I had decided, prior to our actual move here, to use this move as an opportunity to stretch my anti-social wings. Our home is located very close to the downtown area of our new town - walking and bike riding distance. During one of our early morning weekend walks downtown with my husband, I noticed a flyer at a restaurant - local community events and classes - as a way to meet new people and get together. The particular class I was interested in, had only one more spot available AND it was for that upcoming Tuesday night. I joined the group, and registered. I was in - easy.
The class: Pie Make and Bake!
There is a local shop downtown, called The Pie Chest. I had not been yet, but had heard really great things about it.
Those who know me well, know I love to bake: brownies, cookies, donuts, cakes, muffins. . . Interestingly, when I am stressed, I want to run. It is like an itch, that must be scratched. However, with my health issues this past year, and not being able to run - baking became my new relaxation strategy. Luckily, I took my recovery seriously, and am now able to run again - only up to 3 miles, and not very fast, but it is better than nothing - and helps to offset my baking/sweet tooth addiction.
However, now that we are moved, but not unpacked, I cannot bake. We have no kitchen. This remodel is stressing me out AND I CAN'T BAKE.
One thing that I have not attempted, due to being totally intimidated, is Pie. My husband loves pie. It is his birthday request every year. Pie. My mother-in-law came to visit us once, and she baked two pies, from scratch, and made it look so easy. My stepmom is phenomenal cook and baker. Her pies could be award-winning, and again, she makes it look so easy. But she bakes her pies very different from my mother-in-law. Which way is the right way? They both make them delicious, but is one way better? Easier? Healthier?
So, I signed up for the Pie Make and Bake! class, and figured, I would just give it a go. The idiom Easy as Pie had to come from somewhere, right? How hard could it be?
Making pie is not easy. However, it is not has bad as I had built it up in my mind. I think part of my success, and newfound desire to make pies, is because our instructor was fabulous. As an educator myself, I feel pretty confident in saying that our Pie Instructor is an excellent teacher. She was patient, clear, and personable. I loved her introduction story of how she got her start. She answered all our questions. She worked at a front table, while us students worked at our own tables, facing her. We could see exactly what she was doing, and she watched us carefully.
It really helped to be in such a small group. Our instructor was able to come check our mixture and dough consistency, which is very important. I really liked her visual comparisons (our dough mixture was supposed to look like a feta consistency). The technical terms helped too - "smooshing" the butter into the flour mixture. It helped to see my classmates working too - we could compare and share. Honestly, it was a perfect intro class for learning how to make pie!
MY pie dough that I made during class.
The biggest indicator that it was a success was that as soon as I left, I wanted to come home and practice! That will have to wait a month or so, in the meantime, I will just have to go to the The Pie Chest and try all the pies - you know, research.
Easy as pie.
