Easy Delicious Fruit Pie

-
During a visit to Nebraska, Dad's friend Jack gave him a bag of about 30 fresh-picked peaches. I decided to try to make a pie, and after a little googling and experimenting, came up with an easy, yummy recipe. When our ripe pears and blackberries start entering the house in buckets, I can easily make a dozen pies. I freeze some blackberries and sliced-up pears so as to spread that out over time. Pears and strawberries are another great combination. That mix reminded me of rhubarb pie, another great mix. And figs work, too!

Ingredients

4-5 cups fruit, fresh or frozen:
peaches, pears, apples, blackberries, strawberries, figs, or mix

Dry:
2 T flour
2 T arrowroot or cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)

Wet:
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Dots of vegan butter

2 vegan pie crusts (like Wholly Wholesome) or make a vegan pie crust

Instructions

Arrange pie crust in pie pan and chill.

Cut up the fruit; no need to peel. Don't be shy, cut up a lot. It will cook down - or if you have too much, fill a couple of ramekins with the overflow! (See below). 

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix the lemon and vanilla in a small bowl and pour over fruit. Add mixed dry ingredients and stir just enough to mix.

Put filling in crust. Carefully top with second crust and make some x's in the top with a knife, or make a lattice -- my new favorite way. Lattice is pretty, uses less crust (marginally more healthy?), still tastes great, and leaves some to top extra ramekins. (Ramekin portions are fine without crust on the bottom, and a great way to use more from a bountiful harvest.)

Optionally dot with some vegan butter.

Bake at 375 for 50 min. Turn off oven and let sit to brown a little more, or take out if browned enough already. 

Let cool. Serve plain or with vegan vanilla ice cream. We like vanilla Almond Dream or So Delicious Cashew Vanilla.

Here it is with pears and blackberries, and 2nd crust flipped on top:







And with Wholly Wholesome crust, trimmed to make criss-crosses on top, and butter dots:

  


And with extra-filled ramekins, with lattice on top. (Don't bother with crust on bottom of ramekins; it's still delish with crust only on top.) This is a fig pie!




Popular posts from this blog

Blood Orange Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

-
Image
Shelley Million gave us a blood orange cake when we made a backyard visit in March, and it was divine! I asked Larry what he wanted for his birthday, and he said this cake. Shelley made it with regular oranges and without the topping, and we had lots of oranges on our tree, so I did the same - except I made the topping and used a few blood oranges there, figuring I'd make it extra pretty for the birthday boy. I also doubled the recipe to make 2 rounds since we had 2 birthday parties, but 1 round is plenty for one group. (Also, our tree's oranges are HUGE, and blood oranges at the store were much smaller, so I used fewer oranges; adjust depending on your orange size.)  Ingredients (Makes one tall round; double for 2 rounds) zest from 2 oranges 1/2 C orange juice (from the 2 oranges) 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing 1 1/2 cups flour 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder, unsweetened 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/4 C sugar 1 C water 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar topping: 1 C powd
Read more

Za’atar Roasted Tofu with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Tahini

-
Image
Judy and Robert made a variation of this delicious NYTimes recipe for Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony Tahini for lunch before we enjoyed a beautiful hike through redwoods at Robert's Regional Recreation Area . Below is a variation close to what they made, and I want to replicate! Ingredients 14 oz firm tofu, drained 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (can also try butternut squash) 1 (8-ounce) bag leafy greens, such as baby spinach, baby kale, arugula, or mixed greens Salt and pepper Marinade: 3 garlic cloves, diced 2 lemons 2T oil 1 1/2 T za’atar dry spice mix  1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 T soy sauce (for 2nd half of marinade, used on tofu) Dressing: 1/4 C tahini 1 T honey 2T water Farro, barley, wild rice medley, or other grain, for serving Instructions Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the drained tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Combine the chickpeas and tomatoes on a half
Read more

Zucchini Mushroom Quiche with Red Pepper Relish

-
Image
Our neighbor Elsa gave us 4 beautiful fresh leeks from her garden. I had been planning to make my chickpea tart , but then I found a mushroom leek quiche in Vegan Comfort Classics that looked worth a try! Here's my slightly adapted version, using zucchinis and mushroom. The red pepper relish is amazing on crackers or anything else you might serve a chutney with.  If you don't have time to make the relish, cranberry sauce or mango chutney is pretty good with the quiche. The Parm is totally optional; I've made this several times and don't usually bother with it anymore. Ingredients 1 large or 2 medium pie crusts; I like Wholly Wholesome or an easy  whole wheat pie crust Veggie saute: 2 T canola oil 2 C leeks or onion, diced 1-2 C mushrooms, sliced 2 C zucchini or broccoli, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 tsp sage (or 1T fresh) 1 tsp tarragon Tofu mix: 2 12-oz silken tofu 1/4 C nutritional yeast 1/3 C chickpea flour 1 T white v
Read more