New skills

On becoming a newlywed, I assessed my skills as a homemaker. Some of them were better than others. I could clean just about anything and clean it well, thanks to my mother of 10 kids who taught us all how to clean. I knew exactly how to get pen out of shirts (which has come in handy as Matt is notorious for getting pen on his pockets) and how to iron those shirts once the pen stain was removed. There was one skill however that I could not master. Cooking.

For the first few years of our marriage, Matt cooked 90% of our meals. We didn't have kids and we were both pulling our weight in the marriage and that was just one of Matt's jobs. It wasn't until we had kids that I realized that cooking was going to have to become a major part of my life and I made a goal to start cooking and liking it. And I do. I have found joy in cooking and have gotten a lot better (although Matt would be a better judge to ask). BUT. The one thing I've never been able to do is a pie.

Matt and I love Pie. But we're snobs. We only like homemade pies. We've had to rely on others to get our fix. We've attempted making our own pies a few times but 2 years ago we really researched and gathered our best tools and set to work. We failed. It was terrible. It didn't taste great and it was ugly. And it ended in tears. I was too frustrated to try again. I gave up.

Then I read Julia Childs memoir, "My Life in France" and I got motivated. Julia never gave up and totally owned French cooking. I could master a silly pie. (On a side note: I would highly suggest the book, it was terrific). So, I called the one person I knew had a literal mother load of experience. My mother. She gave me a personal lesson and tonight I put that lesson to work. I present my pie.

It looked decent and tasted delicious. We were in heaven. I finally feel like I've mastered a homemaking skill that for some reason validates me. Next up? Sewing. I'm pretty terrible.