Remembering Mom
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A post from 2009: The gooseberry pie lesson
This is a picture of the gooseberry pie I enjoyed this week at my mom's house. Here is the recipe:
- Locate thick woods with wild gooseberry bushes.
- Spend at least an entire hour picking each pea-sized gooseberry individually from the thorny bushes - one pint quart* is required per pie. Humidity and voracious mosquitos are a given.
- Spend at least another hour stemming each gooseberry.
- Prepare the filling, make the crust, and bake.
- Watch the whole pie being eaten in less than 10 minutes.
I had always taken the these pies my mom made for granted until I went gooseberry picking myself once. Unlike the hybrid gooseberries that are the size of a shooter marble, the wild ones are very, very small and it takes a lot of them to make a single pie.
I guess the lesson here is to never underestimate the effort others may go through on your behalf - or a mother's love for her family!
* Common knowledge according to my brother... Sorry.
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My mom passed away Friday evening at age 91. I doubt I will ever eat a piece of pie, let alone gooseberry pie, without thinking of her.
Reader Comments (7)
Best to you and your family.
Best to you and your family.
I’m very sorry to hear about your mom.
Doug, what a heartfelt and touching post. I am so sorry for the loss of your mother, and you and your family have my deepest sympathy and prayers.
So sorry to hear about your mom. I seem to always connect food to my most cherished memories. Currently a saying of the day is "love is love" and I would add a variation of "food is love."
Great post - hard to lose mom -
Losing a parent is tough. So very sorry for your loss. Cherish your memories.