FICTION
*Recipe Featured: BLUEBERRY STUFFED PASTRY & HAM & CHEESE STUFFED PASTRY
Emy was finishing up preparing for their family picnic. Her two kids were very excited. She remembered how pumped they were on their first family picnic when they were just two and five years old; they couldn’t sleep the night before.
The first family picnic was chaotic. Emy forgot many small things, such as condiments, snacks, etc. Her kids have grown up quickly in years. Emy has now mastered the art of preparing for family picnics. She knew exactly what to pack and how to pack. Every year is just getting easier, she thought.
Emy and her family were camping in a state park about 40 miles away from their home. Besides packing the usual hotdogs, bratwurst, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, and chips she also baked stuffed pastry, which her kids loved. Their favorites were Blueberry Stuffed Pastry and Ham and Cheese Stuffed Pastry. Her husband was easy to please, as long as there was bratwurst and sauerkraut, he was fine.
Emy also invited her mom, Linda, sister Jenny, Jenny’s kids, and her husband to come and hang out with them at the picnic. However, Jenny declined Emy’s invitation since she had a wedding to attend. Their mom, Linda, also bailed out because Jenny had asked mom to watch the kids at her house that weekend.
Emy thought it was fine if they didn’t show up. The picnic was planned primarily for her family anyway. However, deep in her heart, she felt sad, especially when her mom Linda bailed out. Jenny’s needs must come first, Emy was convinced.
When Emy and Jenny were younger, they never went to picnics or camping, mom did not have the time. She was working even on weekends. Her mom raised them by herself. Their dad was not in the picture. Her father did not want to be involved in their lives. Hence, Emy and Jenny did not try to reach out.
Their childhood was beyond perfect. Emy felt that her mother always favored Jenny more. She kept those thoughts growing up; her mother had to care for Jenny first since she was often sick and needed more attention. Emy remembered how her mother comforted her by saying she was stronger and more independent than her sister.
Emy remembered when her mother missed most of her school events while she was always present at Jenny’s. She could not forget that her mother supported Jenny’s college education while she put herself into college with financial aid. She also recalled that her mother was always present at Jenny’s kids’ birthday parties while only a few times at Emy’s kids’. The most unforgettable was when her mother missed Emy’s courthouse wedding because she had to babysit Jenny’s kids. Emy felt like an outsider to Jenny and her mother.
Over the years, Emy had convinced herself that she was more independent and decisive and needed less attention than Jenny. As they turned adults, the distance between the sisters had grown apart. Should Emy stop trying to win her mother’s attention and love and simply focus on her own family? Should Emy accept that there are things in their lives that may never change?
The above story is fictional. The characters, events, and circumstances depicted in the story are based on the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to real people, places, and events is merely coincidental.
Below is a short overview of the recipes. For a complete copy of these 2 recipes, you may download it from the link:
| Download the Complete Copy of 2 Stuffed Pastry Recipes |
BLUEBERRY STUFFED PASTRY
Ingredients:
Blueberry Pie Filling, Puff Pastry Dough Sheet, Eggwash, Butter, Turbinado sugar, Powdered sugar
Preparations & Cooking:
1. Unfold the pastry sheet and cut it into squares.
2. Scoop pie filling and brush with egg wash.
4. Press the edges to seal the pastry.
5. Transfer the stuffed pastry to a baking sheet.
6. Brush the butter on the pastry surface.
7. Sprinkle turbinado sugar and bake.
8. Dust with confectionery sugar.
HAM & CHEESE STUFFED PASTRY
Ingredients:
Deli Ham, Any Sliced Cheese, Puff Pastry Dough Sheet, Eggwash, Butter
Preparations & Cooking:
1. Unfold the pastry sheet and cut it into squares.
2. Layer slices of ham and cheese on each of the squares.
3. Brush eggwash around the squares.
4. Press the edges to seal the pastry.
5. Transfer the stuffed pastry to a baking sheet.
6. Brush the butter on the pastry surface and bake.
Six Tastes Kitchen 