By Shelley Luedtke
   In a discussion reminiscent of the artificial versus real Christmas tree debate, I listened to a group discuss the pros and cons of pies made from scratch versus store bought.
   I don't like pie. I'm not a big fan of any type of dessert but I would choose cake over pie if given an option. My husband, on the other hand loves pie, and we often celebrate his birthday with one since he doesn't like cake. It's okay, we've managed to stay married for almost three decades. We ensure there are pie-eaters invited to his birthday and cake-eaters to mine so we aren't stuck with copious amounts of either one.
   When our family gathered around the Thanksgiving table rest assured we had pie. Actually more than one. I would never deprive them of their go-to dessert, I just don't make them. They all ate store-bought. Go ahead and gasp on behalf of my dessert-loving family but clearly they weren't the only ones eating such. One big box retailer sold an estimated 2.5 million pumpkin pies in just two days prior to Thanksgiving. Not to mention every grocery store, market, bakery and small business that sees a spike in sales this time of year.
   We used to go the homemade route--if you consider canned filing worthy of the title homemade. But one year (and only one) we started from scratch. We acquired a fail-safe recipe from a trusted friend who also shared her insider secrets. We (I am using the pronoun 'we' rather loosely since my husband did 99% of the work) purchased a beautiful pumpkin and scooped, cleaned and cooked pumpkin guts. We measured, mixed, stirred and baked. At the end of the process we had a beautiful pumpkin pie. I had a nibble. I will admit the bite tasted good--if you like pie, of course.
   This past Thanksgiving our daughters got talking about their dad's grandma and the variety of homemade pies that were offered no matter the season. My husband reminded me that when I joined the family she added angel food to the list of offerings since I didn't eat pie. It was such a loving gesture.
   My grandma was like that, too. She made sure there was diet Coke in the fridge and my favourite cookies in the freezer. She was also the source of the lefse we couldn't wait to eat each Christmas. But there was one other treat I remember fondly, particularly now that she has passed away.
   Not long after I'd gotten married my grandparents, who lived in BC, came for a visit. I made a peanut butter chocolate roll and my grandma complimented me several times. She even asked for the recipe. Fast forward many years and we were visiting them in BC. As grandma began setting out a wonderful spread of our favourites she brought out a peanut butter chocolate roll. She had made dozens and dozens of my beloved cookies over the years, and batch after batch of lefse, but I recall with a smile the moment she brought out the same confection I had made years earlier and told me hers would never be as good as mine. What a gracious, if highly overstated, thing to say!
   I am all for buying items that will reduce prep time for getting a Thanksgiving dinner on the table, so I have no qualms about pre-packaged pie. Neither did the crowds I saw circle a young employee who brought out a palette of a store's famous pumpkin pie. The pies never made it to the shelf since shoppers were taking them right out of his hands or right off the palette.
   So we, like many other families, cut into the store-bought dessert and I am told they enjoyed every bite. But I'm glad my daughters remembered the pies made by their grandmother. Perhaps the discussion of homemade versus store bought serves a role in bringing to mind the hardworking hands of those who cook from scratch for the ones they love.
   Go ahead and eat the store bought. The flavour can be very good indeed, and because of the efficiencies of mass production some are ridiculously inexpensive. There's nothing wrong with saving time and money. If It makes us more mindful of those who baked for us last weekend or many years ago, all the better. Because really, when it comes to enjoying the flavour of tradition, nothing tastes quite like the memory of homemade. That's my outlook.
