Coconut Pie — Something Sweet for a Week That Asked Everything of Me

Travis and Jolene's daughter Daisy Mae is born. Craig now has three grandchildren. He holds Daisy in one arm and helps Earl Thomas (age 3) climb onto his lap with the other. His back screams. He doesn't care.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

Daisy Mae came into the world this week, and I held her while Earl Thomas climbed up on my lap and my back hollered at me the whole time — and I did not care one bit. That’s the kind of full a man gets that food can’t quite touch, but it can try. Connie had the oven going anyway, the jam jars cooling on the counter, and somewhere in that same warmth she put together this coconut pie — nothing fancy, nothing that needed explaining, just sweet and done right. After a week like this one, that’s exactly what the table called for.

Coconut Pie

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat your oven to 350°F. Set the unbaked pie shell in a 9-inch pie pan and crimp the edges if they need it.
2. Mix the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the beaten eggs and sugar until well combined. Stir in the melted butter, milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
3. Add coconut. Fold in the shredded coconut, making sure it’s evenly distributed through the filling.
4. Fill the shell. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell. Give the pan a gentle shake to level it out.
5. Bake. Place on the center rack and bake for 45—50 minutes, until the center is just set and the top is golden brown. A knife inserted near the center should come out clean.
6. Cool before slicing. Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting. It slices cleanest when fully cooled to room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 210mg