A Bucket of Berries
Early summer is the best time to devour fresh, ripe berries. Our July issue shares a quick and easy recipe for blueberry yogurt pops. (Do you make homemade popsicles, pudding pops, and the like? It seems so simple with a mold, but my daughter is not very into cold things.)
My favorite use of fresh blueberries is this double-crust blueberry pie. I took bits of pieces of other recipes to create this one, where delicious, ripe blueberries meld with a fresh burst of lemon. So find yourself a pick-your-own farm or pick up a few pints at a farmer's market. Spend an afternoon in the kitchen teaching your son or daughter how to craft a pie from hand.
I won't tell if you use refrigerated pie crusts. I always do.
Blueberry-Lemon Pie
2 pie crusts, homemade or the refrigerated kind
2 to 2 1/2 pints fresh blueberries, stemmed and washed
1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 T butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg white, beaten (optional)
Spray the bottom of a deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together blueberries, zest of the lemon, juice of half the lemon, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into the pie crust and spread out evenly. Dot the top with pieces of butters. Place the second crust over the top and crimp the edges together. Cut a few slits into the crust.
Optional: Brush the top with egg white for a good brown color. If you do this though you will need to check the pie after 30 minutes. If it's getting too brown, cover the edges with aluminum foil.
Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until the crust is brown and the filling is set. Let cool before serving.
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For the rest of the berries exploding around you, you could try:
— Jessie, resident blogger
What's your favorite berry recipe?
