Worth the While

Worth the While

Some of you who follow me over on Instagram may have already seen the post I put up with a few pics and a video about the pies I made yesterday afternoon. But, if you haven’t, I hope you won’t mind if I tell you a little story about those pies and to whom I gave them. You see, I have a practice of giving pies, and other things I make, bake, and cook, away. It’s something that brings me joy and perhaps adds a bit of happiness to the lives of others. 

My across the street neighbor has been quarantining in her home alone since March. She is 90 years old. Over the 21 years that I have lived here, I have gotten to know her, and her family when they visit from other counties in our state. One of her daughters was born the same year as me and our birthdays are just a month apart. My neighbor says she knows we would have been best friends had we grown up just across the street from each other, and she might just be right. When her daughter comes to visit, we comment on the stages of aging that we are now in ourselves, and laugh because honestly, what else can we do about all these new aches and pains! Once she shared with me the story of having freshly baked cookies after school from the lady who used to live in my house, or maybe it is I who am living in her house! Either way, it’s wonderful to know that I am just one of the home bakers who have lived here .

We have all honored my neighbor’s decision to adhere to strict quarantining which meant that none of her family or friends could visit. When our county opened up to Level 2, my “might have been best” friend texted me to let me know that she and her husband would be making the trip to see mom. Of course, I asked if pie might be needed and the immediate answer was “Yes!” So, I set to work. Actually, many times I have pies ready to bake in my freezer just for an occasion like this, so all I had to do was take them out. Yesterday I picked two little ones made in 5-1/2″ pans.

An apple…

and a mixed berry with a lattice top.

I set them on the counter while I preheated the oven, and when it was hot, I covered the little pies with sheets of loosely tented and vented foil to protect the tops. (Tip: Loosely cover frozen pies with vented foil when starting the bake to avoid over-browned or burned tops and edges.) When the fillings were bubbling and tops were golden, I pulled them out of the oven and set them on the windowsill to cool. One commenter on Instagram said that it looked like a fairytale! 

Once they were almost cool, I placed the pies into a basket, carried them across the street and, making sure to adhere to social distancing, left them on the porch, and headed back to my house. The photo I was sent in return makes it all worth the while.