Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-manner-of-speaking/5024696/
It started with a pie, well, a whole table of pies. Cherry, apple, pecan, strawberry, pumpkin, blueberry, marionberry (the best berry pie ever) and hazelnut. The pie auction was a fundraiser for Food Roots and White Clover Grange in Mohler, Oregon (yes, I have written about the Grange before), and Roger and I were there to support these organizations by buying a pie. Which one should we choose?
After much discussion we decided on pie #17, Brown Butter Hazelnut, baked by Vickie Hardin Woods, because it came with a story:
Vickie Hardin Woods, the Pie Lady of Salem, baked a pie and gave it away every day between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014. At the Oregon State Fair that summer, her Brown Butter Hazelnut Pie won Best of Show for baked goods. The judges gave bonus points for the use of local hazelnuts. They described the pie as a “nice balance of flavors, toasty and sweet ... baked to a deep golden brown perfection.”
We shared our pie to make some new friends, and when it was finished and we turned the pie plate over, there was a business card with Vickie’s information. I went to her ...