Pushing Daisies was a charmingly quirky series about a pie-maker who could bring the dead back to life by touching them – a second touch would kill them again.
The characters lived in this visually stunning whimsical world, where they solved bizarre murders using the pie-maker’s abilities.
Pie was a central theme in the show, with much of the action taking place in the pie-maker’s shop, the Pie Hole.

Pushing Daisies made me really want to bake a pie! And to this day, I can’t think of baking a pie without thinking of myself as a ‘pie-maker’ – said in narrator Jim Dale’s voice.

I had a few firsts last year as far as culinary expeditions go; I baked my first apple pie!
I’ve been meaning to bake a pie for a while now; it’s on my to-make list, I’m just not ready to delve into the complexities of pie crusts yet.
In Pushing Daisies, the pie-maker’s girlfriend bakes Gruyère into the crust of the very special apple pie (laced with homeopathic antidepressants) she sends to her aunts.
One day I shall try my hands at the perfect flaky crust, there’s vegan coconut oil crust I’m itching to try.

Being my first try, I figured I’d be forgiven for using store-bought pie crust.
I chose the TJ’s crust for its simple ingredients; flour, butter, palm oil, water and salt.
And the pie filling is an old recipe I’d been holding on to for years, it’s simple too, apples, lemon juice, sugar and spices.

Unfortunately something went wrong and my crust fell apart, it thawed and broke into pieces.
I just piled them on the apples and hoped for the best.
In hindsight, I should have re-rolled the dough.
Still, the pie turned out really well for a first try.
I feel hopeful… I’m on my way to becoming a better pie-maker