Remembering Mom

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. 

Comments

[Jim]

Best to you and your family.

[Jim]

Best to you and your family.

[Mandy]

I’m very sorry to hear about your mom.

[Buffy Hamilton]

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.

[Floyd Pentlin]

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."

[Kenn Gorman]

Great post - hard to lose mom -

[Joy]

Losing a parent is tough. So very sorry for your loss. Cherish your memories.