Destination Anywhere

We went blueberry picking this weekend at one of our favorite farms, Honeypot Hill in Stowe. It was only the second day of blueberry picking, and there are hundreds of bushes with ripening berries that should go until late August. We picked four quarts in about an hour.

The kids have been nudging for some sweets at Chez Lose Five Pounds Before France, so I dug out a pie tin and Googled for a blueberry pie recipe. I settled on a Mark Bittman recipe, which he had gotten from Cooks Illustrated. It used the technique of pre-cooking half the berries, and adding a grated apple and some tapioca to the mixture to thicken things up a bit. I cheated with a Whole Foods frozen crust instead of making the one in the recipe. I like the WF crusts, since they bake up nice and crisp if you keep the oven temperature high. The only changes I made was cutting leaves instead of circles in the crust; and to finish at 375 instead of 350 to help the bottom crust crisp. Oh, and I am very glad I put the pie on a foil-lined cookie sheet, since man it made a mess as the filling bubbled over. Here's the recipe: http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2008/06/blueberry-pie.html

It was difficult keeping the Hungry Hoards away until the pie had rested for three hours. Worth the wait, and yes, I had a sliver and enjoyed every bite. Delicious, perfectly sweet without being cloying due to the lemon.The filling was still a bit runny, but much less so than other blueberry pies I've made.

Humn...Blueberry muffins tomorrow? I don't like muffins, (they always seemed to me like cakes that just didn't quite make it) so this should be safe.