From Garden to Table: Blueberry Pie II

Hi everybody! A couple of summers ago, I shared a recipe for a blueberry pie made using the blueberries grown in my garden. I'm back in the kitchen again this summer with an enthusiastic grin, baking yet another pie using the delicious homegrown berries from the same blueberry bushes.

I've been experimenting with pie crust recipes since that time, and at last I've found the pie crust of my dreams! It's from Martha Stewart and is the best recipe to use if you love a crisp, light crust - not too sweet or too salty.

Pate Brisse

Martha Stewart

Yield: 1 double crust pie

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt and sugar. Add butter, and using a pastry blender, process until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add half the ice water and mix with a large wooden spoon or your hands until the dough holds together without being wet or sticky. To test, squeeze a small amount together: if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. This dough may also be stored, frozen up to 1 month.

The filling I made is a standard recipe from my old, dogeared Fannie Farmer cookbook (pictured above):

Blueberry Pie Filling

1 quart blueberries, rinsed and stems removed
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Roll out one of your chilled disc-shaped pie doughs and transfer into the pie pan. Add the flour, sugar and salt to the blueberries in a large bow and mix well. Pour into your prepared pie pan.

Roll out the other chilled pie dough and place it over the pie, crimping the edges. Pierce the top crust. 

Bake at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting. 

Once my pie was assembled I used cookie cutters to cut shapes from the leftover pie dough and baked them separately from the pie. Just before serving I added the cut shapes to the top of the pie for a fun decorative touch. 

Thanks for looking!

From Garden To Table: Blueberry Pie

Summer fruit pie making season has arrived here in Oregon, and I have found myself daydreaming about blueberry pie.  Sweetened berries inside a buttery pastry crust...  Yum! 

When the blueberry bushes in our small backyard garden began to flower, I was already thinking about the various ways in which we could eat them - besides just picking them straight from the bush, which of course is a delight in itself.  But the amount of berries that are ripe and plump and ready to be picked is what determines what can be done with them. A few days ago I picked enough fruit to make a pie, thus turning my daydream into reality.

The berry yield I obtained was just over a quart - maybe 5 cups in all.  It was enough to make the 10 inch pie you see in the top photo, plus another, smaller 6 inch pie (not shown).  

I know that most pie crust recipes call for unsalted butter and white pastry flour, but I never have anything but salted butter and whole wheat pastry flour around my kitchen.  So when using salted butter I go easy on the amount of added salt, and just use the flour on hand.  Using this type of pastry flour produces a crust that is a bit thicker and heartier than one made with white flour, and I think it tastes every bit as good.

So, here's the recipe I came up with:

Whole Wheat Pie Crust

makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust pies

2-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 sticks salted butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water (about 2 ice cubes in the water is sufficient)

Measure the flour into a large bowl and add the salt and sugar.  Mix together.  Cut the butter into small pieces, adding to the flour mixture.  Work the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until it is pea size.  Add 4 T. of the ice water and use your hands to mix it together.  Mix thoroughly before adding any more water.  What you are looking for is the formation of a ball of dough that holds together well.  Once this is achieved, stop handling it and divide it in half.  Shape each half into a disk and place in plastic wrap.  Chill at least 1 hour, or overnight.  I prefer to prepare the dough the night before, then take it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour before 'pie time' in the morning.  (Coffee, anyone?)  

Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and rub some on your rolling pin. Shape, then roll 1 disk of dough into your desired circumference and place it into your pie plate.  The reason I like this recipe is that it makes a generous amount of crust.  Sometimes I like to make the 10 inch pie, then roll out the rest of the dough, place it on a baking sheet, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over it and bake it for an extra treat.

Once you have your dough shaped and placed into the bottom of your pie plate, put it in the refrigerator to keep the butter from melting too much, and make the filling:

Blueberry Pie Filling

yield 1 pie

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 quart blueberries, washed and stems removed

2 T. lemon juice

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar

Have berries ready in a large bowl.  Add the flour, lemon juice, and your desired amount of sugar and mix until the flour is distributed evenly.  

Let sit while you shape, then roll out your second disk of pastry into a top crust.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Stir the berries one more time, then fill the prepared bottom pie shell.  Place the top pastry over it, trim the excess, and press and crimp the edges together. Prick the top crust with a fork.  At this point if you think you've overworked the dough or if it is too soft, you could place the whole pie into the refrigerator until the dough firms up a bit more. 

Mix the egg and milk together, and brush this mixture over the top crust - this step isn't necessary, but it does make the pie a nice color.  

Bake at 425 degrees for twenty minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes.  Let cool completely before cutting.

Now, it's time to enjoy your freshly baked summer fruit pie.  And since it is summer, what better place to share it than a nice cool shady spot in your own back yard?

What is your favorite summer pie you enjoy baking?   

