Dunedin, NZ
Some, I imagine, are thinking deep, life-changing-they-hope thoughts on this first day of a crisp new calendar. And then there’s me…. consumed, instead, with smallish questions about… well… pie. And not even a deep-dish pie, at that…
But questions, nevertheless, beginning with…
What is it about pie that makes me associate it with holidays and other special occasions … or any other time when company can be counted upon to help with consumption?
Which led to a second, that I pondered with the taste of pumpkin chess pie still on my tongue…specifically…
Whether pie and guests always go hand-in-hand… and if so… Which comes first?:
Expected guests, then pie.
Or Pie, then unexpected guests.
Which naturally, of course, now causes me to layer on two related ones, that I’ll count as numbers three and four:
…If I were to bake a “just because” pie, would unexpected company come calling… just because..?
…And… what if I were to have a pie on-hand everyday… might I be surprised by a stream of lovely unexpected visits from friends and family…
if not everyday…
then at least…more often than not…
or more often than now?
These are silly, questions, really… but the nature of their answers are not…I think… shall we say…”easy-as-pie.” Or per chance, they are… if one is willing to take a chance and up their pie-baking game…
Well, then, no time like the present… and seeing as how this is the day for New Year’s Resolutions…what could be more delicious fun (and fattening) then if I were to resolve to bake more pies this year?
Such wonderful communion and conversation two or more could enjoy over a lovely piece of pie. Perhaps accompanied with a cup of hot tea.
It’s food for thought… and the soul. Pie and tea. Such piety.
Pumpkin Chess Pie
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp evaporated milk (or half-and-half)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp self-rising cornmeal mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 9″ unbaked pastry shell
Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes – until knife inserted near pie center comes out clean.
Cream sugar and butter in mixing blow with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add remaining pie filling ingredients and beat well until blended. Pour into pastry shell and bake. Pie will continue to set as it cools. Best served warm with a dollop of whipped cream.
an everyday life 
Here’s how you resolve your questions. You do as my Grandma did, and declare pie a perfectly adequate breakfast food. Apple with cheddar. Rhubard and strawberry. Cherry streusel with a good proportion of oatmeal in the topping. Pumpkin anything.
See? Instead of a sweet roll or toast with those eggs and bacon – a slice of pie. There wasn’t always a cake at her house, and sometimes the cookies were store-bought, but there almost always was a pie in the pantry. You’d just grab a knife, cut a slice and have at it.
I took two of my famous pecan pies for Christmas dinner, and a mince. They’re all gone, so I may have to bake one for myself – once I’ve gotten rid of the holiday pounds, of course.
I hope your holidays were nice. i’m sure they were. It was quiet here, but perfectly acceptable. I’ve nearly finished getting the decorations down. I was going to wait until Epiphany, but I’m eager to move into the new year, so down they came, on impulse. Another hour tomorrow night will finish the job.
I’ve had my blackeyed peas and cabbage, too, so I’m all set for money and luck. And if they don’t show up – well, just think how bad things could have been if I hadn’t eaten them?!
Now, I’m off to copy your recipe. Sure is good to start my new year by seeing a post from you!
Thanks, Linda, for starting my new year with some good cheer. Nice to hear that both you and your life are doing well.
It has been a long dry spell without a digital word. Truth is, I’ve had few impulses to write anything since the birth of that newest granddaughter, and rather than forcing it, I instead pursued other important ventures… like rocking little Avery Ann to sleep when her mother had need of an extra set of willing hands.
Mince meat pie makes me think of my grandmother. And surely, my husband and your grandmother are soul mates; he, too, eats pie for breakfast, whenever it is available. He always has. So we have no shelf life problems here. In our house pies disappear faster that a fresh batch of home-baked cookies.
Silly that the topic of pie baking habits has consumed so much of my thoughts this new year… but in thinking about it more… I believe my tendency to bake pies for guests (rather than just for me and Don) is nothing more than following in my mother’s pie-baking footsteps.
My mother rarely served a dessert after a meal. With the exception of cookies, baked goods were reserved for holidays and parties. Yes, my mother’s habit was to bake pies when company was coming… and her habit has become my own Pavlovian response to hearing that I am to be blessed with guests.
In my everyday life, having a few guests equals one pie. Having many equals Pie squared. No higher math is required to resolve the question behind my habit.
Though I do believe that the time has come to break that old habit, and bake a new one.
Having many equals Pie squared. No higher math is required to resolve the question behind my habit.
No, no… Pie aren’t square. Pie are round. Cake are square!
It’s the oldest joke I remember from my dad.
😉
Fathers and their humor. My father. Your father. Father God. Why it’s always good to remember our father… with a smile. Like the one adorning my face as I dash off these words.
Have a good day, my friend.