Recipe(tried): "My Oh My" Blueberry Pie!

Hello Friends;
My, I am so thankful for those emails and postin's ya'll have sent to me on the internet. I wanna give a special "Thanks" do that girl in England, her name is Lisa, she just wrote the sweetest ole note to me. Now, I have to tell ya'll, I'm not a writer a'tall, just a friend of my old southern ways, who has found this little place in space where I can share what I know with ya'll. Nothin more to it that that.
Now, as always, there is a story to go with this, and I just got to get the story in first, then give the recipe later on. Hope ya'll dont mind that, but seems like ya never do, so, for the wreck of the mess of ya, here it all goes. It was around '63.
I remember those wonderful spring mornings, and with Granny and Tourmaline we would go searchin into the woods for blueberries, and we'd never have to go but so far, they was plentiful in the countryside, usually jus along the roads. We'd pick and pick, and before much longer, me and my gang of cousins would have a big old bucket full of 'em before we new it. Vernon usually got the most, he was always so anxious to win any kind a contest! We new that what we gathered was what we ate, but we gathered more than we could eat, cause we knew that Granny wanted to put some up in the freezer for the winter. That terrible depression she had lived through was over, and the country was doin rather well then, prosperity was the word of the day, but for the folks in Hinton, it was still the same, it was save and store and at least the invention of the freezer had come bought! A boom to those country gals who only knew how to can food to get 'em through the winter. The freezer was nothing short than a miracle to those sweet women. Law, nobody knows how hard they worked to grow and preserve food to get the family through the winter--it was all they had then, no money, no grocery stores, you jus had to make it happen for yourself.
I remember that Granny made a pie for all us kids, the most DElicious pie you ever put your lips to! This pie was pure blueberries from the word go. She then put the rest of em in a bag, and she stuck em up in the freezor, and she said to us all, "Come the Thankful Holidays, ya'll be happy for 'em". And that was fine with us, before long we were back out in the yard tryin to get into some kinda trouble!
Now that year of '63 did roll on around, the summer got long, and before we knew it we were wakein up to frosty mornin's and it was the fall of the year, and glorious color was all around us. Granny always said that the color of fall was God's kiss before he said goodnight. It was that little sign from him that said he loved us and he'd be back ina bit, and that the spring was sure to come after his lil nap. My, I think of those profound words of wisdom that she had, she could just make everything right with our world, what a wise wise woman she was.< Now, it was near the Thanksgiving day, and we were all back in Grannys close comfortable kitchen. We cousins were in the hall by the kitchen and Granny said, "Hey, younnguns,I gotta a big ole surprise for ya", and it was those blueberries we'd picked with her last summer. She said, childrens, I am gonna bake ya'll a pie that will take ya right back to the summa! At the same time Tourmaline was busy trying to put a crust together --OH MY! She was a woman who just wasn't of the kitchen world, she could hardly put together a salt and peppa shaker let alone a crust!

Now, this recipe has been modified over the years by Tourmaline, and her sister Laura Belle, now Laura Belle is my momma! The latter is the better cook, but my momma was a woman of the future, and she made this recipe a bit simpler,and by goodness, it just taste the same to me. Now go on and get this recipe and try it, then the rest of the story will follow on....


My Oh My Blueberry Pie
By Granny Church
Hinton, West Virginia

4 Cups whole fresh blueberries/or fresh frozen blueberries
2/4 Cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water
2 Tablsp. corn starch
1 tsp. butter
1 Tablsp. lemon jice
9" baked pastry shell or graham crust (Now heres the hint, those Pillsbury crust for pie shells are the BEST! Taste jus as good as "Grannys"!

Bake and cool pastry shell/crust and then fill with two cups of the whole, uncooked berries.
Combine sugar, salt, water, and cornstarch in the medium sized sauce pan. stir in remaining blueberries and cook over medium heat until bubbling and the berries start to pop. stir to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. stir in butter and lemon juice. Cool. When cool and starting to thicken, pour over berries in the pie shell! Chill until firm. Serve with a big old dollop of whippin cream or a big dollop of 'nilla ice cream. Ummmmm Good!

Now, I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was just a day or so before Thanksgiving and we're all excited about our famlies comeing together, and ya know we jus got the most terrible news. We were all watchin the television (something kinda new to us), it was this big old box that had a seven inch screen in the middle of it, but, for us, it was everthin, and what we saw wasn't very nice. The t.v. show that was on was just stopped for some reason, and the screen jus went black. Then, the news came on the televison and we got the word that our President, Mr. Kennedy, had been assasinated. My goodness, the world just stopped on a dime when that was told to us.

The shock went through us all like a bullet. I dont think I ever saw the country in such a state such as it was then. Umm, we just found all ourselves in front of the television and watchin all that was happenin, and after so many years I know, it was all just another chapter we were living in our lives.

The reason this Blueberry Pie recipe stays in my mind and in my journal, and my soul, is simply the note put in my Granny's cookbook. "Mercy, Lord, I pray that somehow you our Lord, protect us from all that is in the world tonight, lift us from this terrible happenin" The very words that were written!

Our world is so much bigger and farther apart today, but gosh, I think back to the days of Granny and all those wonderful people! Depression came and went, but through it all, they were so so close, what a gift they had!

Peace To You Friends,
David In Virginia
Dvdnva@aol.com