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| ISSUE NO. 687 |
| EASY AS PIE . . . this idiom typically refers to a task or experience as being pleasurable and simple...which is striking us as challenging today for so many reasons, starting with the fact that making pie dough from scratch is one of the fastest ways to intimidate a blossoming home cook. It is also challenging us because our deep desire to connect through what we make and share at our tables feels impossible when we know how many are going without the most basic access to survival. It was Tamar Adler - in the guise of The Kitchen Shrink - who gave us the words today when she wrote, "I believe that living with the knowledge of hardship is the wellspring of mercy." At this stage of human existence, when everything feels designed to disempower us, the kitchen is one place where we can build power through practice, nourishing ourselves and one another in the process. That's why the fear that pie dough brings up in some folks is the exact reason we wanted to make a place for it at the start of our GFJ Cook Along. Fear was one of the themes that came up when we talked in February about barriers to cooking more, and we want to spend more time with that. Is your fear mostly about the end result - i.e. putting a lot of effort in, only to find it's not as good as expected? Perhaps it's more of a performance anxiety - you want to be able to share your work, and the thought of spoiling someone's appetite is too much to bear? Or maybe you have experienced kitchen disasters before, and you can't even bring yourself to imagine the end result because the thought of those frozen moments of frustration in the middle are so stomach-turning...you'd rather get take-out? We are here for the fear. And for those with high expectations, or low, we want you to know: it's not our aim to master anything as much as to practice in good company. Through the act of practice, we build muscle memory and make memories - like this weekend, when I had the honor of making pizza rustica and pizza dolce (a savory and a sweet ricotta pie typically served on or around Easter). My mother-in-law has been eating and making these season-specific pies for over seven decades, and this year she passed the torch (in the form of the recipes + pie pans) on to me. These are the rituals that live deep in our bodies and our bones. These are the practices that connect us across generations. These are the gifts that ground us. Susan Cain's continued research and writing on why some of us love listening to sad music also touched on the duality of our feelings this week, through an analysis of the experience of longing. In short, that "we like art forms that express our longing for union, and for a more perfect and beautiful world." In service to a more perfect and beautiful world, in the smallest of ways, we invite you to practice your pie making. You need not limit yourself to sweet or savory, pie plates or free-form sheet pan galettes, nor to special occasions, or standard fillings. There are so many places to start... / The April GFJ Cook Along is PIE DOUGH / to cook along with us, try incorporating it into your meal plan at least once each week throughout the month / the fundamental ingredients are: flour / butter / water (at it's most basic, a 3 : 2 : 1 ratio) / Smitten Kitchen is just one source for not one, not two, but three troubleshooting options to try / if you're gluten- and/or dairy-free, and can't imagine that pie dough can work without those elements, is the thought of experimenting too scary? Or do you have winning recipes / tips / tricks to share? / if you're ready to delete this email in fear, tell us about it / if you're ready to delete this email in frustration, consider the freezer friendly option of buying a buttery brand of puff pastry from the grocery aisle...experiment with some fillings you like, and think - while you eat - about being able to freeze your own homemade dough in the coming weeks, when you're ready to try again / send us your questions, suggestions, ideas, and comments along the way / tag us on IG @goodfoodjobs / #GFJCAL All together now, Tay + Dor |
tidbits...resources on anti-racism, environmentalism and food culture AKA stuff we're reading / listening to / watching / noticing / thinking about / captivated by this Tuesday . . . |
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