Chapter Two

 THE AMERICAN GIRLS 

As the librarian in a large charter school I am constantly putting on programs to try and promote reading and draw families into the library. We have had some fun times with "Spooky Night" "Mystery Night" and "Evening at Hogwarts"  It's been seven years and the list is pretty long.

One program all of the girls love is the "American Girl Book Club"  The dolls are wonderful of course but the books and the history make the whole experience come to life.  This year we tweaked it a little and made it...

 "The American Girl Cook Book Club"

I had our logo printed on little aprons for the girls to wear... they were so excited!

So this afternoon we are cooking with Kit, an American Girl from 1934, right smack dab in the middle of the depression. As I began to study and prepare a presentation I was completely in awe of how resourceful people were and especially women.

When it came to planning meals, there was not always an abundance of food. Instead, they worked on their presentation.

A plain old sandwich was cut into triangles, often open faced and always with a little garnish like an olive slice or sprig of parsley. Sometimes they used two kinds of bread to make it look like a checkerboard. They ate interesting sandwiches... cucumber, cheese and pickle or egg salad. Everyone grew a garden and the lucky ones kept chickens. Then I discovered the recipe for...

"Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie" 

Because apples were rarely available, women substituted Ritz Crackers and produced a pie they swore tasted like the real thing. I remember as a child in the 60s my mother's friend made one of these but I refused to taste it.

I was up very late last night making four of them and wondering if I was crazy. Was this really going to taste like apple pie?

The answer is ...........YES   I'm sure a true "foodie" would turn up their nose but this taste pretty darn close to the real thing. So I thought I would pass along the recipe. Try it and see what you think.

Pastry for 2-crust 9" pie

36 Ritz Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups)

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 3/4 cups water

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS butter

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees

ROLL out half of the pastry and line a 9" pie pan. Place the broken cracker crumbs in the crust and set aside.

MIX - sugar and cream of tarter in a medium saucepan. Gradually stir in 1 3/4 cups of water

BRING this mixture to a boil. Reduce head and simmer for 15 minutes.

ADD lemon juice and cool.

POUR syrup over the cracker crumbs, dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.

TOP with the second pastry and flute the edges. Make sure to slit the top of pastry to allow the steam to escape.

BAKE for 30 minutes or until the crust is crisp and golden. 

 I think it needs a big scoop of ice cream... yum!