Dear Reader,
It's a very rare day that writing happens in the "instant" version for me. Open a box, dump the ingredients in the pan, turn on the microwave for 30 seconds and dinner is served. I admit sometimes I wish there was a condensed version sitting on the shelf; thoughts and words laced with preservatives, just waiting for me to add one simple ingredient and "bon appetit"--it's finished. But I realized a long time ago that in order for me to be a good writer I have to be willing to make a pie from scratch.
I'm sure it's different for every writer--a friend of mine who's written several very successful books doesn't even own a mixer and I doubt if she'd even know what to do with a pie tin. But for me, it's necessary to fill the pie tin from scratch. Writing means mixing the dough: flour, powdered sugar, butter, ice water; letting the dough rest on my wooden board for a while, and when the time is right, rolling the dough out and placing it in the pie tin. And then it's time to make the filling: pare and slice apples, mix cinnamon, sugar and a little flour together with the apples, scoop the apple filling into the bottom crust, top it off with a couple of dabs of butter, put the top crust on and then in an orderly fashion, moving around the outer rim of the pie tin, one-by-one, pinch the two pie crusts together and slit the top crust so the steam can escape.
Then I stand back, take a minute to smile and admire my handy work, and cover up the edge of the pie crust with tin foil, so it doesn't brown too soon. Slide the pie into the oven and then I need to be patient. (That's really the hard part.) Watching and waiting for the crust to turn light brown and the juice from the apples starte to bubble up through the slits in the top crust--then the pie is ready to come out of the oven.
But it's not finished yet. It has to sit on the counter and cool. And if I try to hurry it along and cut into my pie too soon, the filling runs and the rest of the pieces won't cut right, they'll fall apart.
No doubt about it, it's a lot of work making a pie from scratch, but it's worth it. I get a lot of satisfaction from the process and other people seem to enjoy my pies, too. It's a real compliment when someone asks for seconds because every single one of my pies include my dreams, fears, happy experiences and sometimes my sadness.
I've learned to accept the fact that not every pie should look the same. If I'm concerned that my pies don't look as fancy as my neighbor's (she's a pastry chef and her pies have been on best-tasting pastry lists), then I'm doomed. Comparing my pies to others always stops my creative juices from flowing.
And that's what writing is to me. It's making pies. I'm always experimenting with new recipes, some turn out tasty and others, once is enough. But even if a pie doesn't turn out quite right, I always learn something new about me.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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