When I was just a kid my mother got me to take on the baking duties at our house. She didn't like other people in her kitchen so when she was making dinner we gave her the space she needed. Setting the table and doing the dishes were our kitchen contributions, (my sisters and I). But my mom also had a sweet tooth and I can remember starting my baking career with chocolate chip cookies and moving on to apple dumplings and baked Alaska pretty quick.
The nice thing about baking was you could do that before the dinner preparation took place so I was not in the kitchen at the same time as my mom was and that worked out great. I'm not sure when I introduced pies into my baking repertoire but they soon became my favorite thing to make. There was just something about the different steps that go into putting a pie together that made me feel like I was creating art. It was relaxing for me too. And pies make people really happy. They're at a whole other level from cookies and cupcakes. Sometimes if a friend has been going thru a rough time I'll surprise them with a pie.
I've gathered different recipes from friends and relatives over the years (whenever I would taste a pie I really liked). Not everyone is willing to share their secrets though. Fruit pies are my favorite. I still make a blueberry pie from a recipe my (now)husband Ed's grandmother gave to me back when we were just dating. I've tweaked it a little.
My "very berry" pie is my version of a pie I tried at Jesperson's pie shoppe in Petoskey Michigan several years ago, it's now what I call any pie I make that has more than one kind of berry in it.
And whenever I make a pumpkin pie I think of my mom. Those pies were always part of our thanksgiving dinners.
This past week-end I made a blueberry pie for a friends graduation party. You can see all the steps right here!