By: Katie Sanders, Editor in Chief
I wish it were harder to make the list of things I’m not good at. When I began brainstorming for this article, it didn’t take long to come up with a substantial list of things that are hard for me. There are several genres of activities, anything involving athletic ability being the number one, that I typically avoid altogether. However, I’ve notice that there are two categories of things that people find hard: the things that require some natural ability they’re lacking, and the things that require practice they’re lacking. The more I thought about it I realized most of the things on my list were things I’m simply not well practiced in. So, I decided to pick one of those things and work on it.
Cooking. Cooking has always been my Achilles heel. For one thing, I was never interested in learning to do it growing up. My mother is an outstanding cook, so I thought as long as I was being fed well I didn’t need to learn for myself. After I moved away to college and realized how useful the skill is, it felt like it was too late. I’ve tried cooking with my mom in recent years, but she is one of those chefs whose recipes say things like, “bake until it’s done” or “add the ingredient until it tastes right.” This doesn’t cut it for me. I don’t have that sixth sense.
Nevertheless, I set out for Food Lion one afternoon with my recipe in hand. Because I also believe in setting goals that are realistically attainable, I looked for a recipe that seemed fairly easy. I chose apple pie bites, which I found on theblondcook.com. It seemed like a yummy, fall appropriate dessert that my roommates would enjoy as well, but without the skill level necessary to make a real pie. Instead of using piecrust, which seemed too scary, it called for crescent rolls, which sounded more beginner-friendly. The supplies cost $20, but I will be able to make many more batches of these without buying the supplies again since one batch required only a small amount of each ingredient. Plus, I had to purchase some things that other people may already have, like butter and non-stick spray, because obviously I don’t cook regularly.
This story has a good ending: They turned out great! My roommates loved them and they made our apartment smell wonderful. Paired with vanilla ice cream, it was a perfect study break snack. Since they are mini pies, they are also good for portion control. I wouldn’t exactly describe these as healthy because of the butter and sugar, although they do have an apple in them, which, in a dream world, would cancel the other stuff out. However, I worked hard to make these, so I splurged and allowed myself two.
The point? Don’t be afraid to try something again that hasn’t gone well in the past. While this venture certainly didn’t inspire me to become the next Paula Dean, it did help me see that I’m not bad at cooking, I’m inexperienced. The latter is nothing to be ashamed of, only something to change!
Apple Pie Bites:
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tspn apple pie spice
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 small granny smith apple, cored and sliced into 8 slices
1 8 oz. can Pillsbury Original crescent rolls
*Nuts can be left out for those with allergies, and apples can be swiped from Burwell
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and apple pie spice. Set aside. Melt butter and toss apple slices in butter. Set aside. Arrange crescent roll triangles on a cooking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Evenly distribute brown sugar mixture onto each triangle. Sprinkle each triangle evenly with chopped pecans. Place apple slice on the wide end of each triangle and wrap the dough around the slice. Brush each crescent roll with remaining butter and sprinkle with additional apple pie spice. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
