The Pie and Pastry Bible Challenge

Part I

   I have decided to bake my way through the Pie and Pastry Bible by the amazing Rose Levy Beranbaum. And blog about it. Yes, the decision was precipitated by the (re)watching of Julie and Julia a few days ago. Like Julie, I am going through a bit of a crisis, i.e., the I-am-going-to-turn-thirty-soon-and-I-have-nothing-to-show-for-it panic. I don’t know what it is about the big 3-0 that arouses such turmoil and dread in people, but it’s real, and it’s daunting.

   Perhaps for me it was hearing from a professor, as an un-worldly 18 year old freshman, “Get a Ph.D. or work your way diligently up the ladder by 30, or else things will become… impossible.” And she was speaking as a person who’d done just that, and still found it… nearly impossible. I’ve never forgotten her words. I put myself on the academic track, and spent most of my time in college holed up in the library. This was not difficult, as there was little else I wanted to do. But after getting a master’s degree, I found myself disillusioned with academia. And after working, I found myself disgusted with... well, let’s not get into that. Things are looking quite impossible now, and thirty is just around the corner.

   But then again, I met a woman about ten years older than me at a conference last year, and we got to talking. And soon I was regaling her with my woes. After lending a sympathetic ear to my pathetic tales, she leaned over, as if she were about to let me in on a little-known secret, and said, “You know what? It gets better after 30.” Ah, what a revelation! Is there some kind of conspiracy among older women about keeping the younger folk confused and wandering, and will this woman be ostracized from the community if I reveal her identity?

   And so it is with apprehension and expectation I look forward to thirty. Still, I felt that achieving something by then would be meaningful. Even if it’s quite silly. Actually, I’d prefer it that way. Perhaps not silly, really, but fun. Yes, fun is the imperative word. And what’s more fun than baking? And delicious, too! And what better challenge than the “bible” itself? I spent a few days making out a list of all the pies in the book (and all the rare ingredients in them), and the count came down to 168, not counting the crusts, fillings & toppings, sauces & glazes, and the variations. So, if I make 2 pies a week, I’ll be able to complete the book whilst still in my 20s. Here’s to a fun and yummy challenge!