we've been in project mode lately. mending fences, repairing broken glass doors. i am married to a man who can fix damn near anything. i love it, but it makes me often wonder, "what talents and trades will i pass on to our boys?" how will these lads o' mine remember their fair aproned mother?
besides my flair for choosing fingernail polish and decorating with thrift store furnishings, my boy life skill mentorship has much to be desired. however, when it comes to baking, well, i do have a little to offer there.
the other night the second born asked to make a pie. he was going to give a presentation at his tutorial on pi{3.14}and thought it would be clever to bring in a pastry. like his mother, he loves to play with words as well as share his sweets. so there we were him and me at 9 pm making pie crust.
he listened attentively as i told him about using cold butter{not a fan of shortening} as he raked through the dough with a pastry blender. his conversation was peppered with questions like, "why do you have to pour the ice water in slowly?" it was a precious moment. him fully engaged in what i was telling him. me playing the expert. if i can fool this one, then i can fool anyone.
he wielded the knife to peel, cut and chop as i talked him through the recipe. the Mister came in and sweetly commented, "i love to see you teaching him how to bake." to which i sarcastically remarked, "gotta give him skills that make his future roommates want to keep him around."
i showed him how to dust the rolling pin as well as the cutting board. pie crust is one of those simple few-ingredient staples that proves "butter makes everything taste better"{and homemade is far superior to store bought}.
with a little dash of some turbinado sugar as well as some cinnamon, the diced apples were folded{another vocab word he learned that evening}into the first pie crust awaiting the second layer that would be rolled, glazed{"you can use an egg white, but for the sake of time, let's just go with cream"}and vented{"let's keep explosions to the volcanoes"}with a dash of cinnamon sugar to boot.
this boy o'mine was a captive student and completed each task with thoroughness and thoughtfulness. he was quite pleased with the end result. we snuck up to bed late, leaving the pie out to cool.
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| cutie pie |
i missed his presentation. i peeked in too late. all the pie had been eagerly gobbled up without so much as a crumb. his classmates{and some parents}were quite satisfied with his presentation. and if he continues to hone his baking prowess, he may never have to wonder when his next sweet fix is coming. of course, i am speaking of the pastry kind. wink wink.
xo,
gf
