Cherry Pie Connections

Posted on by Victoria

I’ve written before about my mother-in-law Maxine and what a terrific cook she was.  Baker, especially. Her ginger snap recipe is legendary in our family. The older I become, the more I realize the easiest way to connect with those we’ve loved and lost is through family recipes. Even if we take a few liberties along the way.

Maxine loved a good cherry pie but my father-in-law, Joe did even more. They’ve both been gone for years but I know they would’ve loved the bumper crop this year from our lone cherry tree.

In years past, we enjoyed the free show, late in the spring, as the birds enjoyed the cherries on the tree, while the bunnies, squirrels and deer feasted on the fallen fruit. This year, though? There was plenty to go around for everyone. Humans included. 

I knew what my husband Paul was thinking as I watched him gazing at the cherry tree on Saturday. His head and heart were full, my sentimental man of few words. As I walked over to hand him a glass of ice water, I wasn’t surprised when he asked,  

“Didn’t my mom have a recipe for a cherry pie?”

“Yah, I think so, lemme see if I can find it.”

I knew what he was really saying. I’m remembering my parents this Father’s Day weekend. His mom’s super skills in the kitchen and his father’s humility and quiet insistence to ‘waste not’.  A few minutes later, Paul was on a mission, picking cherries and offering them to me as inspiration.

So…I made a pie. Not precisely the same as Maxine’s because I swapped out some of the regular flour for whole wheat when I made the crust, and I reduced the sugar by 1/3. Please don’t tell on me.  Deal?  Paul has no idea. 😉

My other tweak? Rather than a double crust, I did a streusel topping and yep. I reduced the amount of butter when I crumbled the brown sugar, a few oats and cinnamon to top off the pie. Not exactly healthy, but healthier, I concluded.

As I pulled the ingredients together and pitted four cups of cherries, I felt Maxine looking over my shoulder. Not literally, of course, but the sense of her. Encouraging. Smiling.

Maxine’s family was well off during the Great Depression, but my father-in-law Joe’s family struggled. Living on a farm with many mouths to feed, the idea of foregoing cherries – staring us right in the face, in our own yard and NOT making a pie would’ve been criminal. Use what you have and be grateful.

Not far from where we live now, is Atkinson Road. The same road that my husband’s family, the Atkinson’s, farmed for generations. Sold to pay back taxes and lost to the family when there was no choice.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I feel a need to drive by sometime soon. Look at the land that’s been developed by a big pharma company, linger and think about the old farmhouse and fields that were once the lifeblood of an immigrant Irish family. I wonder if they had cherry trees, once upon a time.

Vicki ❤

P.S. You might enjoy this post about my mother-in-law Maxine and the house she grew up in…very different than farm life…

She Was a Pretty House…

P.P.S. Or this post about an antique dining room table from Paul’s family…and how it became my desk…

A Table with Nine Lives?

44 thoughts on “Cherry Pie Connections”

  1. I’ll bet there is a book to be written on the parallel but different lives on your husband’s mother and father, especially in the Great Depression. Now who might write it? Thanks for this slice of the pie, Vicki.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You are Mr. Muse this morning, aren’t you? What a fabulous idea. They were an amazing duo, my in-laws for that very reason — the differences in their upbringings. Thanks, Dr. Stein! 🥰

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Maxine didn’t mess around with fancy recipes, Michelle! It’s the simplest crust EVER and I think that’s what makes it so yum. Good morning to you, my friend. (Is it a crime to have pie for breakfast? It’s on my mind now and I did THAT to myself!) xo! 🥰🤣🥰

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Food brings people together and comfort long after a loved one has passed. Your in laws sounded wonderful and it’s nice you can carry on the pie tradition but with your own spin to it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Set in Northern Michigan mostly Traverse City, which I have visited often and some of my family lives currently. A large part of the story takes place on a family cherry farm. Beautifully written a lovely read and I think you’d enjoy it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. What a great story Vicki! Amazing isn’t it the era your in-laws lived through and experienced differently, leading to their varying perspectives on life.
    We too have been watching the birds enjoy the cherries on our lone cherry tree also. And though we too talked about making a pie, (my fav) I opted this year to leave it to the birds. I’m glad you made a cherry pie with Maxine’s recipe. How meaningful.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, yes. Joe and Maxine’s childhoods couldn’t have been more different. There’s still so much there to unpack – about their relationship. Thanks for that. And…I love that you’ve got a cheery cherry tree, too! Such a pleasure to know a fellow pie lover, Alegria! C’mon over…I’ll save you a slice! 🥰

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Oh….Belinda. You’re so lovely! I think I’ve become less afraid…oodles of baking mistakes will do that, LOL! I hate following recipes, generally, but I’ve learned with baking that ‘winging it’ is a bad idea. Hmm…that could be a whole other post, come to think of it! xo and big hugs! 🥰

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thanks, Dave – what a sweet comment…and I’m not talking about the reference to pie! 😜Appreciate you! You’ve got me – trying to pull the past along to keep loved ones close.
      Yep! xo!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment