Heartthoughts: Pie in the Sky

I was feeling like the woman in the Bible who had only enough meal to make a little cake for herself and her son before they died of starvation (I Kings 17:12). We had bought a bag of peaches a couple of days before, and I wanted to make a pie before they disappeared. Gathering ingredients and supplies, I saw there was only a little flour in the bottom of the canister.

I knew I was working at a disadvantage, since much of my cooking equipment is in storage after our merging with our son's household recently. He travels for work, so I have complete domestic say-so, and my husband and resident grandson are easy to please.

My "Joy of Cooking" cookbook was not available, and even though I've fed my family for years, I still like to check out recipes in case I forget something. I pulled up Peach Pie on the internet, then promptly forgot most of the quantities advised by the time I got back in the kitchen, except for the requisite 2 cups of flour. I managed to shake that much out of the flour container, even having a dusting left over to roll out the crust.

Not having my measuring cups, I guessed at the shortening and estimated the water, finally getting a hopefully satisfactory mound of dough. Dividing it in half and placing it on floured wax paper, I realized I had no rolling pin! What would I use? A jar? Lord help me, I prayed. Just then I lifted my eyes to the paper towel rack. It held a roll of paper towels on a roller that was a decorative rolling pin! Though not quite as thick as a regular rolling pin, on top of wax paper, it worked perfectly for my purposes!

The peaches I had sliced earlier were a little firm, so I was hopeful the pie would be juicy enough. Then I realized I had no pie pan! Why did I even get into this! The only thing I could come up with was a glass cake pan with straight sides. It would have to do. My rolled-out crusts were skimpy and kept tearing, requiring considerable piecing and patching from not enough water!

I finally got the pie in the oven, and miracle of miracles, it was delicious: flaky crust, soft fruit, sweet and juicy. It even looked like the magazine pictures popular now of rustic, imperfect pies with rough edges, shouting "homemade!"