Pie.

In the basement of our dorm building there is an itty bitty community kitchen. There's an oven and a microwave; a fridge and sometimes a spatula. On a good day there may be a lone knife and a semi-clean cookie sheet. I'm oh so grateful for this tiny, dark (likely unsanitary) cooking space, but I would be lying if I said I didn't I miss the comfort of spending the day in a real kitchen. A kitchen with piles of dishes in the sink and sunlight streaming onto the granite countertops. And so I binged. While I was in California I spent nearly three full days in the kitchen. I baked and cooked and baked some more.

My mom is an amazing cook. Every night growing up we had a homemade meal on the table. She always wanted to experiment with new foods. She may not be gourmet, but she is incredible at what she does. Anyway, her specialty is pie crust. Throughout my childhood I watched as my talented mother won multiple awards and ample praise for her perfectly flaky, golden-brown pie crust. And so whenever I needed to make a pie, I asked my mom to make the crust for me. It was a simple understanding. If there was pie, there was also my mom.

Except now I'm in college. And my mom isn't here to make the pie crust for me (or clean my room or make my dinner). So I decided it was high time I finally learn how to make my mom's world famous (because I said so) pie crust and apple pie.

I was pretty proud of myself. (Though I won't pretend it was as good or pretty as my mom's)

Madeline was helping every step of the way. I'm quite certain I found a very talented future baker.

My aunt's neighbor, Dublin also came over to help with the pie making factory. (thank goodness) By the end of Day 2 in the kitchen we had collectively made 12 pies. *Drops the baking mic*

At the end of the day, 36 (ish) people showed up for Thanksgiving dinner and there were plenty of mouths to consume the plentiful pies we made. I'm so grateful that even though these people were mostly strangers, Thanksgiving still managed to be relaxing and filled my heart with love. Thanksgiving is about good food, good people, and being thankful together; even though I'm sad I couldn't be with my family in DC, this Thanksgiving certainly fit that bill.