Some of it is about the pie!!!

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!

I've Never Had Green Bean Casserole

Thanksgiving at the Johnson household - circa 1969

I know it is a shocking statement to many: "I've never had green bean casserole" and really it doesn't really bother me.  It doesn't look all that appetizing and I certainly wouldn't want to give up any of our current Thanksgiving favorites.

I never remember a time where I didn't spend Thanksgiving with family.  I realize that I am very lucky and that it might not always be the case.  They are multi generational events with grandparents sharing the table along with aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews.  I can remember during my childhood listening to stories at the feet of my great grandmother's (Sophia Dollar Friddle & Nettie Moody Shearer) and Aunty Jones (my mother's godmother - Glenthora Stranahan Jones).  The three ladies were all of an age.  Mom Friddle (Sophia Dollar Friddle) was born in 1894, Granny (Nettie Moody Shearer) was born in 1890 and Aunty Jones was born in 1889.  They talked about riding the stagecoach to Waha, ID.  Granny lived down by the Snake River on the Joseph plains.  It was a two day trip to Winchester (this drive today takes about 35 minutes) and then another two days to where Granny lived.  Darn near a week to travel between home and the nearest larger town.  Their stories helped me gain a love for history and for family history.  They had memories that stretched back to the 19th century which seemed quite amazing to a little girl in the late 1970's.  The last time I really visited Granny was on Thanksgiving 1979.  Mom Friddle had died earlier that year and it was the first time that Grandma Cappy had her new home in Clarkston.  We spent Thanksgiving at her house that year.  Grandma Cappy was worried about her mother-in-law, Granny, getting too tired.  She insisted that Granny lie down for a nap.  I think Granny probably gave her equivalent of an eye roll...but she gave in and told me to come with her.  I think I was 12 years old.  I laid on the bed with Granny and held her hand.  She called me her "little Betty," because she said I reminded her of my mother when she was a little girl.  I wish I remembered more specific memories of that moment...but it is a sweet memory - laying on that bed and holding her hand while she told me stories and asked me about her life.

I think we only had a few holiday dinners at Grandma Cappy's but everything switched back to our house for Thanksgiving.  My mother (Betty Tannahill Johnson) never went easy on herself or us.  We were all put into action, peeling potatoes, cutting vegetables, doing dishes and setting the table.  Everything had to be just so...Mom didn't want to leave anything to chance.  My grandmother would bring the pies and after they arrived, my grandfather would adjourn to the living room for the easy chair, peanuts and football.  Grandma would sit at the chair at the bar and visit with my mother while she and the rest of us flew around to do her bidding or hide out so she couldn't see us.  That certainly didn't last long :) It wasn't too much longer, in fact the last years Grandma was alive when Mom took the pie duties back because it was too much for Grandma.  Mom did it on her own that first year, but by the next year, she involved me and the year after Grandma died, the pies became my job!  I was 18 years old!

The last year we had Thanksgiving with Mom was just about a month before she died.  We went over to my brother's house and had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Mom insisted that we do our own turkey the next day, so everyone came over to the house for a second Thanksgiving...Mom said that she wanted to the leftovers.  That was the first time I had ever attempted to do that large of a meal on my own.  Usually, I had had Mom's involvement and guidance - but her health simply wouldn't allow her to do too much.  It is funny, I think of that day with a smile...it has taken time to change that memory from sad to bittersweet!

We now gather at my brother's house.  My sister in law should have been my mother's daughter.  I see a lot of my Mom in her., especially on the days of these big holiday dinners.  I contribute the pies - the job I have done since I was 18 as well as family salads like Eggnog, Grandpa's Crappy Salad, and the candied sweet potatoes.  The Eggnog is a jelled salad that is a bit boozy and definitely not low fat.  My niece christened what I used to call Dad's salad, Grandpa's Crappy Salad.  It is lemon jello, whipped up with cream cheese and small diced celery.  It is not a family favorite...mostly my Dad - but he deserves a little spoiling.

It is funny, I have seen people list Green Bean Casserole as a staple at their Thanksgiving table...I have never had it.  I have had my share of the canned cranberry sauce...but I usually make it.  It tastes better.  So on this Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I will bake the pies like I have done for 30 years.  I will make the Eggnog that are special to my siblings and I, as well as the salad that my Dad loves.  I suppose you could say that those our Thanksgiving food traditions.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  I think there are some family spirits who are with us and enjoying the sharing of memories, food, and family togetherness!

Aunty Jones (Glenthora Stranahan Jones) and my sister.  Probably around 1982 or so.

My guess is that was at one of our first holiday dinners at our house.  Granny is sitting on the end.  Dad is holding me with Chris and Bub sitting between.  Grandpa Gwen is at the end.

Dad and Grandpa most likely watching football.  Usually a container with nuts in a container between them.  They were comfortable companions.

I have a lot of pictures of my great grandmother - but not so many of the way I remembered her.  This was taken in the early 70's with her children. 
Claude on the left, Mom Friddle, Jack and the Grandma Cappy on the end.

Mom and Apple Pie

When I was a little girl I remember being enthralled with the pies that my grandmother made for Thanksgiving.  Mom and Grandma had a deal…Mom would make the meal and Grandma would make the pies.  Although Grandma wasn’t a particularly good cook, she did love to make pies and was good at it.  We would usually have pumpkin pies, apple pie, mincemeat pie and perhaps a huckleberry pie.  Towards the last of Grandma’s life, Mom took over the baking of the pies…or should I say, I did with her guidance.

We have a bar area in the kitchen where we would often sit and eat a snack or meal.  Mom would sit at that bar and direct me on what to do.  At that point, we were using store bought pie crusts.  Mom showed me how to roll out the pie crust and set it in the pie plate.  We then crimped the edges and used a fork to put holes in the bottom of the crust.  Then we would go through the procedure of preparing the pumpkin pie filling.  Mom would read me the recipe and I would add the ingredients and mix the filling.  Soon enough, we had our pies in the oven and adding a wonderful fragrance to the room.

Next we would start on the apple pie.   We began by getting the crust ready and then began the process of pealing the apples and slicing them.  Mom would tell me what to put in the apples, using a lifetime of knowledge to tell me what to put in the pie.  There were no recipes used, just experience that told the cook what to put it the pie.  Placing the pie crust on the top of the pie was always a bit of an adventure for me.  I didn’t have years of experience to easily transfer the crust to the top of the pie.  After we had crimped the edges and had knifed in the vent holes…Mom had me separate and egg and use the yolk to wash the top of the pie.

There were a lot of happy and sometimes not so happy learning times for me with Mom at that bar.  She taught me how to bake cookies, pies, make meat loaf, her taco salad and spaghetti.  It was our classroom and my test was the meal and or pie that followed.  There were some bad mistakes at times, some things that were barely passable and as I got older and more experienced – my cooking got better and better…all under Mom’s tutelage.

This week as I begin the process of making Mom’s Thanksgiving favorites to take to my brother’s home for Thanksgiving – I will think of Mom sitting at that place at the bar.  As I sat at the bar myself, I still never sit in the place that she did.  Even though she isn’t there physically, I feel her there.   During that Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, I will bake the pumpkin pies, apple and mincemeat pies and prepare the candied sweet potatoes and the jelled eggnog Bavarian which have always been mainstays of our holiday meals since my child hood.  It is a solitary job that will take several hours of solid work.  I’m not really alone though…Mom is there with me and so is my grandmother at least in spirit.  As they completed the same work years ago for our family meals they were showing their love for their family.  It is my turn to do the same thing.