Gratitude, Part 1

                       

I'm back....with strawberry pie!! 

These next three blog posts all came from a Thank You meal that I prepared for some close friends who helped me make my move to Kansas City last July (yes, I realize that this meal is slightly overdue). After extending the invite to my friends, I started brainstorming a menu and decided on a springtime feast. After a trip to the farmers market and grocery store (the fridge was pretty barren after my last round of final exams for school), I had everything I needed: fresh strawberries, asparagus, new potatoes, curly parsley, red onions, homegrown zucchinis, etc...

I'm starting this series with the dessert recipe because I prepared the pie the night before (and because it's always fun to have dessert first!). I used two recipes, one for the crust (Mollie Katzen's, The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest), and one for the filling (the Mennonite Central Committee's, Simply in Season).

Simple Pie Crust

(Adapted from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen)

Yields one 9 or 10 inch pie crust

6 tbsp. cold vegetable shortening (can use butter if you want; if using shortening, make sure it's non-hydrogenated)

1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour

4 tbsp. cold water

Extra flour for rolling out the dough

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix the flour and shortening (or butter) using a food processor or a pastry cutter. Mix until dough has a sandy/grainy texture. Slowly add the water, stirring until the mixture sticks together. Ball the dough up and then roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.

Transfer the crust to a 10-inch pie pan. Trim the edges of the crust so they don't flop over the side of the pan. Using a fork or knife, pierce the crust 10 times. If desired, flute the edges using your hands or by pressing with a fork.

Bake the crust in the 400F oven for 10-12 minutes. If using butter, the crust will turn golden brown. If using shortening, the crust will remain more cream colored. Remove from oven and let cool.

Strawberry Pie Filling

(Adapted from the MCC's, Simply in Season)

Yields one pie

1 c. sugar

3 tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. mashed strawberries

1/2 c. water

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add the mashed strawberries and water and stir. Cook over medium heat, until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and refrigerate the hot fruit mixture until cool (about 30 minutes, removing and stirring occasionally). 

4 c. whole strawberries (or if large, cut in half)

While fruit mixture is cooling, cut the remaining strawberries and place in large bowl. Once the cooked fruit mixture is cooled, fold into the large bowl with prepared strawberries. Stir until just combined. Pour the strawberry mixture into the cool crust and refrigerate for at least three hours.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: The pie turned out a little runny. We ate it and enjoyed it anyway, but I would increase the corn starch to try to avoid this sweet problem :)