Friday favorites 10/14
Apple pie perfection, granola galore, and an intriguing article about how allergies change over time
It’s Friday already?! Today marks one week since I touched down in the US and it’s already flying by. I’ve been soaking up all the #fallvibes, enjoying enormous mugs of drip coffee, and hoping that temperatures drop low enough that it gives my mom an excuse to use her fireplace. It’s no secret that I love living in Madrid, but no one does fall like the US.
Here are the things that have topped my list this week:
This past Sunday I finally took one of Kate McDermott’s virtual pie classes! For those of you unacquainted with Kate, she is basically the queen of pie making: she wrote the highly acclaimed book Art of the Pie and its follow-up Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want. Lucky for us, Kate also offers both in-person and virtual pie-making classes from her home, aka Pie Cottage.
Sunday’s class was focused on The Quintessential Apple Pie. This pie felt like a good choice given the season and my recent arrival to the US (the phrase “as American as apple pie” comes to mind).
I’ve taken several cooking classes (in-person and virtual), and I can say without a doubt that Kate’s is my favorite to date. You receive a PDF with the recipe and ingredients a week before, so you have plenty of time to get yourself organized before the class. Kate is also available by email to answer any questions you may have leading up to the class, and I can attest that she is both encouraging and quick to respond. Another plus is that you don’t have to prep anything ahead of time: no pre-slicing apples or measuring ingredients beforehand; everything is done live with Kate (and your classmates from all over the world!). And the best part of all is that after class you’re left with a buttery, flaky crust and sweetly spiced apple filling that combine to make the finest apple pie that you’ve eaten in your entire life—and you made it yourself!
Many, many thanks to Kate for being such a patient, reassuring, and knowledgable teacher! In addition to her pie classes (focused on a different pie each month) and books, Kate writes a fantastic newsletter, which I’ve linked below:
Once I buy plane tickets to visit my family, I immediately start looking for fun food items that I can’t get in Spain to order and have waiting for me when I arrive. Sometimes it’s stuff for me to eat and enjoy while I’m visiting, like Daily Harvest smoothies (until the recent recall of the lentil crumbles, which freaked me out enough to make me cancel my subscription even though I never ordered the crumbles themselves and have thankfully never gotten sick). Other times, it’s something like snack bars that I can sample in the US but also have the option of bringing back with me to Spain.
This trip’s star treat is the grain-free granola from Wildway. I mentioned it what seems like eons ago, in one of my first Friday Favorites posts. I had previously only tried the Coconut Cashew mix, so this time I ordered a variety pack to check out several flavors. I like that Wildway’s granolas are made without preservatives and that they’re focused on lessening environmental impact (which you can read more about here). But let’s be honest, what really hooked me from the beginning is the quality ingredients, rich flavor, and the fact that the granola is soft and chewy without getting stuck in your teeth. Granola fans should put it on their list.
I stumbled across this article from The Atlantic, which at first glance seems like it’s going to be about cats but is actually about the complicated nature of allergies. As someone who has food intolerances (as well as seasonal allergies, which honestly are way worse), it was interesting to read about how allergies can change over time—both appearing later in life as well as going away on their own. It turns out there’s a lot that we don’t know about allergies—what causes them, the most accurate way to diagnose them, and even which ones can effectively be treated (if they needed to be treated at all). Almost all of us are either personally affected by or know someone with an allergy or an intolerance, so if you’re up for a little bit of science, it’s worth a read.
A couple of quick notes before the weekend:
I don’t use affiliate links. I completely support the use of them because writing is much more time-consuming than one would think, and I wholeheartedly believe that people should be compensated for their time, dedication, and hard work. I’m not saying that I would never use affiliate links in the future, but I had someone ask me about it recently and wanted to clarify that at this time I don’t. If I ever do, I will let you know!
The current Sunday Sobremesa is a fun one: we’re talking about travel snacks. There’s still time to join in!
Thanks for your patience with my slightly off schedule posts while I’m visiting my family! I truly appreciate each and every one of you, and I love the community we’re building here at Come como Kiki and on Substack at large. You guys are the reason I sit down and type out these newsletters every week. Thank you for being here!
Have a great weekend!
Ki
Friday favorites 10/14
The apple pie was the best I’ve ever ate! I was there when Kyla was doing the class live with Kate and all the people there who joined in! I really liked how Kate took time to answer all questions that were asked. Thank you Kyla and Kate for the experience of the pie!
Well gosh! I’m just over the moon you enjoyed your class so much. Thank you for your very kind words!