Pie #51: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Pie (Bumbleberry Pie)

Wow, I love this pie!  Let me list three reasons why:

1. I felt resourceful making it - it used up all the extra fruits in my fridge.  (Indeed, bumbleberries do not exist in the wild!)
2. The mixture of fruit flavors felt like a circus on my tongue.
3. The crunch topping was just delightful.

We took the pie to our friends' house for dinner, and it was a hit!  There was even arm wrestling discussed to determine the lucky winner of the last piece! (In the end a fair splitting occurred.)

The initial bumbleberry idea came from this website: http://andreadekker.com/bumbleberry-pie/.  However, the recipe I used actually came from a mixture of my earlier blueberry pie and strawberry rhubarb pie.  I think the clove and berry flavors are delightful, and when combined with the tangy rhubarb....Wow!  Just Wow!

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Bumbleberry Pie

Ingredients:
1 pie crust

filling:
4 c. (heaping) mixed fruit - apples, rhubarb, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.
2/3 c. sugar
7 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. cinnamon
3 shakes ground cloves
3 T. water
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla

topping:
1/2 c. flour
3/8 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 c. butter
1/2 t. cinnamon

Pie Algorithm:
1. Wash fruit, chop larger fruits to the size of blueberries.  Put in bottom of unbaked crust.
2. Mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and cloves in bowl. Add water, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Stir until mixed well.  Pour mixture over fruit.
3. Mix flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon until crumbly.  Sprinkle on top of fruit.
4. Bake at 375F for 1 hour, or until filling is bubbling and has thickened a bit.

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I suggest chopping the larger fruits into fairly small pieces so the flavors are able to mix better.  However, if you'd rather more distinct fruit flavors, larger pieces would work just fine.

I was excited to be able to use my friend Johanna's homemade vanilla extract in the pie.  I think it added a special, warm, complete flavor!  Perhaps tackling vanilla-making will have to be my next project!

Pie #10: So Many Cooks in the Kitchen Pie (Blackberry Peach Pie)

This week Grandpa King (Perry's maternal grandfather) turned 90 years old.  Perry's mom and her siblings threw a big party for him, so we went home to join the celebration.  If the entire family is gathered, we sum to more than 50 people.  While not all of the extended family was able to attend, Perry's immediate family was fully present.  We had a great weekend together - visiting with Grandpa King and his new puppy, watching the nephews race the tractors around the house (with Perry in hot pursuit on the pedal tractor), catching up with the adults, playing with the nephews, and sharing food...lots of good food.  Even the lunch that consisted only of left-overs pulled from the fridge quickly turned into a feast!

It is not unusual for there to be a pie on the table when we arrive at Perry's parents' house.  As I've mentioned before, his mother is quite adept at the art of pie making (much like her own mother).  Travis (the middle Leatherman brother) must have acquired the baking gene - he is also quite skilled and is employed as a baker in Denver.  Imagine my excitement to create a pie with these two!

Each of us have our own pie-style.  My observation is that Travis makes fruit pies with very little sugar so the fruit takes center stage, Kathy makes traditional Mennonite pies, and I make strange and very sweet pies.  Some of us like to make cream pies, some like double-crusted, and some like lattice-topped pies.  At any rate, it was a lot of fun to work on this project together.  This recipe is a rough estimate at what we created.  Since we were all throwing things in the bowl and then forgot to set the timer an exact recipe isn't available.

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Blackberry Peach Pie

Ingredients:
2 unbaked pie crusts (we used the recipe here, but with 1 T. sour cream replacing 1 T. of the water for each crust)

peaches - peeled and sliced thinly (approx. 3.5 cups)
blackberries (approx. 1/2 cup)
flour (approx. 1/3 cup)
sugar (approx 1/2 cup)
cinnamon (approx. 1.5 t.)
all-spice (approx. 1/2 t.)
butter (dotted)

Pie Algorithm:
1. Slice peaches into a large mixing bowl.  Add blackberries.

2. In separate bowl mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and all-spice.  After combined mix in with fruit.

3. Pour fruit and syrup in pie shell. Dot with butter.  Top with second crust.  Brush water over top crust with fingers and sprinkle with sugar.

4. Bake at 425F for 15 min, then turn down to 350F and bake for 35 min more.  (You may take the pie out when the fruit is bubbling.)

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Both Kathy and Travis were pleased with the results.  The flavor of the fruits shone, making the pie tangy and delicious.  I personally would have loved to add more sugar...but a scoop of vanilla ice cream could have also done the trick!

Since it was Grandpa King's birthday we decided to make a small pie just for him.  He was very appreciative of the pie and of the delivery visit.  It was a perfect ending to a wonderful weekend!