Sweetie's Pie

My Sweetie is always appreciative when I bake, but he really, really likes fruit pies. We have been hard at work on replacing the old front porch, although we are keeping the old railing and the same footprint, so it won't look that much different. We now have a support post near the house on the baking center wall and another one at the end of the porch roof beam, near the stairs, instead of the single beam that cut up the space before. Not only does that look better, but it should make it easier to use the space, maybe by moving the wicker couch and chair outside to join my rocking chair. A lot of the wood you see here will be replaced with treated lumber or redwood. There will be extra flashing and plenty of fasteners. Sweetie builds for the ages.

Anyway, all of this fixing up is a lot of work, especially for Sweetie. A couple of days ago I took some berry baskets down the driveway while he was down there feeding Merlin. We both filled up a pint basket and I went back later and filled another one. What we were picking are the olallieberries that grow near the road. They are plentiful right now and big and fat with juice and berry flavor. Once they are finished it won't be long before we have an overload of blackberries, so it promises to be a berry good season. It's also going the be a great one for morning glories in my garden, thanks to my thoughtful daughter who sent me seeds. Here's today's beauty:

The reason I needed so many berries was because I made Sweetie a mixed berry pie. To those ripe and juicy berries I added some strawberries from our local farm stand and some blueberries from Fresno. Local blueberries usually come in in July.

There really isn't a recipe for this pie because I didn't measure the ingredients. I made sure that I had enough berries to pile high in the pie pan, mixed together some flour, sugar and corn starch ( about 1/2 cup each for the first two and about 2 tablespoons of corn starch, then added some ground nutmeg, perhaps a teaspoonful, and about 1/2 teaspoon of dried and pulverized orange zest. I sprinkled this dry mixture over the mixed up berries and then tossed the berries gently with my clean hands to coat the berries with the mixture, then lined the pie pan with ReadyCrust pie dough from the store, dumped in the berry mixture and distributed it in the pan with the middle higher than the edges, folded the excess pie dough towards the center, swabbed the dough with milk, then sprinkled on some sanding sugar. That all takes only a few minutes once the berries are picked.

I had preheated the oven while I prepped the berries and put the pie together. The top rack had a pizza stone on it, so it took a while to get up to 400 degrees F. I baked the pie at 400 for 15 minutes, then turned the oven down to 350 degrees and baked it another 15 minutes. The filling was bubbly, the crust was golden brown and it smelled heavenly.

After dinner we had a portion each, but it was still too warm to actually have a slice. The next day the filling had cooled, so it was slicable and seemed to taste even better! There is one piece left for Sweetie to enjoy after working on the porch. It might taste even better than the rest.

If you find yourself with a lot of berries or with a Sweetie who loves pie, consider making this pie, too. If you need a real recipe, the Internet is full of them. Most of all, enjoy the sweetness of early summer berries while they last.

In case you think that we only eat baked goods, here's what I had for breakfast the same day:

Happy Birthday Bumbleberry Pie

I love round number birthdays! There is something about starting a new decade in your life that adds zest to the day and makes it worth blowing out all those candles.

Sweeties' sister's hubby had his 70th birthday party last weekend and a good time was had by all as far as I could tell. There were in-laws like us and children from both sides of a blended family, their children, niece and nephew and their son, Sweetie's namesake, plus his grandparents and some good friends, too. Lots of excellent food and drink, conversation and laughter. I enjoyed some time with the two year olds and their parents as the little ones propelled their trikes up and down the block.



















My contribution to the feast was a bumble berry free form pie since the birthday boy enjoys pies. I picked some of the ollallaberries down by the road, added some fresh raspberries and strawberries from the store and dolled it up with some minced mint, also found down in the lower field. Under all the berries I had a layer of ricotta which I had mixed with egg and a little flour and sugar.

It helped soak up the great berry juices.

Once the crust had been folded over the filling and secured with some water, I sprinkled sparkle sugar around the edge for crunch and shine.

My tart was enjoyed, but the best desserts were brought by a daughter-in-law of the birthday boy. She made a fantastic cheesecake...the crust had macadamia nuts and the filling was rich and smooth and creamy. She also brought a strawberry-rhubarb pie that was delicious with a light, flaky crust that had a combination of butter and organic, non-trans-fat shortening in the crust. Parties like that make it worth turning 70, right?

Bumbleberry Freeform Pie

A bumbleberry pie is one with a mixture of berries…you can use any combination of blackberries, blueberries, marionberries, strawberries, raspberries, ollalaberries, etc. I used about a cup each of ollalaberries and strawberries and about ¾ cup of raspberries. This recipe will, by nature, be a bit general about amounts. It’s pretty hard to mess up this recipe, so relax and throw in what looks good, pile it up, fold over the crust and enjoy some summer goodness.

flaky pie crust dough – enough for single pie crust. I used Pillsbury Ready Crust due to time constraints, but your favorite single crust recipe or half of your favorite double crust recipe is even better

about 3 cups mixed fresh berries, rinsed and patted dry. If using strawberries, hull them and slice.
¼ teaspoon minced fresh mint (optional)

1cup ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg or ¼ cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Water to seal the folds of the crust

Sparkle sugar (optional)

On a lightly floured surface or board, roll out the crust until it is about 15 inches in diameter. It will be thin, but that is OK. Transfer, using your rolling pin, to a large cookie sheet or pizza pan. Since there will often be sticky juice seeping onto the pan, you might line it with baking parchment paper or foil.

Mix the berries together gently (and the mint if using) just to combine.

Spread about half of the ricotta mixture in the center of the dough and out to a diameter of about 8 or 9 inches. Top the ricotta area with the berries, mounding slightly in the center.
Fold the rest of the crust up and over the berries, pleating and folding the dough as needed to fit. There will usually be uncovered berries in the center…that’s OK.

Brush some water on the fold and press gently to stick the folds together. Run a wet brush around the edge and sprinkle with the sugar is using.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes until the crust is browned and berries are bubbly. Cool the pie still in the pan, placing the pan on a wire rack.

Once cool, carefully slide the pie onto a serving plate. If your baking sheet has sides, you may need to have assistance and use two wide spatulas (pancake turners) to transfer the pie to the serving plate.

Serve as soon as possible so that the bottom crust won’t get soggy. This is great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.