November...I smell pumpkin pie I love this time of year best for all the wonderful aromas coming from what is still the heart of most homes, the kitchen. I have probably 500 cookbooks and many cryptically written recipes of which many are over a 100 years old .
The books are like glimpses into the past as women noted in the margins not only their thoughts about the recipe but also their thoughts about their life....what concoction would make the baby feel better, what cookie traveled best to a soldier in war, how many eggs would need to be sold to buy a Christmas gift.
Our busy lives and fancy gadgets has taken away some lovely traditions. I want to share a story about my sister,her pie and what Thanksgiving is really about.
One year,my mother and I went to visit my sister, Rebecca, who lives in another state. It was a wonderful and rare treat for all of us, a great visit and to top it off my sister made one of her peach pies that would make Martha Stewart weep in awe. As we were impatiently waiting for the pie to cool and there was just enough to give a generous slice to everyone there, there was a knock at the door. At the door was a homeless man, asking if she had anything for him to eat and then with a wistful whiff he said "is that pie I smell?" Rebecca, without hesitation, not only gave him generous scoops of our leftover meal but then cut the pie almost in two and gave him the generous piece. Without explanation or apology she cut the remaining half into much smaller pieces for all of us. Our inner sense of disappointment and a look or two of dismay was completely obliterated by my sister's radiant face. As The Grinch would say, "Our hearts grew by two sizes that day".
Happy Thanksgiving! Make a pie and share it. | 
