Pie is Love. A Thanksgiving Story

 My art is cooking, but it is more. Cooking for those I love and care about is my way of showing my love and caring feelings. If friends eat vegan, I make sure they have options at the table. If a younger friend is not into beans (texture issues) I'll pick them out of their serving of soup of offer then something different. 

My Dewey loves custard pie, I will find opportunities to bake that for him. I like it too, so that's a win for both of us. Dewey's memories of Thanksgiving are filled with his father, Bruce, and mother, Bertie, going to the mountains to buy apples fresh from the orchard and to pick out an old-fashioned pie pumpkin for the end of the Thanksgiving Day meal.

Bruce and Bertie have passed away, but Dewey hasn't forgotten them or this tradition, so for all the years of our married life, we've made pumpkin pies together. He'd cut away the tough exterior, remove the seeds and tough strings that they're attached to and cut the flesh into large chunks for me to cook before turning it all into a pie. All of that is such hard work! Eventually, Dewey figured out that he could roast the entire pumpkin in the oven and, once it had cooled, remove the seedy part and peel away the outside.

Pumpkin pie waiting on the meringue

One Thanksgiving, Dewey asked if I could put a meringue on one of the two pies that I'd prepared. What? Lemon Meringue Pie I know. Pumpkin Meringue? Very strange...but, I love Dewey, and he said that this is what his mother used to do. Why he spoke up about this after so many years of topless pie is still a mystery to me, but, as I said, I love the man. So, while I don't particularly care for meringue-topped pies, I started putting a meringue on our holiday pumpkin pie. Just because. And that's true love. And that's the end of my Thanksgiving story.

May you all stay safe. May you feel loved. If you're alone, my wish is that you reach out to a friend or two and embrace the power of friendship and gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving, friends, and thank you for supporting me in my food-writing endeavors and on social media.