This blueberry pie is one of my favorite "memory meals" from my grandmother. She taught me to eat it for breakfast, and to use Remy Martin cognac in the recipe. It's a true summer recipe with 4 cups of fresh Maine blueberries. She made it every year on Deer Isle. When I make this pie, I remember so many small and specific things about our time together. I make it now with Oregon blueberries from our backyard, which are not the same as Maine berries, but still delicious.
This week's full moon marks the Hungry Ghost Festival, the midpoint of Ghost Month in China, a time when the dead are present among us. Some shops close for the day, to leave space on the streets for the ghosts. Plates of fresh fruit and other foods are left out to nourish the ghosts, who are able to enjoy food and drink during this time. Public festivals and private meals set out chairs and table settings for the ghosts to join us. It is a way to hold space for the dead, to acknowledge their presence among us, whether our understanding of this is literal or symbolic.
In the past year of working on 1000 Moons, I've had many conversations about the importance of memory meals. Food is a powerful connection. Our physical bodies remember with all our senses, the smell, taste, appearance, motions, and sounds of preparing and consuming the food and drink we had enjoyed together. It can be a way to process loss without words, to process with our whole bodies, to celebrate, to reconnect, to grieve.
.
.
.
#1000moonsgriefprocess #oregonartist #portlandartist #pdxartist #griefritual #griefprocess #memorymeals #blueberrypie
6 months ago