Yesterday could have been another day of sitting in the recliner all day, but I decided doing that would probably drive me crazy, so I decided to take control of my life and try to do something - anything - to get off my backside for awhile. After careful consideration I decided to do what anyone in my situation would do. I baked some pies. Pumpkin pies actually. From scratch!
Me baking pies shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone. I've done this before, back in 1999, so counting this time I bake for Thanksgiving every ten years. Check this blog again in 2019 for my next round of baking.
For those of you not as schooled in the fine art of baking as myself I have some tips which you'll want to keep in mind for your future forays into baking.
Ingredients - Before you get started make sure you have everything you need. Try to imagine my heartbreak yesterday when I discovered midway through concocting my pumpkin pie filling that I was out of ground cloves! My concentration and momentum were completely destroyed during my 45 minute trip to H-E-B. Don't let this happen to you. Make sure you have everything before you start.
Bowl Management - This has nothing to do with college football and everything to do with recognizing the number and logical order of your bowl needs during the baking experience. Don't use your big bowls to mix small amounts of stuff. If you do you'll end up in the unfortunate situation of having to put everything together in the little bowls, and that's not good. I found myself pouring things into plastic Astros cups to free up required bowl space. Again, a significant momentum buster.
Measuring Devices - Pay attention to your implements of measurement. If you don't have the experience of someone like myself it's quite easy to mistake a teaspoon for a tablespoon, or a 3/4 cup for a full cup. Imagine the disaster that could arise from using 1/2 cup of salt instead of 1/2 teaspoon! Don let this happen to you.
Read and Follow the Instructions [No Picture] - This goes without saying, but some of you (especially for those of the male persuasion) you may be tempted to try and speed things up by making inaccurate assumptions, skipping steps, and freelancing with ingredients. This can lead to some unforeseen circumstances, all of them bad, including poor bowl management (see above), not having the proper ingredients (see above again), and pies that taste yukky. Remember, any pie worth making is worth making according to the recipe. Don't try to be hero. Follow the recipe!
Enough lecturing. The following pictures are meant to not instruct, but to inspire. They present a mosaic of the joy that is baking.
When baking from scratch it is of utmost importance to find and use only the finest ingredients. That's why I went to the Fiesta in Rosenberg to find these two gorgeous cooking pumpkins. When selecting these important vegetables it's important to consider their size, texture, firmness and overall visual appeal.
Here's what your pumpkins will look like once you cut them in half and scoop out all the sticky guts and seeds. Put them in a pan and add about an inch of water. Oops! I'm instructing instead of inspiring. Sorry.
Next, cover your pumpkins with foil and place them in the oven (preheated of course!) at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes.
If you have followed all of the instructions, used the proper ingredients, and observed good bowl management you will end up with what is pictured to the right - a perfect pumpkin pie!
Bon appetite!
After successfully completing my pies I turned on the Food Network. Having experienced the actual joy of baking I felt as if I finally belonged. It was awesome. I really related to that short chubby lady with the freckles.
1 comment:
I look forward to a slab of that pie at some point on Thanksgiving day!
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