Lemon Meringue Pie and Just Smile

My mom loved to smile. Even though she was a child who lived through the tough depression years, even though she was a young woman during World War Two,  even though she became a widow at  39, and was left to care for her daughters,  she learned the art of smiling.

Random Fact:

If you smile, even if you’re in a bad mood, it will immediately improve your mood, because the simple action of thinking about smiling and using the muscles is enough to trigger happy chemicals in the brain.

As a child, if I woke up grumpy and wandered out of my bedroom with a frown on my face, my mom would tell me to go back to bed and get out the other side with a smile on my face. At the time, it often made me grumpier; I felt like my real feelings were being ignored. In time, I learned the wisdom of this advice.

(Above: My mom, dad, and three older sisters…I’m in mom’s lap)

After my Dad was killed in a truck accident when I was five, my mom moved our family away from our small town of Hope, (yep, I was born in Hope. I like to say literally and figuratively) and moved us to the nearby big city of Chilliwack. People there did not know our story. As a single parent and sole provider, mom took a typing course and got a job as a front desk clerk/receptionist, at one of the larger hotels in Chilliwack.

Mom greeted all the guests with a friendly face and would smile at everyone she met. All this cheerfulness however annoyed one of mom’s co-workers. She apparently hated mom’s  smiling countenance, and snarled her negative feelings of mom’s attitude to another co-worker saying, “what does she have to be so happy about?” This other co-worker knew a tiny bit of mom’s history and took a moment to share this with the  annoyed co-worker. Nothing further was said, until one day that angry woman approached mom and said, “I know a bit of your story, but what I don’t understand is why you smile so much.”

Mom looked at her seriously and said, “If I don’t smile, I will cry.”

After that, this co-worker became a friend and even she was found smiling from time to time.  Also, years later, mom’s brilliant smile and warmth, attracted a man who came to the hotel one day. That man became my step father, “Bud,” and for many years my mom smiled and laughed until Bud had a heart attack and passed away. Mom was just 59 years old. Despite being widowed once again, after grieving another loss, she showed us all how to spread joy with her generous smile.

It’s been a tough winter for me. As you may know from previous posts I’ve written recently, I’m trying to find a new groove in my life. Our family is changing and I’ve never been great with change. Three of our eight children have left home and  each time one of them leaves, it feels like an earth quake has shaken our home.  My heart quivers with after shocks for months afterwards. Our oldest son, Clark will be next,  as he’s heading off to law school in the fall. Even our youngest, our six year old twins, Kathryn and Victoria, don’t seem to be need me  quite as much now that they are BIG grade ones.

Then there is the fact that I don’t do well in the winter. At least not where we live. I think I suffer from “SAD”, (seasonal affective disorder)The Okanagan Valley, in the southern part of British Columbia, Canada, is known for these great inversions. The winter clouds roll in sometime in November and we rarely see any sun until March. Oh, and then there is the bitter cold, and dumps of endless snow. I think I could bare both, if they were accompanied now and then with some sun. Snow is truly magical and I do love this season of bundling up and hibernating, but it’s the sun that gives me the daily lift to feel happy and hopeful.

(Above is a picture from my kitchen window…a break in the clouds finally)

But today, I’m thinking about my mom, thinking about her smile, and also about winter, and this day; February 28th. Six years ago today, my mom had a massive stroke and died. We knew she was declining but I had hoped she would be with us longer. Once we moved her into an extended care home, after a hospital stay, I think she said to herself, “I’m outta here!” Thankfully the weekend before she passed away,  (Februrary 28, 2012) there were many golden moments where her light shone.

I brought our twin daughters, who were just starting to crawl over to her new home. As they explored under and around her bed, she smiled at them.

(Above are Victoria and Kathryn, our twins…they made mom laugh with their antics during our last visit with her)

My sister C and her husband D, brought their beautiful golden retriever, “Sunny,” for a visit. As Sunny rested her head on the edge of mom’s bed, looking up at her with compassionate brown eyes, mom smiled.

