Every Dog has its Day or Jiggsy Miller and the Trustees
Edited with Aunt Jen 2-3-07 ed-10-07-07 Fran Bogle
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast… Psalm 63:5a
Fruit Pie Filling
Get the freshest fruit you can buy, apples, peaches, blueberries and cherries are my favorites. Remove seeds, peel and slice in thin slices. Put them in a bowl. Coat with cinnamon and sugar. Be sure to add extra sugar if they are sour.
Place this mixture in the fresh piecrust and cover with a crust topping. Crimp the edges with a fork and cut small slices in the top so that the pie can breathe.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until they are done.
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Aunt Jeanette remembers that Grandma’s pies were famous. “Everyone loved them and Grandma shared them generously with neighbors, friends and church members. One summer evening the Board of Trustees of Grandma’s United Methodist church met at their house. As usual, Grandma worked hard to prepare her scrumptious pies for them. I remember her telling me that:”
“I put six pies on the stairs of the back porch to cool while I made the whipped cream. When Elmer, (your grandfather Fran, Aunt Jen says as an aside), came in to tell me that the men were ready for dessert, I called Betty (your mom Fran) and we went to get the pies. When we opened the screen door there was Jiggsy Miller, the miniature bull terrier who lived next door taking a big bite out of the last pie. I snapped my apron at him and he ran home covered with meringue topping. He looked positively rabid, and I felt rabid myself. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I didn’t mind him having a piece of pie, but I will never know why he had to take a bite out of every pie!”
“Betty suggested that we fill the holes with whipped cream and serve our guests a planned. As we thought about that we began to laugh, and laughed until we cried. That night the men got fresh strawberries and whipped cream, and I don’t think they missed the pies too much.”
“I learned my lesson. Never put anything on the back porch to cool without keeping an eye on it. Remember that Francie, you just never know when someone like Jiggsy Miller might come by and eat your pies.”
Spirit of laughter, thank you for the memories we share and the love that lives on in family food. Amen
–Fran Bogle