A Lazy (but good) Blackberry Skillet Pie - No. 230
Plus, a letter to my friend Kate in the Pacific Northwest, tales from the garden, and even some Jane Austen
Today, I’m doing something a little differently for my wonderful paid subscribers because I appreciate you so much! You allow me to take the time to write twice weekly. My pie maven friend Kate McDermott has written me a real letter in which she shares her summer cherry pie. Here is the link to Kate’s letter and her Substack newsletter. My letter in response is below followed by a very lazy and summery blackberry crumble pie—Tennessee-style—baked in an iron skillet.
Dear Kate,
I WAS THRILLED TO RECEIVE YOUR real, hold-in-my-hand letter this week! Old-fashioned letters do seem like a thing of the past, and what a treat to hear about your summer 2023 at Pie Cottage, nestled in the cool woods outside Seattle.
When did you name Pie Cottage? I’ve stayed in vacation cottages with names like Sleepy Hollow—it rained all week—Peace & Plenty—lots of laughs/games but little peace and quiet—and Elderberry Patch, which is odd because I don’t know of elderberries growing around here?
This morning in Nashville, there’s steady rain coming down, which means I’m not heading out to the garden to pull weeds and stake up those droopy limbs of the tomato plants, but it’s nice to stay inside and write this letter to you.
I’m thinking the old-timers in my family spent a good deal of time talking about the weather, and the weather might have dictated when they pulled out the pen and paper, or a good book, or just tried to escape the summer heat sipping lemonade and fanning themselves on the porch.