A year ago, I was the sole member part of running social media activities at the company I work in. Today, we have been able to build that into a team of 4. It always takes me some time to assimilate how far I have come from where I began. Last year, I would joke being lost and floating but today I wouldn’t call my trajectory as any of that — even though my next steps might be a little unclear, I find the current path exciting enough to inform the future well for me. Recently, I had my annual review which I think went really well. Things that I was asked to improve saw significant progress and overall growth of the account was great as well. Seeing this steady growth has been amazing though, the stress involved making this didn’t really land on me. But moving forward, I would be looking over the revenues of my wing as well — definitely an added stress but at the same time, an exciting trajectory!

Along with the many firsts, this role has inculcated me with has been doing team member reviews. I had a copywriter who had spent 6 months for us which meant it was time for her first review This was an important one for her as it would judge if we would confirm her as a full-time employee and give her a salary bump. This make the review all the more important and complex. I wanted to be as abject about this as ever, which meant that I did everything I could do to ensure her review was as holistic as it could be. I read up on articles, talked to the two people who have run teams that run into the thousands (my parents), created peer surveys, and even got hold of company review forms. I wrote 3 pages of things— achievements, objectives, and pain points; all to ensure that there is no conjecture over the review. As I got more into the process, I realised how complex this is. How I am going to sit across a table and value the worth of another human for me and my work. I spent a whole week to go through the process, which surprisingly a lot lonelier than I thought it would — no complaints. I actually liked that it was structured so because it increased both the value of my review but also made me responsible for work my team delivered.

We connected on Friday morning, with the goal to sit for 30 minutes and 45 minutes in, the conversation had not ended. We talked about challenges and successes, both of which were great learnings from the future, but what I loved about the whole process was that while the conversation was complex and littered with strategically placed terms, it was actually kind of fun. The complexity was difficult and navigating terminology was challenging, the end result was absolutely great and now, there is a clear way forward.

I know this blog was a bit dry but work has been all consuming. We are pitching to 4 new businesses this month and its been all over the place. That being said, I spent two days editing videos and pictures for this series, and I realised that this apple pie is complex as hell. To be honest, any pie is. It’s never going to be easy and we cannot change that one shred. But if you cut through the complexities: get the dough right, roll it out correctly, and when it’s all done, hope you don’t burn the top (I might have done that a little) — you get this beautiful result. It may not be perfect, it might be burnt, but it will be yours. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. See you soon with some less complex recipes.

Glimpses from the week

Ingredients

For the crust

* 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

* 150 grams of unsalted butter, cold and cubed

* 2 to 4 tablespoons of ice-cold water

* 1/4 teaspoon of salt

* 2 teaspoons of sugar

For the Filling

* 1/2 cup granulated sugar

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest

* 2 teaspoons ginger powder

* 1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

* 1 teaspoon of grated star anise

* 2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder

* 1/2 teaspoon of table salt

* 500 grams of granny smith apples peeled, pitted, and sliced

* ¼ cup fresh lime juice

* 2 tablespoons crystalline sugar

Egg wash and crust topping

1 large egg (or 2 medium-sized eggs)

1 tablespoon of double cream

Method

Pie Crust

1. In a large bowl slowly work the flour-butter with your hands. Use a bench scraper if possible to prevent the butter from melting. Add ice-cold water and form a rough ball of dough. Don’t try to work the dough too much like you would for pasta or pizza.

2. Flatten into a disk, cut into two, and wrap in separate plastic wraps. Chill overnight (2 hours at least)

3. Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (~350 degrees Fahrenheit). Roll the dough out to a 9-inch (23 cm) round dough which is about 1/2 inch thick. Place one inside pie tin and press down. Place this in the freezer as you work on the next dough

4. Once the oven is hot, add a foil on top of the pie crust, a pile of rice and blind bake. For 10 minutes. Remove and take a fork to make perforations on the base.

5. Use the remaining flour by rolling it out and cutting into 2-inch circles to make the perfect top cutouts.

Filling

1. Peel and cut apples. Add all the spices, lemon juice, and sugar to make the perfect filling.

Pie assembly

1. Add the fruit and cover with the cutouts in a geometric design. Use the mix of egg and cream to cover the top. Add a drizzle of sugar.

2. Place pie in the oven and bake on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375. Continue to cook until the interior is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes.