by Kathy Bergquist
The kitchen has always been my favorite place. My love languages are quality time and acts of service, so making food to share with family and friends is a way for me to show love. Precious memories of time with my mom, aunts, and grandmothers, laughing and sharing stories while preparing food, are all nestled in someone’s kitchen. I probably spent more time socializing than helping, but somewhere along the way I learned to follow a recipe. My mom was a wonderful cook. My parents loved to host dinner parties; Mom made all the food from scratch AND made it look easy. Some of my favorite recipes came from my mom, aunts, and grandmothers, others are from my sister-in-law and friends. Now I get to try new recipes from my daughters and kids-in-law as they introduce us to foods from other cultures. We have always loved Chinese food. Now we’re embracing Swiss Fondue and Raclette, Egg Curry, Coconut Rice, and Mango Lassis, Mexican rice, mango-avocado-salsa, and Horchata. Adult children (and their spouses) are awesome!
Honestly, it’s a good thing our kids have learned to make delicious main dishes and side dishes, because baking is what I most love to do in the kitchen. Cookies. Bars. Coffee cakes. Pies. Forget the healthy stuff, my sweet tooth is calling! Grandma Joyce’s chocolate chip cookie recipe has been my go-to since I first made it at 9 years old (that’s 50 years of cookie making!). When I went to Grandma’s house after school, she always had the coffee can, glass of milk, and playing cards on the kitchen table. I knew there were chocolate chip cookies inside that can, below a slice of bread put there to keep the cookies soft. When I was growing up I thought the bread trick was a family secret to keep cookies soft, but the Internet knows.
Pies have always felt special. Grandma Joyce’s banana cream recipe will forever be a family favorite. But when it comes to pie crust, my favorite memory is watching Grandma Edith make an apple pie for Grandpa. She didn’t use measuring cups or spoons, or even a bowl, to make the crust. She casually scooped the flour and sprinkled the salt, cut-in the shortening and added cold water right there on the counter, working quickly to prevent the ingredients from spreading further than she desired. Then she rolled out a perfect pie crust like there was nothing to it. I had no idea I was supposed to be intimidated by pie crusts. Why didn’t I ask Grandma Edith to teach me!?! Since I don’t have her recipe, I continue to search for the perfect one. I’ve tried shortening, lard, butter, and combinations, but my current favorite is on the box of Morrell lard. Sometimes I use half butter and half lard, but only when I want an extra rich crust.
Probably my fondest memory is of Mom making Auntie Dianne’s coffee cake for neighbors at Christmastime. The kitchen was warm, and scents of maple and cinnamon filled the air. Younger me didn’t have the patience for the long process of mixing, waiting, rolling, layering, cutting, and twisting the coffee cake so that it could rise one more time before baking, icing, and finally eating! Now that I have a family of my own, I have learned to love the long process. Auntie Dianne’s coffee cake is a family tradition for special occasions.
Since pies are really my favorite above all (cookies are a close second), I want to share this Lemon Supreme Pie recipe from Taste of Home. It’s light and fresh like springtime – perfect for Mother’s Day. The recipe link is below the photos. About the photos: recently I made 2 Lemon Supreme pies using Mom and Grandma Edith’s pie plates. The blue pie plate was Mom’s. The metal one was Grandma’s – it’s not as pretty, but it’s a workhorse! I treasure them both and cry a little each time I pull one out. Bittersweet. Mom and I made the dish towel when she was teaching me to use her embroidery machine last summer. It is one of the last projects we did together before she passed away last September. Also bittersweet, but it is my prayer for my kitchen.
Click here for the Taste of Home recipe!
Kathy Bergquist is wife to Tom, mom to 4 adult kids snd 3 kids-in-law, and Grandma to Amia. She is a retired homeschool mom. Kathy tutors reading privately and for The Reading Center, and co-coordinates the Wednesday meal team at Calvary. She loves all of her roles, but being Grandma is definitely the most fun!
1 thought on “Cooks of Calvary: kitchen memories with a slice of lemon pie”
Oh, Kathy! So many of your memories of your Mom and grandmothers are very similar to mine even though mine are from thr deep south. Thank you so much for sharing these precious memories.