Year of Pies: Memories and Reflections, by Ann

I sucked at pie making.

The End.

-- Ann



That is what my lovely, beautiful, talented-at-pie-making sister, Elizabeth wrote about me when she was blocking out the posts for the end of the year. I would like to point that out. Who's the bigger person now, huh?!

One lesson that I've always appreciated from my parents is that they gave me a deep love of cooking, but even more than that, they taught me never to be afraid of cooking. This may seem kind of silly and obvious, but most people that I know that don't like to cook also are intimidated by it. Maybe they never learned the right techniques, or haven't had good tools or ingredients, but confidence is, in my opinion, a key element of cooking well. Why should food tell you who's boss? If you go into a recipe assuming that it's going to be awesome, you have a much better chance of turning out a product that matches your expectations. However, pie-making has always been intimidating to me, mostly because I don't really enjoy baking that much, and also because it has such a reputation for difficulty. To be honest, I think that pie talks a big talk. I really enjoyed Our Year of Pie, and was surprised that pie-making wasn't as daunting as I expected it to be. Except for my last two dismal months, I felt like I did well. There were several months that I felt like I ought to have spent more time on the pie, but it was always more forgiving than I expected to be. And so many good things happened! I had lots of great pie sharing with friends (did I suddenly have more friends this year than in previous years? I don't know...), I felt more connected to Indiana culture, and I ate really, really good pie. And I MADE that really, really good pie! Hooray for me!!!!!! Now, I just have to overcome my fear of cooking shellfish, and I'll have conquered all food.