10 Weeks ~ 10 Pies ~ 10 People ~ 10 Virtues

There’s no sweeter way to honor those who have impacted my life with virtue than by baking pie.  For the next 10 weeks, I will be spotlighting a pie each week that represents a special person in my life that has passed on one of life’s important virtues to me.

Week One

Resilience, derived from the Latin word resilire meaning to leap, spring back; rebound, is one of the many words I use to describe my mother.  If there is anyone who has mastered falling from the horse, dusting off, and getting back on, it’s her.  Since I was 5 years old, I have observed my mother living by the philosophy of a little Blue Tang fish named Dori,… “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!”  And she has done just that.  Adversity is no stranger to her life and if you asked her how she’s gotten through the rough times, I would guess that her answer would be, “I had to!  There was no other choice.  You just do it.”  It has been difficult for my mother to understand or find meaning in the challenges that life has thrown her.  Isn’t this true for all of us?  It’s not until much later that we look back and begin to have clarity about life’s lessons and grow from our adversity.  Many times we fail to ever find it.  But through uncertainty it is essential to hold tight to faith, hope, and courage.  It is through these that we become resilient.

Throughout my life, there have been many times that I have reflected on my mother’s resilience when I have been faced with challenges of my own.  It has given me the courage to “just keep swimming” and I have always come out on the other side and been able to look back and see how far I’ve come.  Life has tested me in countless ways, both subtle and harsh.  Without a sense of resilience, I can’t say where I’d be right now.  At times I’ve had to reach deep to find it, searching blindly in the dark for something steady to hold on to until I discover the courage to take one more step.  Although resilience is something that I believe comes from within, it can take an external reminder that it still exists within us.  This can take many forms:  a light, a loved one, a singing bird, a beautiful sunrise, a kind word from a stranger, the lyrics of a song.  The thing to remember is that you must have your eyes and ears open to it.

Basic Flaky Pie Pastry: Photograph by Andrea Karapas

I’ve chosen Coconut Cream Pie with Coconut Meringue Topping to honor my mother and the strong sense of resilience she’s brought to my life.  Not only is this my mother’s favorite pie, its meringue topping represents this virtue.  Meringue’s appearance is soft and delicate but when made properly is very stable.  The chemistry of meringue is very interesting and quite fitting for my mother’s story.  When egg whites are beaten, some of the hydrogen bonds in the protein break, causing the protein’s structure to unfold. This change in structure leads to the stiff consistency required for meringues. The cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites giving them a hardiness to withstand the high heat under the broiler.

My mother continues to keep pushing through her challenges and doesn’t give up.  She is a source of tremendous strength for me and when she needs someone to encourage her to get back on the horse, I’m always there for her, reminding her how resilient she is.  When life gives you lemons, you can’t always make lemonade.  But if you can throw those lemons in your backpack and get back on the horse, at least you’ll still be moving forward.

Coconut Cream Pie with Coconut Meringue Topping: Photograph by Andrea Karapas