Books We Love Insider Blog: Lemon Meringue Pie

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Vinegar Pie for the Holidays, Anyone? by S. L. Carlson

I am S. L. Carlson, a proud and grateful BWL Publishing Inc. author. My books can be viewed and purchased by visiting https://www.bookswelove.net/carlson-s-l

Being in the midst of (or between) holiday cooking and eating, of course, I need to address the issue of food, both in reality, but also in stories.

Throughout my books, people eat. So do unicorns and trolls. But what food do they eat, you may wonder? Would it taste delicious? Bland? Awful? Writing/Reading about sensory experiences help to remove the reader from their reality and place the reader into the novel’s presence.

Here is from War Unicorn: The Ring. Aldric is our hero; Neighbor is the unicorn.

“Aldric, stop.”

“What?”

“Your wish did not come true.”

Aldric froze, thinking about that for a moment. He released a mighty sigh and dropped cross-legged on the ground, slapping his palms to his cheeks and elbows to his knees. Neighbor yanked more grass and chewed it. His own stomach growled. He pulled up some grass himself and chewed it, spitting it right back out.

“How you can eat that stuff?”

“Carrots taste better,” Neighbor answered.

“Maybe I should wish for carrots, then. Is that a wish that would work?”

Neighbor shook her head and neighed a laugh.

What memory of a taste is vivid for you? What delicious food would you wish for? For me, it’s my grandmother’s lemon meringue pie.

My grandmother made the best lemon meringue pie I have ever-ever tasted. Ever since she died, I’ve tried eating and making dozens over the years, always hoping for that precious Grandmother’s Lemon Meringue Pie Taste. Grandmother was a farmer’s wife, plump and jolly. She was not a cookbook cook. She was a cook-and-taste-it cook. So, following her death, I continue my trial-and-error quest for that most tasty memory.

Interesting fact: Pre-electricity/refrigeration, citrus fruits were not available year-round in history, nor, naturally, in fantasy worlds, if you follow the rule of science/nature. So what did people actually use in pies when lemons weren’t in season? In case you skimmed over the title of this post: THEY USED VINEGAR!

Now your first reaction is probably similar to what my first reaction was -- vinegar: ugh! But in light of having written vinegar pies into one of my historical novels, I do what I always do. I make the dish so I can taste it and then describe it better in my novels than just using my imagination; for my first imagination-thought of vinegar pie was ugh!

It took me about twelve tries, tweeking here, tweeking there, to come up with a vinegar pie recipe which I really, really and actually do like. And today I will share it here with you readers because I really, really and actually do like you.

If you are brave enough to try this recipe, let me know if you love the pie or go ugh. I’m counting on the former. Happy holidays, with wishes for tasty treats.