“What is a pie chain?” is a question I have been asked countless times when I have been in the chat room. A friend or two pops the question on when was the last time I used it, and then everyone else in the room unfamiliar with my pie chain suddenly wants to know about it. I’ve finally decided that rather than repeatedly having to explain this wonderful little tool to everyone, I would simply write a blog about it and direct everyone here instead.
The pie chain. Let me just say that as a ticklephile, (and I’m sure that most of you can relate), we look at every day items a little differently than most. Objects that present themselves as not only what they were intended for, but also as opportunities to send either ourselves or someone else into hysterics!
I was sitting at my computer one day, browsing the website of a kitchen store. I came across this photo of a pretty metal chain in a clear plastic box. I wondered what it was and so looked into it further. A pie chain. It is a ten foot long, stainless steel chain with same beads on it each being roughly 6-8mm in diameter. (I do have photos of it on my profile).
Its intended purpose is used when baking pie crusts – basically acts as a weight. After the dough has been rolled and placed into a pie dish for baking, one would place the chain on top of the crust and pop the whole thing in to the oven. This keeps the pie crust flat, thus preventing it from bubbling up when baking – before one actually bakes the rest of the pie. Once the pie crust is baked, the chain removed, and then the rest of the pie can be assembled (take Lemon Meringue Pie as an example). When I bake pie crusts, I simply poke the bottom of the crust with a fork – covering it in several pricked holes as this also helps in keeping the dough from bubbling up. Don’t worry, I would never use the same chain for my baking as I do for tickling. 😉
So how does this play into tickling then? Well, being the creative ticklephile that I am, the idea immediately popped into my head that this just might make a very good tickle tool for the toes! My friend, Kevin_kidnapped was due to visit me the same week and I told him that we had to visit this kitchen store at the mall and buy this tool! It was an item in the store that was going out of stock, so I felt that I just had to buy it and test my idea on Kevin. We walked into the store and after several minutes of searching, I found the very last one on the shelf. I grabbed it and took it to the counter to pay for it. The cashier said to me, “Oh! Have you ever used one of these before?” I told her “No” that I hadn’t yet, and then in my own head said, “But I’m about to!” (insert evil laugh here).
The pie chain worked better than I even expected it to! I had Kevin in hysterics as I “sawed” the chain in between each of his toes. Every little bead “bump-bumping” through his toes made him hit the ceiling – or...would have if I didn’t already have him tied down. Haha! His toes would curl around the chain, stopping it from sliding back and forth, but with ten feet of it, I always had more chain to pick up and continue dragging through his toes. The other option is to coat it in oil and then really watch how easily it glides in between the toes! It’s so long; it could be used on at least two ‘lees at the same time! *claps excitedly* Every ticklephile reacts differently so it doesn’t work on everyone. Best thing is – you can’t get your revenge on me with it, because it doesn’t affect me at all. Too bad for you! Haha!
So that’s the pie chain. I am definitely bringing it with me to NEST this year. Anyone else wanna try it out? 😉
~ Shygirl aka The Barefoot Maiden
The pie chain. Let me just say that as a ticklephile, (and I’m sure that most of you can relate), we look at every day items a little differently than most. Objects that present themselves as not only what they were intended for, but also as opportunities to send either ourselves or someone else into hysterics!
I was sitting at my computer one day, browsing the website of a kitchen store. I came across this photo of a pretty metal chain in a clear plastic box. I wondered what it was and so looked into it further. A pie chain. It is a ten foot long, stainless steel chain with same beads on it each being roughly 6-8mm in diameter. (I do have photos of it on my profile).
Its intended purpose is used when baking pie crusts – basically acts as a weight. After the dough has been rolled and placed into a pie dish for baking, one would place the chain on top of the crust and pop the whole thing in to the oven. This keeps the pie crust flat, thus preventing it from bubbling up when baking – before one actually bakes the rest of the pie. Once the pie crust is baked, the chain removed, and then the rest of the pie can be assembled (take Lemon Meringue Pie as an example). When I bake pie crusts, I simply poke the bottom of the crust with a fork – covering it in several pricked holes as this also helps in keeping the dough from bubbling up. Don’t worry, I would never use the same chain for my baking as I do for tickling. 😉
So how does this play into tickling then? Well, being the creative ticklephile that I am, the idea immediately popped into my head that this just might make a very good tickle tool for the toes! My friend, Kevin_kidnapped was due to visit me the same week and I told him that we had to visit this kitchen store at the mall and buy this tool! It was an item in the store that was going out of stock, so I felt that I just had to buy it and test my idea on Kevin. We walked into the store and after several minutes of searching, I found the very last one on the shelf. I grabbed it and took it to the counter to pay for it. The cashier said to me, “Oh! Have you ever used one of these before?” I told her “No” that I hadn’t yet, and then in my own head said, “But I’m about to!” (insert evil laugh here).
The pie chain worked better than I even expected it to! I had Kevin in hysterics as I “sawed” the chain in between each of his toes. Every little bead “bump-bumping” through his toes made him hit the ceiling – or...would have if I didn’t already have him tied down. Haha! His toes would curl around the chain, stopping it from sliding back and forth, but with ten feet of it, I always had more chain to pick up and continue dragging through his toes. The other option is to coat it in oil and then really watch how easily it glides in between the toes! It’s so long; it could be used on at least two ‘lees at the same time! *claps excitedly* Every ticklephile reacts differently so it doesn’t work on everyone. Best thing is – you can’t get your revenge on me with it, because it doesn’t affect me at all. Too bad for you! Haha!
So that’s the pie chain. I am definitely bringing it with me to NEST this year. Anyone else wanna try it out? 😉
~ Shygirl aka The Barefoot Maiden
