Olivia and I added blueberry picking to our summer agenda in June but we didn't make it to the blueberry field until mid August. I hadn't picked blueberries since I was a kid and it was Olivia's first time. I was quickly reminded how time consuming this type of harvesting can be but with the little blondie by my side, what could have been tedium turned into a good time. We picked what we thought would be just enough berries to make a pie and then headed back to the Mercer Slough Blueberry Farm U-Pick counter to pay for our bounty.
When I began looking for a blueberry pie recipe online, I knew I wanted a pie that did not have a crust on top. I found this recipe and decided to run with it. What a good choice! Not only was the recipe super easy to execute; it called for 5 cups of blueberries, which was exactly how many blueberries Olivia and I picked. It was cooking kismet for sure.
Ingredients:
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold water
3 Tbsp cornstarch
5 cups fresh blueberries; divided
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 pastry shell, 9 inches, baked
In a saucepan on medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water until smooth. Add 3 cups of blueberries. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, butter and remaining 2 cups of blueberries. Stir until butter is melted. Cool. Pour into pastry shell.
Refrigerate until serving. Makes 8 servings.
As a side note, I used Silly Zak's Pie Crust which is an all-natural pie crust that is gluten free, wheat free, non-GMO, and preservative free. The company is based out of Central Point, Oregon.
Recipe Source:
tasteofhome.com
(originally published in Country Magazine June/July 1999, page 49)
