My Grandmother Irene didn’t seem to age well to me. I don’t mean physically, because she was strong as a horse, despite being a brittle diabetic and a breast-cancer survivor. She and my grandfather Pop lived with us much of our lives. They were my dad’s parents, and as an only child, he felt responsible for them as they aged. Pop died at the age of 60 while they lived with us. When my dad died at the incredibly young age of 55, the responsibility for Grandmother’s care became my mom’s. It was often difficult days for us all.
Looking back, I realize that Grandmother was damaged by the guilt she poured on herself. She had felt called to be a foreign missionary back in the late 1910s or early 1920s. Instead she fell in love with my grandfather who was a bit of a dandy. Look at the photo in the picture at the top of this and you’ll see her, my grandfather, and my dad. Pop always looked like he walked off the pages of GQ. Grandmother always wore a house dress, and, because she sewed for others, had pins sticking into the dress near the neck. We always had to be careful when we hugged her or we could come away bleeding.
On the other side, she loved us dearly and made most of the clothes we wore for the first 15 years or so of life. I actually remember buying the first dress ever with babysitting money when I was 15. Looking back, I know the dress was the wrong color for me, but I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Now, I’ve worked at learning to sew because I love the idea of being above to have custom-made clothes. Oh, the stupidity of youth.
While she lived with us, she often cooked. She was Aunt Louise’s baby sister (the Aunt Louise who baked the 10-Layer Chocolate Cake) so she knew her way around the stove. She taught us to make her biscuits, a skill one of my sisters has maintained, and how to make the most amazing Chicken and Dumplings on the planet. I’ll try to share that recipe down the road.
Grandmother made a yummy baked Lemon Meringue Pie that was one of the family’s favorites. So, in her honor, here’s the recipe. Enjoy!
Grandmother Irene’s Lemon Meringue Pie
Bake a pie shell according to instructions on the package or your favorite recipe. Then, set it aside and let it cool.
For the pie filling, mix:
3 egg yolks
6 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
After mixing, add the juice and the zest of one lemon and 12 Tbsp of water. Cook over the stove, bringing the mixture to a boil. Stir constantly until it thickens. Then, remove it from the stove and pour into the baked pastry shell.
For the meringue, mix in a glass bowl 3 egg whites and 1/4 tsp cream of tarter. Beat until the mixture starts to become stiff with soft peaks. Then add 6 tsps of sugar gradually, while continuing to mix until stiff peaks form. Spread the meringue mixture carefully over the pie, sealing the edges with the meringue. Do not over handle the meringue as you put it on the pie or you’ll damage its fluffiness.
Bake in 300 degree oven until the tops of the meringue are browned, about 10 minutes.
