Pie-Making Memories

Sep
5

Post by community member:

My fondest memory of baking is the summer I spent with my grandparents and my grandma taught me to bake pies. I was forever hooked.

Grandma and Grandpa lived in a suburb of Pittsburgh right next to the train tracks. In the ’60s, there was a lot of train traffic, lots of soot and you could feel the rumble of the train long before you heard the roar of the train coming down the tracks. Their house was built into a hill so the kitchen looked over the backyard and the railroad tracks. I spent many hours sitting on the back porch watching for trains while my grandma cooked dinner. I just loved to spend time with my grandparents over the summer and that was where my love for baking and sewing began.

I can feel and smell my grandmother’s kitchen just like it was yesterday. The small steel-trimmed Formica table, her green gingham terry-cloth apron with the pear-shaped pockets, the flour that seemingly stuck to everything (especially after I helped bake). I can’t remember what kind of pie we made—I think it may have been cherry—but I remember the lessons I learned and the fact that she actually trusted little 7-year-old me to make my own crust for my tart-sized pie. I remember that everything was cold, the shortening, the water, the flour–and I was not to handle the dough too much. I remember rolling out the dough into a circle with her very heavy rolling pin which I use to this very day.

And I remember how she taught me to pinch the crust just so—so it would look like a rope! She even allowed me to put my pie in the over and take it out by myself. I remember that she told me that I was quite a baker and that my mom must have taken after my grandpa because my mom could not care less about baking!

I remember sitting down for dinner with my grandparents that evening, sharing that little tart-sized pie with them, and thinking that it was the best pie I had ever tasted.

It still is.

You can also find Beth at One Old Goat.

Interested in contributing a guest post to the Farm Bell blog? Read information here for Farm Bell blog submissions.

Want to subscribe to the Farm Bell blog? Go here.




Comments

  1. CindyP says:

    Beth, I love this! Thank you for posting!

    Isn’t it funny how some things are just etched in our brains and we will never forget them, no matter how many other things we tend to forget? These are the memories I want my grandkids to have 🙂

  2. marymac says:

    Sound like a lovely sweet memory. Makes us yearn for days gone by. Thanks for posting this.

  3. Valerie says:

    What a lovely post. Wonderful memories of your grandmother for sure. Thanks so much for sharing this little glimpse of your childhood with us.

  4. Cathy Jones (catray44) says:

    Beautiful post! Thank you for sharing it.

  5. Vicki in So. CA says:

    My grandma and grandpa lived right next to the RR tracks too! And we could hear/feel them rumbling waaay off in the distance, and hear the faint whistle. Did you go down (with supervision, of course) and put pennies on the rails?

    I loved reading that part of your post as well as your pie-making memory! And that she had you make a small one – one that you would not be overwhelmed by, and could have success with – smart grandma.

  6. NorthCountryGirl says:

    What sweet memories! That was lovely, I really enjoyed it. I remember the trains, too. Took me back to the old days!

  7. Pete says:

    Awww. Good stuff! What sweet, sweet memories.

Add Your Thoughts



Search Farm Bell Recipes

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
All Recipes
Appetizers & Snacks
Bagels
Bean Soups
Beans
Beans, Grains & Rice
Beef
Beverages
Biscuits
Blog
Boiling Water Bath
Bread Machine
Breads
Breakfast
Brownies
Budget
BWB Condiments
BWB Fruits
BWB Jams, Jellies, Butters & Preserves
BWB Marmalades & Conserves
BWB Other
BWB Pickles & Pickled Stuff
BWB Salsas
BWB Sauces
BWB Tomatoes & Combos
BWB Vegetables
Cakes
Candy
Canning
Casserole
Casserole
Casserole
Cereals
Cheese
Cheesecakes
Chilis
Chowders
Cobblers
Coffee Cake
Cold Remedies
Condiments
Cookery 101
Cookies & Bars
Cream Soups
Crisps
Crock Pot
Crowd-Size
Crusts
Cupcakes
Cure & Smoke
Dairy
Dehydrating
Desserts
Diabetic
Dips
Doughnuts
Dressings
Egg Dishes
Eggs
Entertaining
Fat-Free
Featured
Fermenting
Fillings
Fish
Food Photography
Freezing
Frostings & Icings
Frozen
Fruit Breads
Fruit Cakes
Fruit Salads
Fruits
Gift Basket Goodies
Giveaways
Gluten-Free
Goat Cheeses
Gourmet
Gravies
Griddles
Grill-Outdoor Cooking
Hard Cheeses
Herbs & Spices
Holiday
Homemade Cheese
How To
Ice Creams
Ingredients
Ingredients & Mixes
Jell-O
Jell-O Salads
Kid-Friendly
Kitchen Gadgets
Kosher
Lactose-Free
Lamb
Leftovers
Lettuce & Greens
Low-Carb
Low-Fat
Low-Sodium
Main Dish
Marinades
Meat Salads
Meet the Cook
Muffins
Non-Dairy
Old-Fashioned
One Dish Meal
Other Breads
Other Breakfast
Other Condiments
Other Dairy
Other Desserts
Other Main Dish
Other Salads
Other Side Dishes
Other Soups & Stews
Other Special Diets
Pasta
Pasta
Pasta Salads
Pastries
PC Beef
PC Chicken
PC Meats
PC Other
PC Poultry
PC Soups & Stews
PC Veggies
Pets
Pickling
Pies
Pizza
Pizza Crusts
Pork
Potato Salads
Potatoes
Potluck
Poultry
Presentation
Preserving
Pressure Canning
Pressure Cooker
Puddings & Custards
Recipe Requests
Relishes & Chutneys
Rolls
Rubs
Salads
Salads
Salsas
Sandwiches
Sauces
Scones
Seafood
Side Dishes
Soft Cheeses
Soups & Stews
Sourdough
Special Diets
Special Occasions
Steam Juicer
Stocks
Stuffings
Substitutions
Syrups
Tarts
Tips & Tricks
Tortillas & Pitas
Using FBR
Vegan
Vegetable Breads
Vegetable Salads
Vegetables
Vegetarian
Wild Game
Yeast Breads


If you would like to help support the overhead costs of this website, you may donate. Thank you!





Thanks for being part of our community!