Lemony Mess !

    I recently tried a recipe that was posted in Grit Magazine. It caught my eye because it was called a Shaker Lemon Pie. It was an unusual looking pie but the thing that interested me was the Shaker adjective. I did not know anything about the Shaker people or sect, until my brother Rodney made some Shaker boxes and showed them to me. He then invited me to come to his woodshop and make some of my own.
    Rodney and I got really close after we were older. There is something about sibling relationships. They see you at your best and worst but seem to accept you as you are. Like me, Rodney might have had faults too, but I know where he really was his best. In his woodshop! Rodney made everything you can imagine, picnic tables, cedar chest, fine jewelry boxes and anything else you can imagine. One of my favorite projects he completed was a large cider press. He had reclaimed yellow pine wood from a neighbors' fallen barn for the reconstruction. It was beautiful. Every fall he would make cider and invite friends, neighbors and family over for a harvest party. He seldom received money for his work although I know he was commissioned for a few items. Mostly he would make a dozen or so of each project and then give them to family and friends.
     The shaker boxes shown here were made by me in Rodney's shop. The small set is made from a Buckeye tree. The tree was from Donna's folks farm. It was an old tree that had fallen. The single box is made from that same Buckeye tree but  the top is Walnut from a board from a house on my best friends Perry's farm. I sure miss Rodney and our time together in the shop.
    As far as the pie. I know the Shakers are known for their simplistic ways. Few adornments or embellishments. This pie was a bottom crust with lemons sliced whole and added after a 24 hour marinade in sugar. The custard was the remaining marinade, brown sugar and egg. After I made the pie I had to revisit the recipe to make sure I made it right. Maybe lemons were different in Shaker days but I couldn't eat the pie. Sadly I pitched it. The custard was really lemony but too sweet at the same time. The pie was a mess but still I cherished the memories it evoked of brother Rodney and I working on the boxes in his shop. My thanks to the Shakers for their boxes, just not this pie.