A life with pie

Training Update - Late August 2014

Reflecting on my running journey to date, I'm so grateful that I had the resolve to listen to that little voice inside that said "Let's try running." Mind you, the last adjective that would ever be used to describe me is athletic. Always the last one picked in gym class, the eternal handicap to my peers. And there is the obvious fact that I'm carrying an extra 60 pounds on my medium frame. Huffing, puffing and jiggling for all the world to see isn't for the faint of heart. It takes alot of courage to lace up and begin. 

And here I sit this morning after completing a 7.22 mile training run, PROUD. For the first time, I've trained further than half the miles necessary for my 1/2 marathon event. My pace was slower that my shorter runs, but still well within the time I need to compete. I just completed a 1/4 of a marathon!!! That is incredible!! 

 

Lessons learned at the 6 month mark:

• How tickled I am that the "turn around point" at the begining of my training runs is now the marker that I know I'm in the home-stretch. 
• The first mile is never easy. 
• Somehow throwing my hair in pigtails makes it all bearable. And garners a few smiles on the trail.
• Or maybe it's the cut-up batman and subpop shirts. :-) 
• An encouraging amount of smiles come my way each time.
• Just how wonderful a shower can be - hot and cold.
• How short a distance a mile seems now.
• My mind clears out all the chatter and noise, although that can be NIN beating it out of me.
• It's become fun somewhere along the way.
• There are always moments when the mind games need to be deployed. Continue running until we hit either that tree down there or the interval switches which ever come first. Funny, how I've gotten good at the timing being around the same for both alternatives.
• Energy conservation. The differences between shorter sprinting runs vs sustaining a longer run. 
• Being mindful of the objective and not getting too discouraged when the results are askewed. Example - not beating myself up over my per mile rate being slower, when the goal was completing the longer distance.  Today the time was not relevant. 
• Visable progress - going further, faster, feeling better doing it.
• Realizing the only one you are competing with is yourself. Someone will always be stronger and faster. Bless them and send them on their way.

12 weeks today til the Vegas 1/2 Marathon. Right on schedule.

 

#25 - Peach Pie

Yes, my friends I'm still making pies and racking up the running miles! The unusally hot Seattle summer created some burnout for me on both activities, but I'm bound to catch up by year's end. This weekend I've a flat of  Spooner Farms blueberries (last of the season) to contend with. Shifting through blueberry pie recipes for tomorrow's inspiration.

 

The Inspiration:

My inspiration was a friends knit along. The knitting gals were pulled into my pie world this time. Given the choice between blackberry and peach, peach was the enthusiatic winner. Happily, I accepted this challenge peach happens to be one of my all time favorites.

 

The Production:

Love, love, love peaches. Surprisingly, my vast library of recipes contained only a few slant recipes for pure peach pie. Everyone is eager to pair peach with berries or ginger. It's peach o'rama at our local Met Markets this month with local ripe beauties trucked in daily. I was looking for the perfect recipe to showcase the brillance of peach at the height ripeness.

Smitten Kitten came to the rescue with her peach pie recipe. Everything I've tried of hers has been wonderful. She has the tenacity I lack in her pursuit of the culinary arts. She will play and experiment with multiple recipes until the end results are perfected it to her high standards. Thank you for doing the leg work for me on this one!  

Admitting right here and now,  I did not blanch my peaches for easy peel. I was engaged in the delicate balance of simultanteously making crab corn chowder and peach pie. Commensated for the lost peach flesh by adding an additional fruit. The thickener is tapioca flour (ground up tapioca beads in spice grinder.) And I loved that she utilized a cream wash. 

And I can't stress this enough, once your pie is assembled place it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. It helps solidify the butter bits needed for the "flaky"part of crust creation. Heat was seriously wilting the dough during my last few lattice weaves. Brush the pie crust with the cream wash once the pie is out of the freezer, right before the oven.

 

The Verdict:

OMG, can't leave this in suspense - it was the perfect capture of summer. The pie crust was tender and flaky. Peaches were baked to perfection with just enough sugar to sweeten and still retain the hint of tart. The pie set and sliced beautifully. Honestly, it was one of my top 3 favorite pies this year. Luckily, my friend Sara kindly gave the leftover 1/3 pie a home. Otherwise I wasn't seeing a scenario in which I hadn't finished the whole thing by sun-up all by myself. This one is definitely in the keeper column.

 

The Photographic Evidence:

a peach of a pie

 

1/3 remaining 

slice of heaven

beauty shot

 

Next up: Blueberry