Wherein I interrupt Soup Week in order to make a strikingly unattractive pie

I snuck two re-run cookbooks into Soup Week, #29 and #7. I know that's not a very efficient way to get through the collection, but they both had a LOT of soups that I really wanted to make and whatever, this is my show, okay?

As you can tell, soups are a mood booster.

Up above is Thai Chicken and Noodle from The Soup Bible. I'm having a leftover bowl of it right now and it's actually making it kind of hard to type out this post because my brain is completely full of the word "noooooooooodles." And just a big smiley face.

Below is Sauerkraut Soup from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. Not sure why I was drawn to this one, except that I really like cabbage? You know what, that's a good enough reason.

Heeeeeeeeey, guess who forgot to plan ahead for Pi Day again? Luckily I received a text from eagle-eyed reader My Father in time to discover the frozen pie dough I still had leftover from last 3-14. So already we're starting off with a pretty stunning level of freshness. I turned to Cookbook #30 The Baker's Bible (Deborah Gray, 1998) to find an appropriately hideous-looking filling that wouldn't require a trip to the store, and what do you know! This Butterscotch Pie sure fit the bill.

For when you want a custard that tastes like vanilla but looks like ground beef.

Verdict: I'm not sure what I did to the custard to cause...that to happen, but beautiful desserts aren't really my strong suit, so it's not especially shocking. It still tastes good! I do not blame the cookbook for this. I have already marked Pi Day 2014 on my calendar in ALLCAPS.

Ivy seemed a little listless this morning, so I thought it might be good to get out of the house for a while. A nice sunny morning at the park should do the trick!

It definitely helped.

Yep.