Last night, I was sitting in my chair reading my book and waiting for the pies that I had just made to cool so I could put them in the refrigerator. I was feeling quite content. I was by myself, with my cat resting on my lap and the wonderful smells of fall still permeating the house. I have more to do tonight...anyone who has done much preparation for Thanksgiving know that it is not a one day affair.
When I was young, my chief jobs were doing the dishes, peeling and chopping. My Mom oversaw everything. My grandmother would make the pies on her own and bring them over on Thanksgiving. When I was about 16, that changed. It was difficult for my grandmother to do much of anything and Mom told her to not worry about the pies and that we would take care of it. So, Mom bought pre made pie dough and we worked on the pies together. She basically told me what to do and how to do it! People asked me how I learned to cook and that was essentially it. Mom sat at the bar and directed me on what to. I put the pie dough in the pie plates and Mom showed me how to remove the excess and crimp the edges. The filling was where Mom shined. She didn't enjoy putting the dough in the pie plates so she let me do that. That first year, I did the pie dough and peeled the apples, but Mom did the rest of it. The next year it became my job except for the huckleberry pie which was her favorite. My normal pie repertoire was Apple pie, Mincemeat Apple pie and Pumpkin pie. I think that my grandmother even got a chance to taste a pie that I had made. She passed away in August when I was 18 years old. That first Thanksgiving was very difficult for my Mom. She was grieving for her mother and stressed trying to accommodate her step-father. We had two Thanksgiving's with my grandfather on his own. The stress involved with that is a whole other story.
As I got older, more and more of the Thanksgiving preparations fell to me. The only thing that Mom took charge of was the Turkey and dressing. I suppose that I wasn't quite trusted with that yet. During the day of Thanksgiving, our kitchen was filled with a lot of helpers. After my brother arrived, he took care of the gravy while I was preparing the mashed potatoes. One of my sister-in-laws was likely cleaning up after us with my Mom overseeing and directing all from her spot at the counter. The last year Mom was alive, I did the normal preparations for going over to my brother's house where he and his wife took care of the majority of the meal. I made and baked the pies and the family favorite salads. Mom decided that we needed another Thanksgiving meal at the house the next day as she wanted the leftovers. I have always thought that Mom knew her time was short that last year. She had started coughing again and she had an appointment the following week with her doctor in Spokane. As it turned out, the cancer had come back and she was diagnosed again on Dec 22nd and died 4 days later.
It has been 17 years since we lost Mom this year. Most of the time during the holidays when I think of Mom, I smile instead of cry. I think that is the natural order of things. I have even changed up the traditional preparations. I made the mistake about a decade ago by learning how to make the pie dough from scratch. Dad doesn't offer his opinion on much, but he was very definite that the home made pie crust was much better. So, last night I made a Pumpkin pie and Bourbon Pecan pie and enjoyed the special smells that are associated with Thanksgiving. Tonight I will bake the Apple pie and the Mincemeat-Apple pie and hope that I will finish before 9 pm. I also have to finish my Dad's salad which my neice has named "Granpa's Crappy Salad!" It is lemon jellow that is set mixed in with softened cream cheese and then you had a whole bunch of small chopped celery. I know...it sounds pretty good until you get to the celery. I then will make the Egg Nog jelled salad which is my favorite and finish up the sweet potatoes with brown sugar sauce with butter, orange zest and rum.
Some day I want to teach one of the younger generation to bake the pies from scratch. I wonder sometimes if learning to do something yourself instead of buying it at a grocery store is a lost art. People have told me they just buy a pumpkin pie from Costco and call it good. I don't agree. You miss out on the taste but also the smells. Thanksgiving is multiple day affair if you include the preparations for the meal. For now, I am the one who shows up with the pies. Most don't come home with us and it is a way where I can share all that I have been taught by those who came before me. So for me...those pies represent my Mom and Grandma Cappy and Grandma Marian! The pie fillings come from what I learned from my Mom and her Mom and I use my Grandma Marian's pie crust recipe. So...some of what makes Thanksgiving great...is the pie!
