It started with a Buckle

I read somewhere last year that you should learn something new and "different" every year to keep your mind young. My propensity for job changes ensures that I'll always be learning something new pharmacy related, but I wanted to learn something entirely different. I love to eat. I love to eat dessert specifically. Wes and I are novice foodies. He likes sauteing, grilling, etc. but much like Rachel Ray he has no interest in baking. Dessert and bread are my two favorite parts of the meal. I decided my new thing to learn would be baking.

Lucy and I went blueberry picking with a friend and came home with more blueberries than we knew what to do with. I looked up some recipes.

Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry crisp (needed more butter in the crisp)

Homemade sugar cookies for every holiday

Went apple picking therefore, had to make apple pie. First attempt at pie crust. Lesson learned- don't over work the dough.

Banana pudding from scratch. First attempt at meringue. Here's something I learned about myself- I don't care what the science is behind it, I like to think of it as MAGIC.

I rely heavily on Southern Living. This is a sweet potato pie with a marshmallow meringue. This was probably the most labor intensive item so far as I had to cook the sweet potatoes, make the crust, the filling and the topping. Worth all the effort but next time I'll consider canned sweet potatoes.

Key lime pie number 1- homemade almond graham cracker crust and lime meringue

Key lime pie number 2- store bought crust (subpar) and homemade whipped cream topping

Not pictured:

pound cake I made with Mom

scones that I make semi-regularly on Sunday nights (flavors tried- cranberry orange, blueberry lemon, and cherry almond and lesson learned- if the recipe calls for you to "cut in butter" just use a flat cheese grater and grate the butter straight out of the refrigerator into the dry mix)

triple berry pie (best crust I've made yet)

red velvet cake (I didn't get to taste it but was told it was dry- in my defense I was having oven temperature issues)

apple/cherry galette- eh, it was ok

My co-workers have been forced to eat most of this because Wes isn't really into baked goods as previously mentioned. By feeding all of these things to my co-workers I've simultaneously learned how to bake and lose weight. If you read this whole post you're just trying to not do something you really need to do- go do it.

As a thanks I'll leave you with the result of the multiple key lime pies. A Paula Dean/ Southern Living Key Lime Pie Mash-up

Crust:

5 tablespoons melted butter

1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup slivered almonds

combine the above and press into a 9 inch pie pan. Bake 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees. cool completely on wire rack

Filling:

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup key lime juice

1 teaspoon lime zest

2 eggs, separated

combine milk, lime juice and zest. blend in egg yolks. pour into crust. bake for 10-15 minutes until filling is set. cool completely.

Whipped cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

beat cream at high speed 2-3 minutes gradually adding sugar until soft peaks form. watch as it MAGICALLY becomes whipped cream. put it in the refrigerator for at least 1hr. spread on pie before serving.

Next up I shall learn how to make cheesecake.