2017's: Eat More Pie!

As I finished the incredible apple pie, I had just made, I remarked to my husband that my New Year's resolution was to eat more pie. How could I not! There was a condition, however. All pies had to be made by me. No visits to the bakery, in-store or not! No short cuts, whatsoever. Ha. Ha. I knew there was a catch!

The New Year's resolution to eat more pie seemed like such a ridiculous notion. How did that happen? More importantly, why did it happen? Could it have been the result of savouring, not eating, my still warm apple pie, at that moment of truth? Of course, it was. The pie was homemade, nothing better, nothing more. It had been a few years since I had made an apple pie. Such tardiness on my part. (Last year, pie was not on my 'radar'. Most store-bought ones have hidden things in them that wreak havoc on my thyroid and health. No thanks. I must pay attention.) Over the holiday season, much food had been prepared. My best-ever stuffing was made using sourdough bread, made with eggs, dill and homegrown dried sage. I adore my stuffing, now. In my blog, The Simple Loaf of Bread, (8/2015) I soon discovered the health benefits of eating sourdough. (I now make sourdough breadcrumbs.) Sourdough is a bread that takes time, lots of it; while its costs, greater, to achieve the pinnacle of taste. ... (The Canadian Food Network Star, Anna Olson, a pastry chef, has remarked that the best breads are those that take 2-3 days to make. Sourdough then must be the best.) The secret lies in the slow, days-long fermentation process. The flavour is unlike anything I have known, with added health benefits, too. Now, back to the pie.

Apples had been on sale in the latter part of 2016. Since 'Mr. Wiggles' and 'Sally', our delightfully intelligent and adorable retrievers each devour one a day, it seemed prudent to buy a lot more of these important fruits for health. Alas, I had bought too many. We could not eat them fast enough so I had to rid the refrigerator of these perishable fruits the only way I knew. I had to make pies. I had not made pastry for a very long time. Once upon a time, I used pastry flour. Funny, how things change when new information is learned. Now, I use organic all-purpose, (less two tablespoons), then replace 'equally' with cornstarch. Anna Olson mentions this step when converting all-purpose flour into the other, softer version, for cake or pastry. I use organic white vinegar, too, added to cold water. (Sugar is added to apples in tablespoon increments, with extra lemon juice and cinnamon.)

As I bit into the tender, flakey morsel of apple pie, I blurted out my New Year's Resolution: to eat more pie; maybe cake, too. My taste buds could not believe what my mouth had said. (Neither could my husband). We laughed. It was an indescribable moment of deliciousness. A few days later, an Italian olive oil cake was made without using my gluten-free mix of concocted high protein flours. I followed the original recipe, as directed, but reduced the organic sugar amount more than I had done previously. Extra lemon zest and juice were included, along with an extra egg, into the egg/sugar mixture, beating well till the batter volume had increased. I took notes. I always do. I get confused, if I don't. The olive oil cake was over-the-top, delicious, made with the new changes. My husband preferred not to share what lay under the cake dome. I argued the point and won. I would make another one, later.

New Year's resolutions come and go, every year. The most popular ones have to do with health: exercise and a better diet. Those should be daily promises to ourselves, not yearly ones. To address the culprits of a diet gone wild we should look no further than to our carb 'littered' day. How wholesome are these energy filled foods, anyway? Was it really necessary to eat that high sugar/starchy dessert, whatever it was? Who made it and did they care about what they put into it? Maybe not. It is our body we are 'feeding'. Some of us have an affinity towards the decadent, occasionally. Momsey gives in to those delicious thoughts, but not without serious thought, now. I have noticed the difference in my joints and overall well being when dessert is reduced, eliminated or simply homemade.

Flavour and savour are my dynamic partners in my war on weight, equal partners in my homemade dessert mission for 2017. My taste buds hit the mother lode in every way when I'm in charge of making dessert. How can it not? Sugar is reduced, considerably, and the desire to indulge, again, is diminished greatly, over time, because I have 'experienced' the best. My brain is content and so am I. My 'unadorned' special teas are a part of the overall experience, a necessary part in helping process the carbs I am eating. A win-win situation all around for me and my three girls.

Being on close terms with the baker and pastry chef in me is to know I can have whatever I want, whenever I want it. That is what keeps me content. That is power! In-store bakeries and other free-standing ones do not stand a chance. Their products seem suspicious, now, and definitely too sweet for me. My 'homemade' sights are now turned to the ever popular lemon meringue, coconut cream and pecan pies. Their recipes will change to reflect Momsey's New Year's resolution mandate to eat more pie. It will be done. It must be done. Someone has to do it so it might as well be me.