make your dough (time to throw together: about five minutes), chill the dough (a half hour), drain the cherries, reserving some juice, then add a little of this and a pinch of that (another five minutes), then roll the dough and place in pie plate and add the cherries (about five more minutes), and bake (forty-five minutes)--you'll be greeted with an amazingly delicious cherry pie extravaganza. 

(Note: With some knife action to the dough and a bit of artistic inspiration, you can doodle your cherry design on top just before popping it in the oven like I did--oh, and add some raw sugar on top for even more gilding of the lily.)

In the end you'll be happy. If you have a broken ankle, your body will thank you as well. The recipe I used for the filling came from King Arthur. The change I made to the recipe was this: I subbed 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for the tapioca, and I used two cans of Oregon Tart Cherries. For the pie crust: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt, 12 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Butter and 3/4 cup ice water. Follow your basic directions for pie crust making, be sure to chill it at least a half hour and viola--you will have one of the best pies ever with some of the flakiest, buttery crust EVER.

On the ankle front: this morning was a milestone. I walked two miles on the treadmill. It took me thirty-five minutes of careful concentration and focus on my foot the entire time. I am determined to return to running by the end of December. My X-ray appointment is scheduled for the day after Christmas. I still sleep with my boot on, but during the day, I walk around in my shoes. . . carefully. I am wearing two insoles in my shoes to provide extra cushion and keep my ankle from being bothered by the upper part of the shoe hitting that "spot". Of course, I am laser-focused on healing. Everything is about my "ankle". 

I thought I'd switch things up a bit today though and talk about some stuff I've had going on while I sit on my behind.

Isn't he the cutest? Okay, so maybe he has a bit of the Ghostbuster's Stay-Puft Marshmallow man to him, and maybe he needs arms, but I really loved knitting him up. I don't know what's come over me really, this whole "cuteness" crafting is a bit strange. These projects have provided plenty of instant gratification moments. Perhaps it's the ankle--this need for simple and quick. I Raveled my snowman project here.

More cuteness. I know, right? I fell in love with Normy the Gnome. He is going to have this outrageous beard or maybe a goatee, it's yet to be decided. My project was Raveled here.

Well, these aren't knitted, they are crocheted. I like to use one hook sometimes. There is something about crochet that knitting doesn't have. I can't explain it. Nevertheless, these are quick and easy. For pattern information, follow my Ravelry post here.