Recipe: Double Berry Pie

"You Can Convince Yourself It's Healthy" Double Berry Pie

Crust:
1/2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c butter
1/4 c ice water

Filling:
2 1/2 c strawberries
2 1/2 c blueberries
1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch

Topping:
3/4 c rolled oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash salt
2 Tbsp butter

1. For crust, cube butter and combine with flours and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water a little bit at a time until dough comes together. It may not necessary form a dough ball in the food processor, but it should hold together if you squeeze it.
2. Chill dough in a plastic zip top bag for at least 30 minutes. Roll out dough in the plastic bag. Cut off 3 sides and invert over a pie pan and press into place. Prick crust with a fork and cover with a double layer of foil. Blind bake crust for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
3. For filling, mix together all ingredients. I would suggest sifting the cornstarch into the sugar and berries to help prevent cornstarch clumps in your pie.
4. For topping, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. You can also add a pinch of nutmeg if you'd like. Cube the butter and cut into the other ingredients until mixture (excluding the oats) resembles coarse crumbs. I start by using my fingers and then cut in the rest of the butter in with a fork.
5. Once the crust comes out of the oven, turn it down to 375 degrees. Remove foil, add filling, and top with oatmeal topping. Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool at least 1 hour before eating.

Recipe: Strawberry Sorbet

See over there? That's my first foray into the world of food photography. Not bad for a first attempt if I do say so myself. (Though I have to admit to a little post-camera tweaking.) That lovely looking strawberry sorbet you see above is what I made tonight. It's so so yummy. And it's really not that hard . . . assuming you have an ice cream maker. It would be rather difficult if you didn't. I have this one, and I very much enjoy it. To get it ready for the sorbet, the core has to go into the freezer the day before.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that I used some leftover strawberries that were in my freezer as well as some in my fridge. So the amount on the strawberries is purely an estimate. However, I think it's pretty close thanks to the gauge on the side of my blender.

You'll notice the presence of alcohol in the sorbet. Don't worry. You can't taste it. It's just there to lower the melting point of the sorbet and therefore help keep it from freezing into a strawberry-flavored block of ice. If you wanted to be able to taste the alcohol you add, I would recommend orange liqueur or brandy. If you use those, I would up the alcohol content a tad and lower the sugar content to keep it from becoming too sweet and preserve the texture. Other ways to tweak? Lemon juice and/or zest or balsamic vinegar.


Strawberry Sorbet

Ingredients:
1.5 pints strawberries
2/3 c sugar
2 Tbsp vodka

Method:
1) Cut the leaves off the tops of the strawberries and slice in half.
2) Put all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. If you wish to, you can strain it. (I didn't.)
3) Start up your ice cream maker and pour the base from the blender into the ice cream maker.
4) Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. I let mine run for 15 minutes.
5) Put into a container and leave in the freezer for at least 3 hours before serving. Or eat it straight out of the ice cream maker if you just can't wait.