Saturday, June 1, 2013

Starting a Tradition • Nana's Pie Basket

My Nana was a special lady. She was born in a Maine farmhouse back 1894 and lived to be 100.  She was a self-reliant, strong and independent woman in a time before that was the norm. I have many fond memories of her and recently, they unexpectedly came to the surface again.

My sister, Bev has been working hard at cleaning out the clutter in her life and as she purged, she came across Nana's old classic pie basket.


Nana was a baker and I have memories of pies, molasses gingers snaps, old fashioned hermits, chocolate chip cookies and Pompadour Pudding. Bev emailed my daughter to see if she would like Nana's old pie basket. The basket came to me to bring to Boston the next time we visit Karen and when I opened the lid I was brought to tears when I discovered Nana had signed the inside of the lid.


This relic was just elevated to an entirely new level because it has a pedigree.  The signature is so recognizable and clearly Nana's. I will bring the basket to my daughter's and I will encourage her to also sign the lid, thus starting a new tradition.  Imagine a basket, passed down through the family generations, which each successive cook signing the under side of the lid. If you have a pie basket, sign the lid and start your own tradition.

I then went through my old recipe box. I never use it anymore because all my recipes have been digitized, but sure enough. I still have a few recipe cards written in Nana's hand.


I think I'll look into having them transferred to tea towels as Christmas gifts. 


Directions for doing so are posted over on SpoonFlower


Previous Posts of Interest:

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6 comments:

  1. I'm very excited to be bringing this heirloom into my home, and you better believe I will sign it!

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    1. Enjoy it, Karen. Daddy and I will enjoy the pies you bake!

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  2. Oh wow, that certainly is a special find.:-) Thank you so much for that link to the tea towels that is a beautiful gift idea.

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    1. Merry, let me know if you do it and how they come out. I am thinking it is a great gift for my sisters this CHristmas.

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  3. WOW, that is just the cutest idea about signing the basket. I have a casserole dish that sits in a basket that my mom used to use all the time to make a down east potato casserole recipe. I will share the "signing" idea with the family. The recipe towel idea is great too!

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    1. Traditions mean a lot to my family, and they new ones we develop mean all the more. In this scattered world it is the traditions (and FaceTime!) which keep us close. Thanks for visiting and commenting.

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