Marianne Clay: Writer and Editor

Pie Rambling by Marianne Clay Published in Central PA Magazine in 2017 Marianne Clay What is it about pie? Sensual and maternal, sweet and savory, homemade pie hits all the right buttons. Growing up, I didn’t want cake for my birthday; I wanted my mother’s apple pie. She’d oblige, but after my summer birthday. Come fall and the arrival of just picked apples, she’d sit on the black kitchen stool with a green ceramic bowl nestling on her lap. Then, wielding a chilled silver fork, she’d combine Fluffo shortening with flour, salt, and a little ice water. The wonderful ritual of baking a sumptuous apple pie had begun. Today, I still prefer pie to cake, and, when I seek a luscious, low-cost adventure, I go on a pie ramble. That’s a hunt for good pie while enjoying side trips through rolling farmland, little towns, urbanscapes, and, of course, the unexpected. To foster that happy feeling of spontaneity, I don’t plan much. I begin this pie ramble where I live, in Lancaster. I choo...