Welcome to Sunday Poetry.  If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration here.    

What’s your part?  Just slow down a little and come along for the read–or sometimes, for the listen. No analysis needed or required. Let the poem sink in and move you wherever it may. If you’d like to tell us what the day’s poem means in your life, or what word or phrase you’ve chosen to reflect on in the coming week, or where those reflections have taken you, we would be honored to have you comment. 

Today’s poem is by Nikki Giovanni, a favorite of mine and a professor of English and Black Studies at one of my alma maters, Virginia Tech.  Quilts will speak to many of you, not only to quilters, but to all who wish to leave a legacy at the end of their lives.  “Please someone cut a square and put me in a quilt . . .”

This poem comes from poets.org, a new website to me but one that happily respects copyright as it promotes the works and the poets, too.  It was a pleasure to find and share with you today.

Today our fourth and final pie prize box heads off to one lucky contestant, and it includes the pictured cookbook from one of my favorite Shenandoah Valley restaurants among many other goodies.  Find out who won at the end of this post.

Sorry you missed the contest?  You didn’t.  Don’t forget there’s still the grand prize.   On July 1 I’ll choose the winner of an Amazon Kindle or a Breville pie maker, the winner’s choice as long as both are still available. 

Did you miss the rules?  You’ll find them here and here.  There’s still time to enter, and it’s both simple and fun.  Just think pie.  Winners are chosen randomly from all correct entries.

Last week I published favorite recipes, this week some of the stories I’ve received, with links to pies on other websites.  I’ll continue sharing the entries through July, even though the giveaway will have ended.  But we can never hear too much about pie.

From Lynda,  excerpts from her poignant giveaway entry with a link to her favorite lemon meringue pie recipe.

“When I was 21, my husband and I moved into a home next door to my aunt in CA.    (She just passed a year ago at 93)    I was very pregnant with my first son.  My aunt would come over with a lemon pie and tell me that it would bring us luck and speed the labor.    It was the most delicious pie.    I did go into labor the next day and had a wonderful 5lb boy.    My aunt and family always remember  that wonderful pie and all the love that went into it.    It became a very special family tradition.     I try and make this pie and it will never taste like my aunt’s.   It was all the love that went into it.  My son would be 50 years next year.   He was called to watch over us.”

This entry from Francine came with a link to a beautifully presented Upside Down Apple Pecan Pie from the Just A Pinch recipe club. 

“This pie is the one my nana taught me to make around the age of 8 or so.  I’ve made it 100′s of time and it won the North Carolina State Grand Champion  slot !! I know Nana’s looking down smiling and hollering ‘that’s my girl.’ “

I bet she’s right.

And from Adam, a pie that I’m absolutely sure Wanda will steal for her shop.  Banana Foster Cream Pie.  Watch out,  Bonita Springs is right around the corner from Happiness Key.  He says:

“I am already thinking about what pies I will be making for the Bonita Springs 4th of July Pie Baking Contest. My head is spinning with thoughts of caramel, chocolate and coconut. No, no! Banana! Yes! Banana Cream!! Oh my, Banana Cream with Caramel!!! That’s the ticket!  So what happens if someone in Bonita Springs finds this recipe and enters it into the contest??!! Oh, dear! Back to chocolate, maybe caramel, how about some coconut…”

Adam, this looks like a winner to me, and nobody here will tell a soul where to find the recipe.

And speaking of winners?  The randomly selected winner of the fourth pie prize box goes to Dee, whose wonderful story about a kind grandmother was posted here two weeks ago.  Congratulations, Dee.  And next week, our grand prize winner will be announced.

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.  If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration here.    

What’s your part?  Just slow down a little and come along for the read–or sometimes, for the listen. No analysis needed or required. Let the poem sink in and move you wherever it may. If you’d like to tell us what the day’s poem means in your life, or what word or phrase you’ve chosen to reflect on in the coming week, or where those reflections have taken you, we would be honored to have you comment. 

Today is Father’s Day, and so we have a poem about fathers to enjoy.  Not Forgotten by Sheila Packa comes to us from The Writer’s Almanac, and in addition to reading it yourself, you can hear it read by Garrison Keillor if you click on “Listen” just under the date it aired.

The last “father” poem I featured here brought a number of comments on my Facebook page.  It was hard for some of you to read and think about. I think this one will affect you differently.  To fathers everywhere.

Giving away prizes?  Almost as much fun as the entries I’ve gotten.  Today’s winner (you have to read to the end) receives the third of four boxes. 

