So basically, for the past two years I’ve been working on perfecting my pie-baking skills.  At this point I feel like I’ve really got a crust down that I really love. I use it for almost all of my pies now. I’ve learned a whole lot about baking from all of these adventures. Mainly, I’ve discovered how baking can be a huge source of stress relief for me. I really enjoy pouring my time and effort into something that physically manifests itself into something positive when the work is done.

I am predominately an actor and singer, so baking is a just a hobby for me. That doesn’t mean that I don’t taking baking seriously though, and I do. I really do. I take a lot of pride in baking and it means a lot that i can share it with my family and friends.

(p.s. I’ll share my pie crust recipe at the bottom of this post. I’m pretty proud of it.)

One thing that I’ve really figured out from all of my efforts is that I have to accept that I can’t make a perfect pie every single time just yet. And that’s okay. I have to accept that once in a while, I’ll have a liquidy filling or a burnt lattice, or the the decoration won’t turn out the way I had hoped.  Precision is pretty important, so things can get tricky sometimes. I’ve also learned that I’ll never make a perfect pie if I give up. So that’s why I keep on making them. As I kept on practicing these past two years, I have noticed a lot of improvement in myself, and I can now confidently say that I make a pretty darn good pie.

Another thing I feel like I can kind of pat myself on the back for is flavor inventing. It’s pretty awesome to experiment with different flavors and fruits in unexpected ways. I like traditional pies as well, but I have a lot of fun making things that are a little out of the ordinary. The strawberry fig in the top picture, for instance, turned out pretty awesome. I’ve also done things like cheesy apple and wine pie and peach and blackberry pie. I can’t wait to invent some more.

Val’s Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup REALLY cold butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup ice cold water (i literally put an ice cube in the water after I’ve measured it)

yields enough pie crust for the bottom crust and a lattice

When you’re making a crust, make sure you’re really precise about it. I start by sifting my flour and then throwing the salt in. Mix that together. Take your butter out of the freezer (yes, you read that right. Freezer) and using a box grater, grate your butter. Add it to the flour/salt. Push that stuff together, and slowly add your water. Mix until it forms dough. Wrap it in some plastic wrap and throw that sucker in the fridge until you’re ready to use it! Good luck!