The Pie Project

I love this song. It just came on and made me think of the blog. It's about work, though not in so many words, or in better words than that, anyway. I'm working myself, recovering from a bad illness and faced with neglected assignments and grading. Right now it's a craft response to Robinson's "Housekeeping," another favorite, which is also about women who work, and drift, and is just as melancholy. I have more recipes to come - never fear. Next up is spiced pear.

1. Today I defend my thesis. I'm excited and nervous, both. I'm trying to breathe deeply and resist the urge to overcaffeinate. 2. The most popular, most searched-out, most read post on this blog is my recipe for Raspberry Crumble Pie. Well, Ken Haedrich's recipe, which I faithfully transcribed. Second most read? Red huckleberry pie. Note to self: the unusual recipes make me stand out. Do I want to stand out? I don't know. But it makes me happy that strangers from Ireland, Belgium, Canada, and Australia have found my silly blog. 3. I just re-read Patricia Highsmith's "The Price of Salt" and maintain it's one of the best novels ever. Read it, if you haven't! At least look it up. Fascinating story behind the story. 4. I am terrible at responding to phone calls, texts, emails, and facebook messages from my loved and neglected friends and family members. I am trying to rectify this. Just saying "I'm busy" is TRUE but somehow sounds flat.

Apple-Strawberry is one of those fruit combos that works exactly like you'd expect. Unassuming apple, zippy strawberry -- a friendly but not quite earth-shattering mix. The pie tasted good, mind you; how could it not? Gooey, fruity, simple, and laced with cinnamon. I'm not complaining. But there's something about this pie: it's like those competent short stories we receive by the dozens at Gulf Coast (or, uh, sometimes in workshop). Competent and dull. They get all the elements right, but something is missing. What is that something? Vision? Personality? Flavor? Life experience? Who's to say? It's palpable when it's not there. So, ma petit apple-strawberry, I'm sorry to say, not my favorite of the bunch. Still, I'm glad I tried it, and it's a lovely slice. A dinner party worthy pie. By the way, if you are in Houston and you read this blog (okay, you one person, my friend from Facebook and/or relative) come to my reading at Brazos tomorrow, Friday

A quick little post to get back into the pie world again. Yep, I've submitted my thesis (novel, draft two) and now I'm just waiting for my oral defense and/or fellowship responses, grading, jogging, enjoying friend time, and waiting. Lots of waiting. But that's okay - it's spring and beautiful in Houston, my sister is coming to visit, and life is end-of-my-master's-degree good. In that spirit I'm doing two new posts on variations of the cheeriest pie I've ever met: apple. Apples never go out of season or style, and when you pair them with seasonal fruits you can keep things fresh - no worries about lingering Thanksgiving vibes. First up is apple with a cheddar topping. Emeril gave me this idea, which is as simple as it sounds. Bake standard apple pie in a double crust. Remove halfway through baking, add thick slices of cheddar. Bake some more. I'm not totally sold, I'll admit. The sharp white Tillamook I used tended to overwhelm the apple goodness, s

I miss you, pie: I miss dusting my hands and elbows and forehead in flour, I miss little bites of salty crust, I miss the rhythmic chopping of fruit or stirring of custard. I miss our honeymoon period, pie, those heady days when you and I didn't care about anything but each other. Something has come between us. It's called my thesis. Yes, my thesis: it's not the same as my novel, though it's a relative. Someday I'll submit it, and then we can re-negotiate, pie. I'm truly sorry. I love you, etcetera.

Baking=immediate results and warm sugary feelings. Writing takes a leather ass and regularly sends me into despair. But both require a leap of faith, if you think about it. Flexibility. Neither one is very social (though baking could be, I guess). Both require putting other things, big and small, out of your head: they want all the attention. Hmmm. More on this later! For now, coffee and novel, novel and coffee, no sugar, and no more sleep. Ha, that's almost poetry.