          

From Garden To Table: Leek And Potato Soup

    Welcome back to another season of From Garden To Table, where I share ideas for cooking with the seasonal foods grown in my small backyard garden.  Today, we'll be making Leek And Potato Soup, using the chives from my herb bed.

Chives, also known as Allium Schoenoprasum, are related to the onion family; this hearty perennial herb is very easy to grow.  For the first two or three seasons its size will increase, until, before you know it, there is an abundance of beautiful long slender leaves.  It also produces very pretty purple flowers that make a colorful bouquet for the table.  

Here is what you'll need for this recipe:

2 T. oil
3 to 5 leeks (about 6 cups sliced)
3 russet potatoes
1 - 32 ounce package chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup unsweetened soy or rice milk
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper 
a small bunch of chives

- Wash and trim the leeks - you only want to use the white and light green parts. Cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/4" slices.  

- In a large soup pot, heat the oil and cook the leeks until tender, 6-8 minutes.

- Meanwhile, wash, peel and dice the potatoes.

- Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and water to the cooked leeks.  

- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. 

- Remove from heat and let cool.

- Puree small batches, about 2-3 cups at a time, in a blender, pouring each batch back into the cooking pot as it's blended.  (For this I use a large glass measuring cup and a slotted spoon.)

- Stir in the soy or rice milk and add the nutmeg.  Season with salt and pepper.

- Garnish with chives and serve warm or chilled.  

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this soup - it's a family favorite around here.

From Garden to Table: Greek Salad

    There is a planting box in my garden that is full of a variety of herbs, especially oregano.  Lots of oregano.  It has practically taken over the herb bed, and the bees love it - they flit in and out of my yard all day long, loving that oregano.  My first thought about how I would use this herb when I planted it was this Greek Salad.  The freshness of the herb gives this salad a bright summery taste!

This recipe is one I found here on the internet a very long time ago and I did not write down the source, but what I really liked about it is that, for the most part, it doesn't have any specific amounts of any of the ingredients.  It's unpretentious - just throw these things together and enjoy!

Greek Salad

3-4 tomatoes

onion

1 cucumber

feta cheese

olive oil

salt

kalamata olives

oregano

Cut the tomatoes, onion and cucumber in slices.  Mix them, add salt.  Add pieces of feta, oregano, olives, and at the end pour some olive oil.    That's it!   

Thanks for looking, and next week let's talk about art!

From Garden to Table: Blueberry Kuchen

This Kuchen, or Quick Coffee Cake, is a recipe from my well worn copy of the "Joy Of Cooking" cookbook, and one I've been baking for quite a while.  It's quick because it does not involve yeast, yet it is a light cake that can be sweetened to your taste.  I've always chosen fresh fruit for the topping, and now that I have a garden, it makes perfect sense to use what I've grown.

This recipe calls for a 9 x 9-inch pan, however I have a favorite rectangular baking pan that is approximately 7 1/2" x 11" x 1", of which you can see roughly half of in the photo below.  The frosting is not part of the recipe, just an idea of Jimmy's that I thought was brilliant, and it too is from "Joy of Cooking".

I think it's safe to say that after three years, the blueberry bushes in my garden are now established.  This summer is the best yield thus far, and it makes me joyful to see so many fat plump berries just waiting to be picked. It's fun brainstorming ideas for how to prepare and eat them, and of course they are delicious right off the bush. 

Here's the recipe for both the Kuchen and the Quick White Icing:

(I used my KitchenAid mixer for these.)

Kuchen

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together:

  1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

Cream until soft in a large bowl:

  1/4 cup butter

Add gradually and cream until light:

  1/4 to to 1/2 cup sugar (I use honey instead of sugar - about 1/4 cup)

Beat in:

  1 egg

  2/3 cup milk (I have substituted soy or rice milk, and either works fine)

Add the sifted ingredients to the butter mixture.

Add:

  Either 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir the batter until smooth. Spread into a greased 9 x 9" pan. Cover with fresh fruits of your choice. Bake about 25 minutes. 

Quick White Icing

Yield: 1 cup which is more than enough for this lattice top - half this recipe will be just the right amount.

Cream together:

  2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

  1/4 cup soft butter

Add and beat until smooth:

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  3 to 4 tablespoons milk

If the icing is too thin, add more:

  Confectioner's sugar

If too thick, add:

  A little cream

What recipes do you enjoy making from the items in your garden?  

From Garden to Table: Nasturtiums

It's the beginning of summer here in the northern hemisphere, and today I am excited to share with you one of my first garden harvests of the season - nasturtium flowers.

Nasturtium flowers have a crunchy texture and at first taste sweet, followed by a peppery taste similar to a radish.  Both the petals and the leaves contain vitamin C and iron, and the leaves are also said to have antibiotic properties.

When I first planted these Empress of India seeds back in March, I noticed on the package that it said 'great in salads' and was immediately intrigued by the idea.  If you have nasturtiums growing in your garden, and you haven't tasted them, I would encourage you to give them a try!