Fresh Strawberries

Yesterday we picked the sweetest, most juicy strawberries I've had in a long time. They were even pretty, which makes me wish I had taken pictures to show you. Too late now, since the berries are gone. Yes, we picked berries yesterday and they are all gone today. That tells you how good they were.

I am very careful not to buy too many. This comes from the memory of picking strawberries when I was about 8 or 9 years old. We had so many berries it was ridiculous. We made preserves, froze some and ate lots of homemade strawberry ice cream. We even gave it away, but it seemed to multiply and never run out. We were all very tired of strawberries when it was finally used up.

Fresh strawberry pie was on my mind yesterday, so I made one for dessert last night. We usually have dessert only on weekends, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use those freshly picked berries in a pie. I am somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to food, therefore there are not pictures of the pie. The taste was absolutely delicious, but the look was less than desirable. The recipe is simple and has few ingredients. I will share it with you and tell you what my mistake was.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 pie crust, baked
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 C sugar (I used less since the berries were so good)
3 T cornstarch
1/4 C water
1/2 C whipping cream

directions

1. Cut and remove the top leaves from the strawberries.
2. If the strawberries are large, cut them I half or quarters.
3. Arrange the 1/2 the strawberries in the baked pie shell.
4. Cut the other 1/2 up and put in a sauce pan.
5. Add the sugar and bring to a boil.
6. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the water and add to the cooking strawberry sauce.
7. Stir the sauce often, and when it becomes thick and clear, remove from the heat.
8. Pour the sauce over the strawberries and place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours or until firm.
9. When ready to serve, whip the cream or use a can of whipped cream to decorate the edges of the pie.
10. For an easy alternative, if you don't have so many strawberries, you can also use a cup of strawberry jam, heat it and add the cornstarch as well.


There was a crust recipe included also, but I did not use it. I opted to use one of those Keebler Ready Crust that you find in the baking aisle. I chose shortbread. My mistake came in not allowing the sauce to cool enough before pouring over the berries in the crust. Cooling is probably not a big deal if you use a regular pie crust, but with shortbread it makes a difference. To make it worse I put that plastic lid on before placing it in the refrigerator. This created a good deal of moisture and slowed down the setting process. The final product was tasty, but did not hold together well when transferred to a plate. I will definitely be making this again, especially since J did not eat any. In fact, I think we will pick more berries next week and purchase rhubarb to add to the sauce. Mmmmm. Doesn't that sound good? So, find some fresh berries and make a tasty treat for your family. Enjoy!