Gramma was full of anecdotes the other day. Living with her is somewhere between a hilarious riot, and a time warped past. Your heart ticks anxiously at the items left to be done in the present as she details stories of the past. We’re torn with needing to crawl away and be productive, and wanting to stay and absorb all she can share. She is an amazing storyteller, maintaining her sharp mind with memories from her 80 plus years. She arrived at this ranch at the age of 17, married and learning how to be a wife in a time and place without running water, fulfilling daily chores of chickens and milk cows. Her knowledge of the past and the hardships that came with the ruggedness of life bring all of us to both laughter and tears almost daily around the dinner table. When I can take the time to benefit from her old ways and knowledge, I know I must.

Sunday I asked her if she could show me how she makes her pie crust. I had gone on a peach bender Friday after seeing a stand of produce on the roadside, buying a box of the ripe and aromatic fruit. Deprived of fresh produce, everyday since I have eaten a minimum of three peaches. We used these to make the same amazing peach pie we had last year around this time… link is here.

Here are just a few of the sentences that came from that clever lady’s mouth as she made the dough, followed by her recipe:

“I saw the way Joshua was making his bisquits. That’s fine for his bisquits, I suppose, but that’s not how you make bisquits. You need lard for bisquits. I’ll show you someday.”

“I suspect this rolling pen is about as old as I am because it was here when I got here. I’ll show you how to clean it. I don’t want it washed- if you have to wash it, just use a damp cloth. They say you have to wash these things these days, but I’ve been using this rolling pen for 63 years.”

Her recipe uses lard, something our culture is afraid of in this day and age. And to be quite honest, I’m afraid of buying lard but intrigued by the prospect of having lard from the animals on this land.

Gramma’s Pie Crust:
makes two 9″ crusts

2 c. flour, sifted
1 tsp. salt
Small amount baking powder (maybe 1/2 tsp. is what it looked to me?)
Mix these dry ingredients in a bowl, then dump as a mound onto a wooden bread board (some might just use a clean counter top- Gramma thinks that to be absurd).

In another bowl place 2/3 c. soft lard. You might need to work this a bit with a fork to soften it. Add to the lard 1/3 c. BOILING water. Begin to work this quickly with a fork, and when combined push the flour mixture from the board into the bowl. This will allow some of the flour to stay behind on the board. Mix all together, handling the dough as little as possible.

Turn your pie pan upside down on the bread board and draw a circle on the board in the remaining flour dust. Place your dough in the center of this circle, and roll out the dough using a floured rolling pen. It doesn’t have to be perfect- the beauty of this crust is not only that it flakes nicely, but it repairs easily. Using a very dull knife, gently pull the dough from the board, then fold the dough in half. Lift the dough from the board with the knife, place in pie pan, and make any repairs by pushing the dough with your fingertips. There should be extra dough for any rips in your crust. Then flute the edges with your fingers and cut any ragged edges from the edge of the pan.