Inside?  A porcelain pie bird (for venting pie crusts) and a pewter pie charm.  A signed copy of Sunset Bridge, a pie top cutter, a Wanda’s Wonderful Pies apron, Key lime pie soap, Key lime pie mix, Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts,  and a silly Florida watch to wear whenever she needs a trip to Happiness Key. 

And don’t forget when all the boxes are gone, there’s still a grand prize, the winner’s choice (depending on availability) of a Kindle or a Breville Pie Maker from Williams-Sonoma– with the results of the pie maker pictured here.

Did you miss the rules?  You’ll find them here and here.  There’s still time to enter, and it’s both simple and fun.  Just think pie.  Winners are chosen randomly from all correct entries.

When I was writing Sunset Bridge (at your favorite bookstore on June 28th) I needed the name of a new specialty pie for Wanda, and decided on Million Dollar pie.  Of course I had to check to be sure there wasn’t a Million Dollar pie in existence, and of course, there was.  My Million Dollar Pie then became Pie in the Sky.  This week Madonna entered the pie prize giveaway with exactly that pie, which she says has been passed around her church for ages.  Have you had this one?

Million Dollar Pie

8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup Eagle Brand milk
1/4 cup lemon juice

Blend ingredients together until smooth. Then blend in:

1/2 can drained, crushed pineapple
1/2 cup pecans

Pour into baked pie shell and let
set in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Top with whipped cream which has been
blended with 1/2 can drained pineapple
and 1/2 cup pecans

Kay from Minnesota’s Raspberry Pie comes with a story attached.  I’m posting exactly as I got and enjoyed it.  What a summery treat this one is.

“To me, summer means fresh fruit pies, complete with whipped cream. My first attempt at baking a pie by myself was fairly dismal: my great aunt’s recipe simply said, “make a crust.” My aunt decided I needed more detailed instructions, so provided me with the following recipe. Her extra comments make me smile every time I pull out this recipe! And that is what family recipes are all about: cherishing old memories and making new ones.”

Raspberry Pie

You can work the crust all you want and its not suppose to get tough. I can patch tires with mine.
Roll out, fit into a pie plate, and bake@ 425 for about 8 minutes. If you smell it burning, tooooo late!

Makes 3 single crusts. Refrigerate what you don’t use – it will keep several weeks.

Fresh raspberry filling (for one pie)

1 quart of fresh raspberries

Cook together until thick:

1 cup water
3/4 c. sugar
2 TBSP flour
1 TBSP cornstarch

When this mixture is thick, add one CUP of the fresh raspberries. Cook a little bit longer. Cool.

Place the remaining fresh raspberries in a baked and cooled pie crust. Pour cooked berry mixture over the top. Chill and serve with gobs of whipped cream and watch the hips grow!

And the winner of the third Great Pie Giveaway is JoAn, who sent this story about her daughter’s piemaking adventures.

“When my daughter was in 4-H, and the year came around for pies, she was given a blue ribbon in the initial judging. She got a phone call that afternoon asking where her pie was for final judging for champion etc.  Someone had “lost” her pie, so she wasn’t eligible for any higher awards, and it was a delicious fresh blueberry pie. next she entered the open pie contest the fair does every year for 4-H scholarships. This is open to anyone who wants to bake and donate a pie. She won it. Our local congressman bought her pie for $600. She had made a total of 6 pies by then, and won over many skilled, experienced bakers.”

I think it was no accident that blueberry pie disappeared.  I bet it ended up in somebody’s grateful tummy.  So glad your daughter went on to other honors, and she sounds like a great daughter to have.  Congratulations and enjoy your prize box.

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.  If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration here.    

What’s your part?  Just slow down a little and come along for the read–or sometimes, for the listen. No analysis needed or required. Let the poem sink in and move you wherever it may. If you’d like to tell us what the day’s poem means in your life, or what word or phrase you’ve chosen to reflect on in the coming week, or where those reflections have taken you, we would be honored to have you comment. 

Today’s poem, So Much Happiness, is by Naomi Shihab Nye and brought to us by the Writer’s Almanac.  Remember, if you’d like to hear it read by Garrison Keillor, click on “Listen” just under the date this poem aired there.

Have you ever felt this way, so happy there was no way to contain it all?  Happiness you’re not responsible for, happiness that just is?  I love the way that feeling is captured here.  Isn’t this a timely reminder to just let happiness flow?  And if you can do that, the start to a particularly good day?

Another winner in the Great Pie Giveaway today.  But once again, you’ll have to read to the end to find out who the lucky winner is.  There are two more gift boxes to give away this month.  The photos are just some of the prizes I’m giving away, along with pie cookbooks, pie servers, pie birds, pie mixes, T-shirts, watches, a Happiness Key keychain, and too many others to mention.  Each box is different, plus there’s a grand prize.  On July 1 I’ll choose a winner for an Amazon Kindle or a Breville pie maker–winner’s choice as long as both are still available–what are the chances Amazon will discontinue it’s popular ereader?

