Bowl of gooseberries
Winchester Gooseberry Pie Recipe by Janet Chester Bly
We moved to Winchester, Idaho, from southern California in the 1980s to give full-time writing a try. Our friends were so astonished. Many of them came to visit to see first-hand why we’d been drawn there. And sometimes we’d serve Winchester Gooseberry Pie.
Everything about our new place of residence provided a cultural experience for them (and us).
Our town’s size: 300 pop. Our surroundings: on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. The weather patterns: all the four seasons with lots of snow in winter. Our nearest shopping center and fast food place: 45-60 miles away. We got groceries and ran other errands down the mountain in Lewiston every other week or so. To provide a full-fledged experience for our guests, we learned about the local signature dishes. Besides elk and buffalo main dishes as normal fare, we discovered gooseberry pie.
One day, a family with seven children from out-of-state dropped by while my husband’s sister, Judy, was staying with us. When I saw the van pull up outside, I gasped. Judy jumped right in and pulled out the gooseberry pie recipe.
“I’ll bake. You shoot the buffalo,” she teased.
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Winchester Gooseberry Pie
Ingredients:
PASTRY:
- 2 ½ c. flour
- 2/3 cup shortening or lard
Cut together flour and shortening. Use enough water to mix. Roll into 2 large circles. Line one of the crusts into a 9 inch pie pan.
FILLING:
- 1 ½ c. sugar
- 1/3 c. flour
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 4 cups fresh, stemmed gooseberries (these are also sometimes available in cans)
- 1 ½ T. butter
Directions:
Mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon together, then stir into the gooseberries. Pour into shell. Dot with the butter. Cover with second crust. Slit the top. Bake 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
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Note: I have substituted the gooseberries at times for huckleberries, another Winchester, Idaho, noted favorite. A challenge to pick and expensive to buy. Friends have scouted the woods and bushes for these tiny treats. However, they usually don’t require as much sugar, as they are similar to a blueberry and much sweeter than gooseberries.
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“When God’s children are in need, be the one to help them out.
And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner
or, if they need lodging, for the night.”
Romans 12:13 nlt
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Check out these links for more gooseberry pie recipes:
From AllRecipes.com … http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gooseberry-Pie-I/
From Cooks.com … http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,fresh_gooseberry_pie,FF.html
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About Author Janet Chester Bly
Janet has visited every state in the Union, either traveling for pleasure, doing research, or speaking at retreats and conferences. “But it’s always nice to come home to our little village of Winchester and smell the pines and hear forest noises, instead of traffic and sirens,” she explains.
Some of the novels that Janet has written with her late husband, Stephen, have been set in north-central Idaho. Six of their first co-authored books, The Crystal Blake Series for children (now out-of-print), took place in Winchester and Kamiah (pronounced Cam-ee-eye), a town in their county.
“’Write about what you know,’ the experts say, so we try to know as much as we can, but we begin at home.”
Check out some of Janet’s contemporary fiction at JANET’S FICTION
Now Janet lives down in the river town of Lewiston. Her former home in Winchester converted to an AirB&B and can be rented by families and groups. Check it out here WINCHESTER LAKE LODGE RENTALS
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