A Few Pies Worth Making Before Summer Arrives
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Something Worth Baking Before Summer
There’s a small window this time of year — just before the heat settles in — when baking still feels like a good idea.
Before the oven becomes storage.
Before it’s too hot for morning coffee on the patio.
Before everything moves inside for the season.
Bake that pie now… and tuck a little away in the freezer.
You’ll be glad you did when you want something simple and delicious to share on an easy Saturday evening with friends.
Homemade pies, remembered more than measured — the kind of moment that can’t quite be written down.
The Best Pie Maker We Knew
In our family, this time of year meant fresh fruit pie.
My mom always said her sister, Sharon, was the best pie maker she knew.
And not in a showy, cookbook-perfect kind of way —
just quietly, consistently, always better than anyone else’s.
The kind of pie you remember.
The kind you try to recreate… and never quite can.
Her “Recipe” (If You Can Call It That)
Years ago, my mom asked her for the secret.
This is what she sent back:
“Well, the only rhubarb pie secret from Mom that I have is:
add two raw eggs to the rhubarb, sugar, and flour mixture.
It gives it a subtle custard… and seems to mellow the rhubarb.”
So far, so good.
And then…
“For the crust — 2 cups flour, 1 cup butter, 1/3 cup cold water…
although it seems I use a little more than that.”
Uh-oh.
How much exactly is “a little more than that”?
And finally, the full recipe:
1 1/3 to 2 cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
4 cups rhubarb (or more… enough to fill a bowl)
2 eggs
a “nice chunk” of butter(which raises a few questions)
bake at 425 for 40–60 minutes
No exact measurements.
No timers you could rely on.
No real instructions to follow.
Just… experience.
Learning by watching… not measuring.
So, We Went to Seattle
At some point, we realized the only way to understand it…
was to see it in person.
So…my mom, my sister Linda, and I made a trip to Seattle —
for what can only be described as a pie-making master class.
Aprons on.
Flour everywhere.
Four women in the kitchen, all trying to translate instinct into something we could actually write down.
A moment together — the kind that matters more than the recipe itself.
A Different Kind of Recipe
I’ve come to appreciate those handwritten, half-finished, loosely explained recipes…
They weren’t really about precision.
They were about passing something along.
A way of doing things.
A way of cooking.
A way of making something good… without overthinking it.
But somewhere along the way, I found myself wanting a version I could eventually share — something a little more defined, but still very much in the spirit of the original.
So, I’ve shared a few of my favorite fruit pie recipes and the pie crust I use on the Recipes page — adapted slightly over time but rooted in the same way of doing things.
A Few Things I Reach For
There’s something to be said for doing things by feel…
but having a few good tools on hand never hurts.
These are the pieces I reach for when I’m making something simple in the kitchen — nothing fancy, just well-used and well-loved.
• Classic glass pie dish
• Marble rolling pin
• Pastry blender
• Linen apron
• Pie Drip Pan
You may be wondering — as I once did — what exactly is a pie drip pan.
This is what my Aunt Sharon says about it:
“My mother took me shopping as a new bride and made sure I had one. I still use it today — it catches the spills I always seem to have.”
And you know… she’s exactly right.
Closing
There’s still time — just before the heat sets in — to bake something wonderful.
To turn on the oven.
To open the windows.
To make something the way it used to be made.
Even if you measure a little more carefully.
