Recipe Box: Baking the world a better place

The Recipe Box column was baked up with many memories of my grandma in mind. Baking pies for The Little Country Schoolhouse, The Laura Country Diner, and her church mission auctions earned my grandma the name “pie lady.” Recently, a family friend showed me a check she hung onto, back when cashed checks were returned to you with your monthly statements. It was written to my grandma for $2.00 with “pie” in the memo line. Certainly, if my grandma were alive today, she would have to charge a heftier price to cover her costs! 

At first, it was a challenge for my grandma to slow down long enough to teach others and share her recipes. Out of pressure or guilt, I am still not sure, I convinced my grandma to let me bake a pie with her. Over the years, she gave me jobs in the kitchen, but it never felt like fun. She would send me to the garden to dump the scraps or empty the wastepaper basket into the trash burner. I was her number one weed puller, laundry line hanger, and sweeper runner. Getting into the kitchen was a fat chance. 

When I guilted grandma into sharing her pies with me, she seemed frustrated; she didn’t want to take so much time to teach me when her to-do list was so long. Once we set a date, we set a plan. The pie we were going to make together was Gooseberry. 

Since my grandma was such an early riser, we decided I would spend the night. Snuggled in on grandma’s couch, close to the kitchen, I had no need for an alarm clock. The brewing of the coffee pot and the opening and shutting of cabinets woke the house up. With my eyes barely open, we went to the corner of the garden to pick gooseberries from the bush. 

For the first time, my grandma sat on her kitchen stool and used her words to guide me. I felt like it took forever to get through making the filling on the stove top and rolling out the crust, which grandma was known for. Grandma held her tongue and didn’t remind me how much faster or better she was, I knew that already. Besides giving me directions, I think the only words spoken were when she told me she was glad I wanted to spend the day with her. 

I was in high school and had many other things vying for my time. We finished the pie, and we even each ate a piece. It was sweet, sour, and of course, special. My grandma spent most of her days in her kitchen or the kitchen of a restaurant, where she went once a week to bake pies. She could make many in a day, but she spent a whole day making one with me. My grandma fed the less fortunate, made pies, cabbage rolls, and potpies for the church mission fundraisers, planned funeral dinners, and fed her family’s bellies. She served people great food, but most importantly, she showed her family how to serve the Lord by using their talents. 

My daughters love to bake pumpkin pies. I'm confident my daughters are better at baking than me! We enjoy using my grandma’s rolling pin. She once told me that a pie crust is only a crust once it’s baked; before that, it’s called a pastry. It’s a rainy spring, which is part of a perfect recipe for staying inside and warming up the oven for pies. 

Contact Ashley at ashley@tippgazette.com

Oatmeal Pie - Little Country Schoolhouse

1/3 C. White Sugar

1 C. Milk

3/4 C. White Karo

1/2 C. Chopped Pecans

1/3 C. Brown Sugar

3/4 C. Quick Oatmeal

1 C. Coconut 

1/3 C. Butter

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

Beat ingredients (except the pecans) with mixer until well beaten. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle pecans on top. Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then 25 minutes at 375 degrees. 

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Tried and True Old Fashioned Cream Pie

1 C. Sugar (use half brown) 

1/2 C. Milk

1 1/2 C. Whipping Cream

1/2 C. Flour

1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix well, pour into 9” deep unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter, spring with nutmeg. Bake at 425 degrees until crust is browned, reduce to 350 degrees. For brown blotches, sprinkle with brown sugar 10 minutes before done.