Grandmother Nora’s Pie Crust

September 1, 2017October 5, 2017

This wonderful pie crust recipe came to us from one of our volunteers, Sharon Reavis Ward. We find this recipe will make two 8 or 9 inch crusts or one 10 inch deep dish crust with enough for a lattice top.

My grandmother, Nora Lee Reavis, was born in 1898 on a farm in North Carolina. There were ten children in the family, and she, being one of the oldest, was expected to help with the cooking . . . so she became one of the best.

When my grandparents were married, they moved to Indiana. As a child, walking into her big farmhouse kitchen was like walking into Heaven for me. She always had pies in the freezer, ready to put in the oven. Anytime anyone walked through the door she would lift the lid to that big old freezer to reveal pies whose fillings would have been grown and canned there on the farm. Grandfather and she worked side by side to fill the basement pantry. My heart is warmed just to think of her.

Sharon Reavis Ward

Ingredients

1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
6 tablespoons of water
3 cups flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup lard

Instructions

Break egg in a cup and beat with a fork. Add vinegar and water.

Mix egg

Combine vinegar and water

Combine wet ingredients

In mixing bowl, mix flour, salt and cut in lard. Mix wet ingredients to the dry.

Combine dry ingredients with wet

Mix in liguids

Add lard

Knead lightly until a ball is formed and roll out to desired thickness.

Form dough into ball

Knead dough lightly into a ball

Roll out crust

Place pie plate on crust, trim and lay crust into plate.

Trim crust

Lay crust into pie plate

Smooth crust into pie plate

Fold under the outer edge. Flute edges as desired.

Flute pie crust edges

Finished crust

Green Tomato Pie

September 1, 2017October 5, 2017

We grow Brandywine tomatoes in the kitchen garden at Venoge. They always come in late which coincides with our Rural Heritage Tour in the fall. Being aware of the somewhat out of the ordinary green tomato pie and having an excess of green tomatoes, it was a natural thing to try the recipe at the fall event.

In the past we have altered the recipe and used half apples and half tomatoes. The version pictured below, with a crumb topping, is by far our favorite. The ginger adds a unique flavor we hope you will enjoy!

Our recipe is adapted from America Eats by William Woys Weaver, food historian, author and gardener.

Ingredients

Grandmother Nora’s Pie Crust, use for the top and bottom crust
1 1/2 pounds green tomatoes
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Grated lemon rind (optional)
1 tablespoon ginger

Instructions

Skin tomatoes and slice as thin as possible.

Pick tomatoes

Peal tomatoes

Slice tomatoes thin

Mix tomatoes with lemon juice, sugar, zest and ginger.

Add lemon juice

Add brown sugar

Add ginger

Mix filling

Line an 8 inch pie dish with pie crust. Fill crust, cover with a top crust, lattice or a crumb crust. Pierce the crust if you use a top crust. Bake in a medium oven at 350° about 1 hour.

Ready for topping or top crust

Add crumb topping

Place pie in the Baker

Pies cooking in the Baker

Slice of Green Tomato Pie

Pumpkin Pie with Molasses

September 1, 2017October 5, 2017

Adding molasses to the pumpkin filling gives this pie a distinctive flavor. It is easy to make and easy to eat. At one time molasses was the most popular sweetener in the United States. Refined sugar replaced it in popularity in the first part of the 20^th century, mostly because of the cost. Molasses goes well with cinnamon and ginger (think ginger bread), both of which are used in this recipe. We use our own pumpkin grown at Venoge when possible.

Our recipe comes from The Williamsburg Art of Cookery Book, 6^th printing. It comes from the Wicomico Church c 1829.