Sabbath in the Kitchen - December 17

Sabbath in the Kitchen

Peanut‘s pecan pie (adapted for poppa) with Joy Crump

A family recipe shared by Lauren Wright Pittman

Enjoy some time in your kitchen and the church kitchen with Joy Crump as you pause to read today’s reflection and perhaps try making Peanut’s pecan pie.

Peanut was my Poppa’s (my maternal grandfather) little sister who was born in 1944. Peanut learned to cook early on because she wasn’t able to work in the fields with the rest of her family. Her pecan pie was my Poppa’s absolute favorite .Her pie was a seasonal treat because she had to wait for the pecan trees to drop the nuts, and she cracked them each by hand. It was hard work, so she tried to make it easier in some other ways. She adapted a recipe to use a whole bottle of Karo syrup so she could use up the whole bottle and have it yield two pies. Peanut knew this was also one of my mom’s favorite recipes, so when my mom got married in 1984, Peanut gave her the recipe. As my Poppa grew older, he lost his teeth and wasn’t able to enjoy all the foods he used to. My mom decided to start chopping up the pecans almost to dust so he could taste his favorite pie once again. I lost my Poppa this year. At his celebration of life, we shared his favorite pie and our gratitude for his life with hundreds of his family and friends. I will cherish this recipe for the rest of my life, and will certainly pass it on.

ingredients

• 6 eggs

• 2 cups of pecans

• 1 bo!le dark Karo syrup

• 4 tablespoons of bu!er melted, or a 1/2 stick

• 1 cup of sugar • 2 pie shells

instructions

Mix the ingredients well and pour into the pie shells (be careful not to mix hot butter with the eggs; let it cool first). The recipe makes 2 deep dish pies or 3 regular pies. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. If using a deep dish, bake for 65 mins.