# 238: Change is Constant

Even after loss, life goes on; a recipe for an easy to make Raisin Pie; plus your invitation to a Free Workshop to Learn How to Roll Out Pie Dough

Change is Constant

The only thing that is certain is change—slowly like wrinkles, silver hair, dry skin, cataracts, burst bursas, and creaky knees kept going by physical therapy exercises I try to remember to do, it comes—and sometimes quickly with no warning.

I’m now at the age when dear friends are passing away—four in the last few months. This month has seen memorial celebrations of a dear friend’s husband who drowned and two others who died of cancer. We will never again be able to celebrate births, first days of school, proms, graduations, jobs, marriages, grandchildren together. These beloveds were like family to me.

I remember my best friend Lisa who was in her freshman year at college in Portland, OR. We made plans for me to come visit one winter weekend. My mom tried her best to talk me out of going. She said Lisa would be home for spring break in just another month and that it was foolish of me to go, but I was insistent and go I did. I arrived on a Friday afternoon and over the next two days we talked, walked, and laughed for hours and hours. The next weekend Lisa flew to Idaho for a family ski trip. It took two planes to get there; one from Portland to Boise and then a small plane from Boise to Sun Valley. On the return journey to Portland, the plane from Sun Valley blew up. I was home in our living room playing the Sarabande from Partita in C Minor by J.S. Bach when the call came. It was her 19th birthday.

There are no guarantees to how much time any of us have. Change is the only constant.

Raisin Pie

From another writer in a food writing master-class fifteen or so years ago, I learned the history of raisin pie. Her ancestors were Menonites and she shared that raisin pie is also known as funeral pie. It is one of the many dishes served at huge feasts prepared by community and served to guests who have come to honor the dearly departed. A very small slice is all that is needed because it is so very sweet and I learned that this is the point of funeral pie—a reminder that even in times of darkest sorrow, there is still sweetness to be found.

P.S. Paid Subscribers will find the recipe for Raisin Pie below.

Upcoming Class Info

Let’s Roll It! Virtual Workshop FREE for Paid Subscribers Coming Monday July 8th at 8 AM Pacific/11 AM Eastern

Rolling out dough is an important practice in pie making. This one-hour session will take place Monday July 8th at 8 AM Pacific/11 AM Eastern and is the second in a series of interactive live online workshops and events just for paid subscribers.

Our session will begin with a quick review demonstration of how to make pie dough and then move on to how to roll-out dough along with some tips and tricks to make it fun and easy. There will be time for your questions, too.

Join me on July 8th and Let’s Roll It!

And it’s FREE for all paid subscribers!

• Start with a review of making dough and roll it out along with me during the live session OR watch and make and roll your dough later.

• Plus if you can’t make the workshop on Monday July 8, no worries because All paid subscribers will receive a video recording of the session.

If you aren’t currently a paid subscriber, join now to take advantage of these special virtual sessions only for paid subscribers. Sure, you can opt for purchasing a subscription for just one month but, as a one-woman show, it takes a lot to make this newsletter and these workshops for you happen and I hope you feel that my work holds enough value for you to upgrade to an annual paid subscription to take advantage of all live sessions.

Since 2008, I’ve taught pie-making and baking to over 7,000 people in Art of the Pie Day Camp workshops at Pie Cottage and virtual Bake with Kate sessions.

I’ve written three bestselling books including the James Beard Nominated Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life. The recipes and techniques I teach have been tested over and over and they work!

• “Kate’s methods are impressively well-researched from a technical perspective, but even more impressive is her ability to distill complex technique into confidence-boosting instruction.
  Pie crusts can sense fear. Kate is here to banish it.”
  —J. Kenji López-Alt