It Ain’t Over ‘Till the Pie Bird Sings

            We’re packing out to go and live the second half of our summer in Tunis.  Going together to Tunis, all four of us,  is the carrot, but counting down all of the “lasts” of our Lummi summer is sad.  We’ve got the last times to see family and friends we love.

The last pull of the crab pots.

The last time to watch the Alaska ferry cruise past our house into the sunset with its load of adventurous passengers destined to witness the Inside Passage.   

We gasped this week realizing that we hadn’t yet had our fill of blueberries, one berry we won’t get in Tunis this year. 

This pie is in honor of all the beautiful things we will be saying goodbye to this week. 

All-butter Pie Pastry

From Rustic Fruit Desserts (Schreiber, Richardson)

Makes four 9-inch pie shells

5 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

2 cups ( 1 pound) cold unsalted butter

1 cup ice water

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

     Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, stir to combine, then put the bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes, until super cold.

     Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes, then add it to the flour mixture and toss to evenly coat.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, food processor, electric mixer, or your hands, just until the mixture becomes course and crumbly ad the butter is about the size of peas.

     Stir the water and lemon juice together, then drizzle over the dry ingredients, 1/3 cup at a time, tossing with a fork to distribute the liquid.  The pastry will be shaggy, but should hold together when squeezed in the palm of your hand; if not, add an additional teaspoon or two of ice water.  

     Dump the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and press down on the dough, folding it over on itself a few times until it holds together.  Thy not to handle it too much or it will warm up and may become overdeveloped.  Divide the pastry int 4 equal parts and shape each piece into a disk, 1 inch thick.  Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

    

Blueberry Pie

adapted from Kingston Hotel Cafe Cookbook (Weinstock)

1/2 recipe all-butter pie pastry

6 cups blueberries

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

     Prepare all-butter pie pastry and line a 9 inch pie pan, reserving some dough for the top crust.  Chill reserved dough.

     In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients except the butter.  Pour into the pastry-lined pie pa.  Dot the top of the fruit with the butter.

     Roll out the top crust.  Wet the rim of the bottom crust with ice water and place the top crust over the berries.  Turn the edges under and crimp.  Make little slits in the top of the crust or cut a small circle to insert over the top of a pie bird to allow steam to escape while baking.

     Place the pie in the center of a parchment covered baking sheet. 

     Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for about 45 minutes.  Cover edges with aluminum foil if browning too quickly.  Uncover, then bake for another 30 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown and the juices are thick and bubbling out the top.