freestyle puff pastry

There's nothing like the infectious enthusiasm of fresh passion.

This morning I was swimming lengths with my fellow cougars. Every 50 meters coach Gary, (AKA 1976 Olympic swimmer who's just discovered his kitchen) would shout out something about puff pastry.
Or knife cuts.
Or a restaurant he'd like to visit. Had I been there?
I love it. I get to stop hyperventilating while simultaneously reflecting on why the puff pastry covering his chicken pot pie didn't last well in the freezer. 50 meters later I figured it out. He thawed it, then froze it again. No double freezing Gary. Then he tells me not to lift my hands too high while doing the crawl. I look like a synchronized swimmer circa 1986.

Through it all I learn about feeling the water. Some hands are better at finding slow water to pull -the slower it is, the more control we have over pulling through it. when it's done properly, it's artistry.

Kind of like cooking.

CBC radio's the current recently aired a documentry on the subject- the art of feeling water, that is:

"There is a certain kind of person who is a little different from the rest of us. They exist on land, like the rest of us but they live ... thrive in the water. On land, you might pass them by. in water their movements are strong, graceful and intuitive. They can take our breathe away.
The Current's Chris Wodskou is not one of those people. But he wanted to find out what makes them tick especially elite athletes in aquatic sports such as swimming, diving and synchronized swimming ... people whose success depends on how well their minds and bodies can mesh with water. And so this morning our Watershed series submerges itself in their world. Chris Wodskou's documentary is called Water Babies.

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2009/200904/20090430.html

I'm no elite athelete, but I can trade cookbooks for coaching.