And I said, let there be smiles and pie.....and there was

First things first. Why the name “Light and Flaky?” Several reasons really, but mainly because I think you only need two things to get you through life – a smile and good pastry. A smile will always make you feel better – either yours or someone else’s. And good pastry! Well! Where do I begin? From making that delicious quiche for a successful Sunday brunch to that perfect piece of cherry pie that comforts you when your blue – you simply can’t beat good pastry.

As for the smile, I hope to share with you uplifting stories and anecdotes that will do just that – make you smile. Some of these stories, I am sure, will make you think I am “light and flaky.” Goodness knows, with the benefit of hindsight, I think that.

As for the pastry, I will share with you what wisdom I have on the subject. What recipes work and what ones don’t. Tip one – keep things as cold as possible! From your rolling pin to your work surface (I have a slab of marble I keep in the fridge) the colder, the better.

My first light and flaky tale combines pastry and, I hope, a smile. Apartment dwellers will truly appreciate this one - especially if you live in a building with no garbage disposal indoors. Great for keeping bugs out of the building, pain in the ass for getting rid of garbage. As it is peach season in Ontario and I love making pies, this time of year I, well duh, make peach pies. This of course results in mounds of peach skin and pulp going in the garbage and that means fruit flies. Loads of them! Naturally, I like to keep my apartment free of such pests so take out the garbage regularly. Well, one day after making a trip out to the bin, I had a craving for a peach. So I cut into one to remove the stone only to find it rotten on the inside. Now I was in quite a pickle. I just took out the garbage – and faced with the prospect of going all the way outside AGAIN (call me lazy) I was determined to come up with an alternative. For a moment, I stepped out on the balcony, peach in hand. Now, it is ONLY seven floors and I would have been dropping it onto grass so I would have either been composting or feeding some animal that night. Not bad but I hate to litter. I just couldn’t do it. I felt bad for the peach. But what to do? I didn’t want to walk all the way to the dumpster nor did I want fruit flies. The next logical step, in my mind, was the toilet. Now let me tell you, flushing a peach down the toilet, cut in half or not, as my Italian friend Pina is fond of saying “that’s a no gooooood.” Luckily, the plunger was close at hand and I managed to help the peach on its way before the water spilled out onto the floor. As waves of euphoria swept over me – and not water over my floor – the second half of the peach soon followed. No rotten peach + no fruit flies = a good nights sleep.