Ozarks Alive Publisher Kaitlyn McConnell has me fired up about trying my hand at pie-making again.

Since receiving her new book, “The Ozarks Pie Project Diary,” I’ve wanted to tell everyone who will listen, “Hey! You’ve got to see this book! You won’t believe what Kaitlyn did!”

I myself find it difficult to get my head around.

About two years ago, Kaitlyn began baking one pie a week from recipes in vintage Ozarks community cookbooks that she’s collected over the years. “The Ozarks Pie Project Diary” is the result.

I’ll readily admit that I’m not an experienced pie-maker. I could probably count the product of such endeavors on two hands. I can whip up a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies or a chocolate-buttermilk cake when called upon. But pies? Pies require patience, a virtue I’m short on. For me, pie-making can be classified as an event: a once-a-year foray into a realm requiring skills that should rightfully be practiced weekly, if not daily.

My Dad, who hails from a family of 11 children (including a little boy who died at age 2) tells me my Grandma used to bake six pies every week! Every member of the family got a full half-pie, he said. My Dad’s favorite was Raisin: a commodity available during WWII, when certain other foods were rationed.

A recipe for Raisin Pie is included in Kaitlyn McConnell’s book. So, too, are other recipes that give a nod to women who made pies with what they had on hand.

In the Ozarks, where tomatoes grow prolifically, a recipe for Green Tomato Pie indicates that alternatives to frying existed for putting the last fruit of the season to use. Buttermilk Pie has similar origins.

What folks lacked in fruit, they made up for with milk and eggs. The result is now a southern classic, one I’d never tasted until I moved to the Ozarks.

A couple of weeks ago, I broached the possibility of the Cassville Democrat hosting a pie-luncheon/book-signing event for Kaitlyn, to spotlight her new pie book. Kyle and Jordan Troutman were instantly onboard. The next day, our pie-luncheon idea blossomed into the Barry County Bake Off and Dessert Benefit Auction, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Crowder College Community Building at 4020 Main Street, in Cassville.

Part contest, all benefit, the proceeds from the Dessert Auction will go to the Cassville Food Pantry and The Generations Project, a new non-profit in Cassville, formed, in part, to relieve local food insecurity.

Our plan is to serve a light dinner beginning at 5 p.m., for $5 per person. We have live music lined up from keyboard/vocalist Cindy Edwards and her bass-playing husband, Scott Edwards.

Kaitlyn McConnell will be here to speak about the history of Ozarks pie suppers and her own personal pie-making journey. She’ll bring copies of her new book along, so be ready to snap some up for Christmas gifts!

Beginning about 6 p.m., Cassville Auctioneer Donnie Stumpff will auction off “Best in Show” contest entries in pie and cake categories after they’re judged. He’ll also auction the donated pies and cakes of residents who don’t want their efforts judged: people like me.

I’m still trying to decide what kind of pie I’d like to make.

I wanted to try my hand at Gooseberry Pie. Christy Holenda, at Rusty Gate Flea Market — a sponsor of our Bake Off — told me a Gooseberry Pie brought over $100 at a recent dessert benefit auction at Paradise Valley Resort.

Apparently, gooseberries were in season, then. Now, they’re nowhere to be found — not even canned gooseberries, and not even online. I checked. One website listed a price of $11.99 a can, but even those were out of stock. Let this be an indication to grow yourselves some gooseberries next spring!

I guess I’ll settle for making a Cherry Pie, a kind I never cared for when I was younger. They were too sweet, I thought, and the flavor of the almond extract typically included was off-putting to me. But a few months ago, I got my first taste of a Tart Cherry Pie. All I can say is “Wow!”

We’ll see if I can emulate it – minus the almond extract, of course.

Sheila Harris is a long-time Barry County resident and a sales executive and investigative reporter for the Cassville Democrat with a particular interest in environmental and human-interest topics. She may be reached at sheilaharrisads@gmail. com.