And when mom would wake from one of her drifting dreams, she would smile gently, saying she had been at the beach with her brother Dick, who had moved on beyond this mortal veil.

When I think of my mom, I smile. I’m thankful I had her for so many years. I’m thankful that I still feel her presence in my life now. Even on my darkest days this winter, she has been close, whispering into my  ear, “find something to smile about.”

Something to be grateful for.

And that brings me to the point of this post. So many people in the world, seem to be searching for simple joy and certainly something to smile about. With the recent school shooting at the  Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and the bombing continuing in Syria, even though the UN has tried desperately to get a cease fire, there isn’t much to smile about in the world.

And yet, I think of mom. I think about all those who aren’t here on earth any longer. If they could come back for one day,  what would they say to us? Maybe, “be thankful to be alive? “Be thankful to have the choice to smile.” “Maybe, try to make a difference in this world.” Mother Teresa isn’t here any longer either, but her acts of kindness and her words live on……

Yes, let us  meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. And I think peace too. And don’t we need that in the world right now?

And so today, I force the corners of my mouth to go up, instead of down. I think of ways that I can help those who are dealing with serious issues and I ask myself, “what can I do today for them?”

I can smile.

And what else can I do?….well, I can bake a pie and share a family recipe.

Thinking about my mom, makes me think about lemon meringue pies.

OOOOLALA….Delish!

She loved them. Well, she loved anything lemon and so do I. Especially at the end of winter; when I need something tart and zesty to lighten my palate and remind myself that spring is just around the corner.

So I think a good closer for this blog post is to share my recipe for lemon meringue pie, and the homemade crust recipe as well. I made two of these recently and my family inhaled them, literally in two sittings. They must have inherited my mom’s love for lemons. And they too must be starved for sunshine.

So on yet another snowy winter day, please join me in my kitchen and we will start to make the crust which is soooo easy, you won’t believe it. I’ll do the crust and you can start cracking some eggs, separating the yolks from the whites. And we can chat about other ways to help change the world….starting from our own home.

LET’S BEGIN with the…..

Pie Crust Recipe... I can’t take the credit; this is the Tenderflake recipe which is perfect every time!!! Who wants to mess with perfection?

Note: The recipe below makes 6 crusts…which is a lot for most families but I freeze the extra pie crusts and use it for other pies or  for my chicken pot pie recipe, which I have to blog about…coming soon… I promise.

When making crust for lemon meringue pies, you just use ONE bottom crust,  , use a fork to prick the sides and the bottom of the pastry crust and place it in the oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until it looks golden. (watch closely)

When done, set it aside to cool on a rack

Lemon Meringue Pie Filling….this is where you will use the separated eggs!

Ingredients/Filling

1-1/4 cups sugar

6 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups boiling water

5 egg yolks, beaten (set aside the egg whites to sit at room temperature)

2 tbsp of butter

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp grated lemon rind

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt, mixing well. Stir in boiling water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, translucent and just starting to bubble. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir for 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Whisk a little of hot mixture into beaten egg yolks; whisk back into the pan with half of the butter. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add remaining butter, lemon juice, rind and vanilla; stir until uniformly thick and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside, partially covered.

Ingredients for the Meringue

5 egg whites at room temperature

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

Directions for Meringue

In a bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. (I use my electric beater) Add lemon juice, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Combine 1 tbsp of the sugar with cornstarch; set aside. Beat in remaining sugar 1 tbsp at a time, then cornstarch mixture. Beat until stiff and glossy, about 2 minutes. Pour filling into pie shell. Spread merigue over hot filling right to the edge of the crust; swirl into peaks. Bake in 325 degree oven for 15 minutes or until lightly brown. Let cool for at least 2 hours for a clean slice.

Smile and Enjoy!

Wasn’t that easy?

And before I close, in memory of mom today, I wanted to share a video link to Jimmy Durante singing, “Smile.” I love you mom!

If we can do nothing else, let us smile.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope