Cook the filling and use Clear Jel or Frezer Flow starch as a thickener. Make the bottom pie shells and spread margerine on the bottom and insides of the shell. Chill the shells a while, as well as the prepared filling. Fill the shells and add the top crust, and make a small hole (half to an inch) for venting. Place in freezer, to firm up. Then bag in FS bags if possible. When you want to bake one DO NOT THAW, set the oven to 425, and place the pie on a big cookie sheet or flat pan to catch drips. Mine don't boil over much as they have no sugar added. Bake about an hour or more, on the lower third of the oven. Look for bubbling at the vent hole. If the top crust is browning too fast, place a piece of foil over it. I make many meat pies this way, chicken, turkey, and even beef. They are all made similar to this method. Try getting some PUFF Pastry sheets, from the freezer, thaw, then cut in quarters and, and fill the center with some of the apples, fold up all four sides, or fold into a triangle. I also likd to wipe the top with water and sprinkle sugar on the top crust before baking. Adds a nice touch to pies.

roast the veggies in an open pan in the oven...with a little EVOO, kosher salt, FGBP and perhaps some garlic and a sprinkle of the herb of your choice...basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, thyme orw hatever... Roast the veggies a long time at about 325 or so...so they are not only roasted but a bit dried out... spread the phyllo on your counter...brush with more EVOO...strew on the roasted veggies, sprinkle with a bit of parm reg and roll up....brush with more oil and bake about 20 minutes at 400 until the Phyllo is browned and crisp. I'd skip the tofu... Linda C

Freeze the rind without grating it - it's much easier to use this way. I generally use the whole rinds in chicken stock and only freeze them when there are only a few lemons left on my tree. Since I have a Meyer lemon tree, the rind is easier to zest/grate when it is frozen, as it is very soft otherwise. What type of lemon tree do you have? I made Greek meatballs yesterday but didn't have the eggs to make the avgolemono sauce, and so I will probably put the meatballs into some eggrolls or phyllo dough. Lars

This is a link to a story in today's Baltimore Sun, and I have been thinking about these pastries for a looong time. First let me post the recipe.. Galaktoboureko Serves 16 This recipe for galaktoboureko squares comes from Nora Kefalas, who says any leftovers should be refrigerated uncovered to maintain crispness. Syrup may be made ahead and stored in a refrigerator for up to three weeks. Galaktoboureko also can be made into baked rolls of custard-filled phyllo dough. Custard: 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 cups milk 2 tablespoons unsalted sweet butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract rind of 1/2 lemon 1 cup semolina or farina Syrup: 1 tablespoon squeezed lemon juice 1 cup water 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 whole cinnamon stick Dough: 1 pound phyllo dough 1 1/2 cups melted butter-flavored Crisco for brushing phyllo cinnamon to sprinkle on top honey (optional) For the custard: In a small bowl, beat the eggs with vanilla extract and set aside. Then, in a pot, add milk, butter and sugar, using a wire whisk. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and add lemon extract and lemon rind. While continuing to stir with whisk, slowly add farina. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens (about 3 to 5 minutes). Remove from stove and mix in the beaten eggs. Let cool for about 10 minutes. To make syrup: Place all ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and remove cinnamon stick. Spread half the phyllo sheets on the bottom of an 11-inch-by-15-inch pan, leaving some hanging over the edges. Coat each sheet with melted Crisco. Then pour the custard in the pan, fold over the sheets and continue to coat with Crisco and layer the remaining sheets. Make several slits on top layer -- not cutting to the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes and then, with a ladle, pour syrup on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon. (If your custard is warm, your syrup must be cold.) Cut into squares and serve warm or cold. If desired, you may also drizzle honey on top. Per serving (square version): 515 calories, 8 grams protein, 25 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat, 65 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 64 milligrams cholesterol, 200 milligrams sodium Then here are the notes as to how the women prepare the bits and pieces in advance. A good idea if you ever want to get a bunch of people doing this together. It usually takes about 10 women to prepare the hundreds of cigar\-shaped galaktoboureko rolls for the festival. Weeks before the event, Kefalas and others meet at the church in the morning and make the custard, which takes more than two hours. "The church is what brought everybody together," Kefalas said. "We're all like a family down there. It's like home." On the stove, the mixture of milk, butter and sugar needs plenty of stirring to keep it from burning. Demonstrating in her kitchen, Kefalas makes it seem effortless. Then come the lemon extract, rind and farina, followed by the beaten eggs and vanilla, added slowly. The lemon helps cut back the smell of the eggs she'll mix in later (she always thought her mother and grandmother made it too eggy). This is the easy part. When the large batch of custard is finished, a second group of women arrives to roll up the filling in phyllo dough. They butter the thin, flaky dough sheets with a brush, spread them out, pour a line of custard in the middle, roll it all into neat little cylinders and freeze them. The syrup, made of lemon juice, water, sugar and cinnamon, is readied closer to festival weekend because it doesn't keep as long, she said. In the morning of each festival day, the women will bake the rolls, drizzle on the syrup and sprinkle some cinnamon on top. Each roll costs $1.50 and comes in a small wrapper.