Easy as Pi

We three were downstairs when I called the math wiz to join us: JERE!!! CUMM'ERE!!!:
What's today?
Huh?
You know, today...
Um, Sunday?
The date...It's March...
13th?
That was yesterday.
Oh, the 14th?
And that makes today?
Ooohh...it's Pi day!
(Guess the wiz needs a bit of wake-up time before the math cells work!)

We'll have pie for dinner!
Shepherds' ? Nah...
Quiche? Nah...How 'bout...
Chicken Pot Pie? Yay!

But there's so much to be done before I can think about dinner...like Brekkie!
My Irish husband's been perseverating on proper soda bread since the beginning of the month, so I obliged this morning...(basically) using his grandmother's recipe.

Details?
Here goes:

-Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 2-qt casserole.
-In a mixer, combine 2 c flour, 2 c whole wheat flour, 3 T sugar, 1 T baking powder, 1 t salt and three-quarters t baking soda.
-Cut in 6 T butter until you have coarse crumbs.
-Add about 1 and a half c golden raisins and 1 T caraway seeds.
-Moisten with 2 beaten eggs - but hold back about a t for a wash - and as much of 1 and a half c buttermilk as the dough will take.
-Mix until it just comes together in a bowl; turn onto a floured surface and kneed about 10 strokes.
-Form into a ball, put into casserole, cut a shallow X in the top and coat with remaining egg...bake for an hour 20 mins.

So, things come in threes, right?

As the bread baked, the phone rang and wouldja believe, my vortex of crap deepened:
What?
In the hospital?
30 stitches?
WHAT?

Last night, my mother had gone 12 rounds with a tree through the sunroof of the car. Dad was OK, but shaken. The car was done for.

Thankfully, that's all that was done for...a few diagnostic tests later...Mom would probably be discharged Monday and despite the significant fright and a new hairdo, not permanently worse for wear.

Survived the rest of the day with no new surprises...

Still the comfort chicken pot pie can provide sounded better and better...

Details?
Here goes:

-Preheat oven to 350.
-Cube 1 potato (to about the size of a die) and 2 chicken breasts (about a pound total, into 1-inch pieces) and poach in about 2 c boxed chicken stock with a half t smoked paprika, salt and pepper until done.
-Add in about a cup chopped kale when the chicken's almost done. Transfer solids to baking dish - to the dismay of my Master Mixologist, who kept me in cocktail-onion-laced Martini joy, I used a rectangular 8x13x2 dish for the pie (WHAT? You can't have pie in a dish that's not round!) and keep the broth warm.
-Sweat 1 diced celery rib, 1 large shallot and 2 large garlic cloves in about 2 T butter. Add about 1 T chopped fresh rosemary and 1 t chopped fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Forgot I had wanted to add some bacon, so at this point I added about a quarter cup diced applewood smoked bacon...if my mind hadn't been elsewhere, I would've added it at the start of this step. No harm, no foul.
-When translucent-ish, add 2 T flour and whisk to form a roux. Add 1 and a half t stone-ground mustard to roux and whisk in the reserved broth to make the sauce.
-Put the sauce over the chicken 'n stuff and toss...top with (vented!) pie crust and bake for about 30 mins or until golden...I forgot to put a wash on the crust, so browning took a bit longer...it's been one of those days!

Pie crust (makes 2):
-In bowl of food processor with metal blade, spin 2 and a quarter c flour with 1 c cubed chilled (!!) butter and a t salt until it looks like wet sand.
-Drizzle in up to 10 T ice water until the dough comes together in a ball...
C'est tout...really...divide it, make it into a ball, refridgerate it, freeze it...whatever...you can use it immediately or store it...and it's wonderful.

I'll beware the Ides of March...but really folks, can it get much nuttier?