Ever since I tasted Penny's pie at her home, I have been pondering the pie crust. When a call came from the organizer of a fund-raiser at Fremont Elementary School inviting me to a parent/child pumpkin pie baking class taught by Penny, I was thrilled. Then I realized that the date of the event conflicted with a long-planned trip. Bob agreed to take my place. He arrived in the auditorium/cafeteria at Fremont bright and early on a recent Saturday morning with my notebook and camera.
He was warmly greeted by the event organizer Kim McComas. I became acquainted with Kim by e-mail. She wrote to me about an orange cake she wanted to re-create for her husband's birthday. As we reviewed the details of the pie class after the event, I arranged to interview her family. Next week I'll write about my visit with the McComas family.
Penny began the Fremont pie class with a demonstration. As she worked, she invited the children to help her. Kim wrote, "Penny, was very kid-friendly and involved each kid in the making of her demonstration pies, getting them to measure out the vanilla, stir the mixture, or roll the dough. They were listening intently as she spoke about the health benefits of using honey in the pumpkin pie instead of sugar, and using non-hydrogenated oil in the crust. I really liked her guilt-free attitude towards adding a dollop of whipped cream to the top of the pie, as long as its wholesome cream sweetened with organic cane sugar and the eater of the pie maintains an active lifestyle."
