Peach Pie + Blog Birthday! + Notes on Success

It’s this blog’s second birthday!!

I can’t believe that two years have actually passed since I was frantically googling how to host a website, what kind of web design template to buy, what to even name this thing.

Thanks to all my family & friends who follow and support me in life and on my blog! It’s been great to hear from friends when they try out my recipes. It’s been great to give myself a chance to fail, a space to be creative, and to go at my own pace.

Last year, I made passionfruit boba tea to celebrate the first year (after a failed attempt at cake). So this year, I’m going to talk about success.

Success is a tricky thing to define because it means something different for everyone. Some people call it success to get out of bed and brush their teeth in the morning. When I was training for a half marathon earlier this year, success was running — at the very least — 4 miles a day (so glad it’s over). My parents used to define my success as being a doctor, or a lawyer, or an engineer (preferably all 3). But I didn’t turn out that way, and I don’t think they would call me a failure (at least I hope not…?).

So what I’ve learned is that success is really about personally setting the bar and reaching it, or someone else setting the bar for you — that you accept as the definition of success.

That last part is key. Sometimes we accept someone else’s definition of success and it’s a bad thing. Like how we’re “supposed” to look, how life is “supposed” to go. Other times, our coaches, mentors, bosses, can set the bar high and motivate us to really succeed, if we choose to accept & reach for it.

Even though I’ve posted less than the year before and I’ve been chill about promoting my posts on social media, I would call this year a success. Why? Because I’m growing. My photography is growing, my ability to bake, & create stuff that turns out pretty ok is growing, my family still gets excited and reads through my new blog posts when they go up. And that’s what matters to me.

But it’s something I have to remind myself every day because social media is killer and really wants to step in and define success for me. It’s easy to let it do that.

One of the most powerful & freeing things about Christianity, actually, is that we believe that when God sees us, His creation, He thinks “success.” No matter what you’ve done. And that’s empowering (and I’m tearing up just thinking about it). “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Because no matter how high of a bar society sets for your appearance, your wealth, your ability to be well-travelled, you are a success in God’s eyes when you choose to believe & follow Him.

That was literally a soapbox speech, so let me get to this recipe.

Peach pie & ice cream is one of the most nostalgic desserts of my childhood. I remember bringing the two to celebrate my mom’s birthday, the fourth of July, in the back of our Toyota pickup truck with blankets spread out, about 10 miles away from the fireworks, to watch them explode very very far in the distance. Peach pie is summer and spending time with friends and family, and birthdays. So happy birthday to The Bay Leaf Kitchen!

Peach Pie

August 14, 2017

by Megan

Category Recipe

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. sugar + extra for sprinkling
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks of butter (1 cup), cold
• 7-8 tbsp. ice cold water
• 1 egg

For the filling:

• 5 large peaches, sliced & pitted
• 3 tbsp. bourbon
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• dash of cloves

Instructions

For the crust:

1. Combine and stir together flour, sugar, and salt into a medium bowl.
2. Cube the butter (about 1/2 inch cubes), and add to the dry mixture.
3. Using a pastry cutter, or your hands very quickly so the butter doesn't melt, break the pieces into pea-sized pieces and distribute throughout. If the butter starts to melt, stick the mix in the fridge for 15 minutes.
4. Add 6 tbsp. of ice water to the mix and toss together. It should be pretty shaggy and dry, but if you pinch 2 pieces together, they should stick pretty easily like clay. Add 1 more tbsp of water, and lightly combine, then dump the whole mix on a clean surface.
5. Work the dough into 2 separate round balls, adding a tiny bit of water if you have to, but generally, the more you work it, the stickier it will get.
6. Cover with plastic wrap so there's no way for air to get in and place the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

For the filling:

1. Combine sliced peaches, bourbon, sugar, vanilla, cornstarch, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl.
2. Set aside.

To make the pie:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Take the dough out of the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature about 15 minutes.
3. On a well-floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out one of the dough balls into a circle about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 9-inch pie plate as reference, you should have about 2-3 inches of extra dough around the circle of the bottom of the pie.
4. When the dough is this large, fold it into fourths, and place into the middle of the pie dish, and unfold. Do not trim off the extra crust yet.
5. Roll the second ball out, and use a knife and ruler to measure and mark where you'll cut strips of pie dough for the lattice. I made mine about 3/4 inch thick and used a ravioli cutter to make the edges wavy.
6. Pour out any extra liquid from the peaches that has accumulated. Fill the bottom crust with the peaches, making sure the slices lie flat.
7. Create a lattice for the pie crust. There are tons of tutorials out there, but I love Betty Liu's crust here: https://youtu.be/iWjDllAd_Cw
8. Beat the one egg in a small bowl and brush it onto the crust. Sprinkle white sugar onto the egg-painted crust.
9. Bake for about 60 minutes. At 60 minutes, check to see if the crust is a deep golden brown. If not, keep it in for 5 minute intervals.
10. Serve with vanilla ice cream.