My husband is a writer for Broadway World. It’s his second job, and it pays in tickets. He previews or reviews shows and is rewarded with tickets. Because of this, we’ve gotten to see a lot of fantastic shows that we otherwise might not have. Tonight, we’re going to see “I Hate Hamlet,” a comedy play presented by our local theater. I’m really looking forward to an evening out with my favorite guy.
Since my teenage daughter has an overnight at church, we needed to make plans for our 11 year old. He’s responsible enough to stay home, but we thought he’d enjoy being with a friend more, so we asked for a favor from our friends down the street, who have a son his age.
I offered to pay them in wine and pie, so although I’m not sure if they were originally planning to say yes or not, they did. So grateful for helpful, kind friends, and I’m also grateful for an excuse to make pie.
I’m making a cherry pie, and I chose the flavor for the number one reason that I usually do: I had the stuff already. It’s a Crumble Top Berry Ganache Pie, so “the stuff” is one pie crust, one can of cherry pie filling, some fresh blackberries, and the crumble ingredients (brown and white sugars, unsalted butter, and flour). The ganache is just made of white chocolate and half and half. Not a tough pie to make, but hopefully delicious.
Have you ever read the label of cherry pie filling (or anything that contains cherries)? Sometimes there’s sugar or flavorings added, but you can always count on reading this phrase:
MAY CONTAIN PITS.
Or on this particular can of filling:
Pits are one of those things that have a purpose, but sometimes end up where you don’t want them to be. When I’m biting into a cherry, a peach, or a plum, the last thing I want is for the pit to be a surprise (for my teeth!). Inevitably, I make some disappointed sound and my hand instinctively goes to my mouth. I mean, I know it’s there, and I know why–without it, all that delicious flesh would just fall apart, I guess, and would never have grown in the first place. Still, it’s shocking, for a moment, to bite into something hard, when you expected something soft and sweet. Without fail, though, I instantly forgive the pit and keep eating the juicy fruit.
I’m sure anybody could come up with something in life that seems like “the pits.” For me, it’s the fact that my doctor has declared, for now, that I have to stop eating all sugar, grains, corn, legumes, potatoes, soy, and a bunch of other deliciousness. There are very good reasons, he knows what he’s talking about, and after 10 days, I already feel better, but still…SUGAR. Man, I love sugar.
Anyway, for a pie maker, it might seem like the end–running into this PIT. But when I started to make this first pie (after the doc’s decree), I realized the sweet truth.
Forgiving the “pit” of not being able to eat it the pie is easy when I consider the sweetness of creating something wonderful to say thanks to dear friends. 
I found something else interesting when I was doing a little pit research. (What? The internet has everything, right?) All of these fruits MUST have their pits to turn into delicious, beautiful, and useful things.
Well, that’ll preach. When you bite into one of life’s “pits,” it’s unsettling for sure, but eventually, if you can forgive the pit, forget the pain, and move on, it helps you grow into something beautiful and useful.
I’ll take that any day over a pit-less life that bears nothing beautiful or useful.
The Berry Ganache Pie is gonna need ice cream. It’s pretty wet-looking right now, because it just came out of the oven, and I decided to drizzle some more of the white chocolate ganache on top. If it’s gonna be cobbler-esque anyway, it might as well be more chocolatey.
fortyandtwentyblackbirds 