Did you miss the rules?  You’ll find them here and here.  There’s still time to enter, and it’s both simple and fun.  Just think pie.  Winners are chosen randomly from all correct entries.

Today instead of pie recipes, I thought I’d let some of the contest entrants tell their pie stories here.  You’ll see the wonderful range I’ve received.  Funny, sentimental, thoughtful.  What a great bunch of readers you are.

This smile-inducing family story comes from Thea and reminds us that pie does make memories:

“When my GGM was a teenager, she decided to make a raisin pie. She carefully filled the pastry crust with all the ingredients listed on the recipe, and baked the pie according to the instructions. After supper that night, her older brother was eager for a piece of that raisin pie, so he cut himself a big slice and stuffed a huge fork full into his mouth and chomped down on it…. and then let out a yelp! ….she had forgotten to soak the raisins in hot water, and the pie filling was like pea gravel!! Such a beautiful pie…full of rock hard raisins. Her brothers teased her about it for decades. At family reunions, someone would always ask if she had brought a raisin pie.”

And from Jean, a giggler: 

“Early in my marriage, I would bake cakes for our desserts. I grew up with dessert with every meal, so I continued the tradition. My husband would eat a slice the first evening and then decline thereafter. Needless to say, I was gaining too much weight finishing off the cake. Occasionaly I would bake a pie and it would be gone in a flash. My husband would have seconds and even have some for breakfast the next day. He asked why I didn’t bake pies more often. I told him that a cake would last for days and the pie was gone in one or two days. His reply was, “That’s because I don’t like cake!” I never did become a pie-baker and now he’s my ex-husband.”

Finally from Dee, a wonderful lump-in-the-throat story about the differences we make in the lives of those we love: 

“As a young child, I had no self esteem. Bad life, but a MARVELOUS Grandmother who did her very best to help me see myself as being a worthwhile human being. She taught me to sew, to cook, we both loved old movies and reading in bed late at night and sleeping in.

One of her successes was teaching me to make pie crust. I seemed to have a real feel for it. Whenever she was having company, or was going to a potluck, she’d pick me up, we’d make pie for her occasion. It was an accomplishment that I still practice to this day. We usually made apple, but practiced other kinds.

Thanks for reminding me about those great times. And I work hard to be that type of Grandma – Encouraging and loving.”

I’m delighted so many great stories are coming to the surface.  Now for that winner?  Congratulations to Linda, who submitted two wonderful recipes and this story to go with the first.

“This is a recipe my family has enjoyed for many years. They HAVE to have it on holidays, even though its not the normal holiday pie. I received it from my Home Ec teacher while I was in the 7th grade, and still have the mimeograph paper it was run on. We had a restaurant in Fort Pierce, FL that was known and famous for this Peanut Butter Pie. People came for miles for this pie, really!! It sounds difficult to make, but really isn’t. I have doubled the recipe and it comes out just fine.”

Peanut Butter Pie

Peanut Butter Crumbs:
1/3 c. peanut butter
3/4 c. powdered sugar
Blend as for pastry until well mixed and mealy. Spread 2/3 of this over a baked crust (I usually use Pillsbury in the roll, or make my own)

*reserve the remainder for the top

Cream Filling:
2 cups milk, scalded
1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
3 eggs yolks slightly beaten
2 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar & salt.  Blend in scalded milk. Cook over boiling water until thickened. (Or carefully in a saucepan, stirring constantly.)  Blend mixture into slightly beaten egg yolks & return to heat & cook 2 more minutes. Add butter & vanilla stir to melt butter. Turn into pie shell and top with meringue.

Meringue:
3 egg whites
9 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. cornstarch

Beat egg whites until stiff enough to hold shape; Add cream of tartar; Mix sugar & cornstarch together, then slowly add. Beat until stiff & shiny.
Spread over filled pie, making peaks. Sprinkle the remaining peanut butter crumbs on top.

Bake @ 350 for 15 to 20 min. (light brown)

Cool.

Emilie adds “enjoy!”  And thank you, Linda for a new recipe to try.  Have fun with the prize box coming your way.

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.  If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration here.    

What’s your part?  Just slow down a little and come along for the read–or sometimes, for the listen. No analysis needed or required here. Let the poem sink in and move you wherever it may. If you’d like to tell us what the day’s poem means in your life, or what word or phrase you’ve chosen to reflect on in the coming week, or where those reflections have taken you, we would be honored to have you comment. 

