Strawberries, Still...

I found the most amazing baked strawberry pie recipe almost a month ago, and I've been meaning to post it, but as time wore on and strawberry season seemed to be ending, I figured I had blown it. But then I went berry-picking just yesterday, and though we mostly picked blueberries, raspberries and marion berries—resulting in a slightly stressful all-night canning session with my husband—we did get some delicious, amazing strawberries as well.

Which has inspired me at last to post the Baked Strawberry Pie recipe! It's such a great way to use up strawberries, besides the usual jams and shortcake desserts. But here's the trick to your berries not ending up a pile of mush in the pie (the biggest complaint about strawberry pie): once you mix the cornstarch and salt with the strawberries, place the berries in a sieve or colander for at least 30 minutes. I left mine sitting there for 45 minutes, tapped out the excess juice, and then placed them in the pie crust. The result was a still-juicy, not watery or mushy, strawberry pie. (I also mixed in some nectarines and a handful of blackberries I had sitting around the kitchen, and they were a great addition.) So there it is—enjoy the rest of the season!

I have learned to love the lattice top...especially if I'm throwing together a pie and don't have much fruit on hand!