It has been a long time since my last post and I was on a good track of writing weekly.
The problem has been this: I haven’t had anything new to tell you that you don’t already know.
In a pandemic, to read the news is to update ourselves on all of our friends, relatives, businesses and countries. Here’s that worldwide news, in case you haven’t heard:
- We are in some variation of a thing called a lockdown
- Business is booming (if you are Zoom, Shopify, a big box store, or similar)
- Business is a shadow of its former self (if you are not in the above category)
- Everyone is so done with 2020
And so, since I knew you knew this news, it was hard to think of a topic but at last I found one: the perfect pecan pie.
This is a recipe that is a little tedious because you need to make the pastry and let it chill; roll out the pastry and freeze the crust; par-bake the crust and let it cook; toast and chop the nuts; cook the filling and let it cool, then mix in the nuts; and finally, bake the whole thing, and – again- let it cool.
But just let me say that once you are done all of this, and you set the pie in the vicinity of anyone who likes pecan pie, it will be gone very soon. Yesterday at the start of the day we had a whole one of these pies in the house and this morning when I got up to make the coffee, it was three-quarters gone and there are only 3 of us in the house.
In years past, if I wanted to make a pecan pie, I’d have found a recipe and made it, and it is very unlikely that I would have chosen such a complicated recipe as the Smitten Kitchen one.
But if this year has taught me anything, it has been to maximize the experience, whatever that experience may be today. If it is making a pecan pie, then 2020 is the year to go all in on doing it right. Let’s be honest, we don’t have a trip to pack for or a party to go to.
This will be my last post before 2021 and so as 2020 ends, I want to say thank you to all of the readers of this blog. Whether you are one of our loyal customers or hard-working and committed team members, a member of my family or circle of friends, or a reader who has stumbled on my small business blog, I wish you a very happy, peaceful and cozy holiday. Make yourself a pecan pie and enjoy every bite.