Just as I remembered it was time to choose this week’s poem, Now I Become Myself by May Sarton appeared in my RSS feed from  The Writer’s Almanac.  If you’ve read the past two poems, this one will seem to be the third of a set.  All three are, in some part, about stopping and listening, about paying attention.  First, for a moment, then at the beginning of a day, and now, as life winds down and catches up with the poet who finally stops running.

I particularly love: “I have been dissolved and shaken, Worn other people’s faces.”   Haven’t we all?  Yet when we stop, when we pay attention, how different our lives become.  “O, in this single hour, I live All of myself and do not move.”

May Sarton was a novelist, poet and particularly recognized for her journals.  She died in 1995 but left behind an amazing legacy.

We have a winner in the first week of the Great Pie Prize Giveaway, but you must finish the blog to discover her name (and yes, it is a her) and entry. If you haven’t yet entered, why not? You can find details on rules and prizes here and here, and it’s both simple and fun.

We have three more gift boxes filled with pie goodies to give away, with winners chosen randomly each Friday in June. Plus on July 1st (2011) the grand prize giveaway of either a Kindle from Amazon or a Breville Pie Maker from Williams-Sonoma (subject to availability). Entries accepted through June 30^th so why not enter now for more chances at prizes?

I’ve enjoyed reading the entries so much, both the recipes and the anecdotes. Today and every Friday I’ll share a few for you to enjoy, too.

This recipe from Gale in Newfoundland sounds like a winner. It comes from a pie cookbook, Company’s Coming, that she gave her mother. When her mother passed away, the cookbook came back to Gale, and this recipe became a favorite.

Japanese Fruit Pie

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine melted and cooled
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp vinegar

Unbaked 9 inch pie shell (Gale uses Pillsbury)

Beat eggs in mixing bowl until frothy. Beat in sugar and butter.
Add next 5 ingredients. Stir.
Pour into pie shell. Bake on bottom shelf in 350 degrees oven about 40 minutes until set.

Gale says it’s super easy to make and the combination of coconut and raisins make this a winner any time. Emilie says it sounds scrumptious.

Susan from Pennsylvania sent this recipe for Strawberry Pie. I’ll let her tell the story.

“I happened to be at Burkholder Fabrics in Denver, PA (Lancaster County region) shopping for quilt fabrics, of course, where a lovely Mennonite woman, named Lorraine works. She was serving one of her Strawberry pies to a group of women who come up from Virginia every year to shop & have Lorraine’s homemade pies. Lorraine had an extra pie for sale that day & I bought it of course! It was sensational! Lorraine was generous enough to share her recipe with me & several other women. I make this pie with fresh strawberries every year. Today is Memorial Day & I made it again to share with my family at our Memorial Day Barbeque!”

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Filling:
3/4 cup of sugar
3 heaping tablespoons of Clear Gel–cooked type
1 cup water
4 tablespoons strawberry Jello
1-2 quarts of fresh strawberries

Whipped cream–save for topping the pie

Cook the sugar, Clear Gel and water together until very thick and; turning clear. Then add 4 tablespoons of strawberry Jello, mix well and cool. Then stir in 1-2 quarts of fresh strawberries.

Crust:

4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cup Crisco
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup hot water

Mix first four ingredients together until crumbly. Mix vinegar, egg and hot water together, then add to crumbly mix. Roll out the dough and place it in a pie plate, cook until golden.

Let cool, then add the strawberry filling and top with whipped cream.

(Emilie makes this pie crust, and it’s the easiest and most foolproof out there, although it DOES have a lot of Crisco in it. Be warned, this recipe makes four single crusts or two double, but the extra can be divided and frozen for your next pies.)

And finally, here’s a link to our randomly selected winner’s recipe. Nancy says this about this yummy Apple-Cranberry Pie recipe:

“I make a lot of pies at Christmas time, and my absolute favorite is the apple pie with cranberries that I first tasted while visiting my grandmother-in-law with my husband.

I had never had it before, and she was a REALLY great pie maker. She was so matter-of-fact about it. She just got the recipe off the package of fresh cranberries in the grocery store. It was soooo good.

I never found the recipe on a cranberry package, but Pillsbury had one on the inside of their prepackaged piecrust boxes. That very Christmas, I made it and served it to the family and it was a BIG hit in my house, so much so, that now EVERY family get together, that is my assigned item to bring. I don’t even have to ask anymore what I am to bring.”

Congratulations, Nancy, and thank you for this wonderful link.  Your prize box will be mailed next week.  What are the rest of you waiting for?