Strawberry Pie

I grew up on an orchard in Wisconsin. We had 6,000 apple trees, 1,000 cherry trees, and a large strawberry patch. My parents still live there, but the orchard is no longer functioning and the trees are dying off slowly. We used to go to the farmer's market every Saturday and sell our fruit, as well as caramel apples, apple and cherry pies, and apple juice. The whole family would come together on Fridays to bake, pick fruit, and pack up the van. Most Saturday's I'd wake up early with my mom (think 4:00 AM) and help her set up our two-stall display at the local farmer's market. I'd help sell and I learned how to make change at an early age!


Okay, maybe not THAT early.

I'm also a pro at the secrets of pie making. Little good that does me now, though, not being allowed to eat flour. Within the past year, however, I have discovered THE gluten free flour substitute that has worked in every family recipe I have tried it in. (Dave claims he can taste a distinct "gluten free taste" when I use this flour, but for those of us who have forgotten what real food tastes like, this is really the best in taste and texture! Poor Dave, he's such a trooper!) It's called Jules' Gluten Free Flour. Trust me on this one, it's expensive, but worth it! (Bob's Red Mill GF Flour just doesn't cut it for me, even if it is available in bulk at Costco!.)

It's strawberry season (although the strawberry plant in my personal garden hasn't gotten that memo yet). This means that it's legal to buy cheap strawberries at the grocery store or farmer's market! Strawberries and watermelon should ALWAYS be saved for summer only! My mom used to make a melt-in-your-mouth strawberry pie. It's a pie served cold where the strawberries sit in a jello and the crust is white and crumbly. I gave my mom a call, and she read off the recipe to me over the phone. I didn't have kyro syrup (or at least I thought I didn't, I just found it in the back of the cupboard after the fact) so I substituted honey, which seemed more natural anyway, so I'm making that a permanent change in the recipe. The original recipe comes from my Aunt Diane. I will say that this pie is beautiful, but when it comes time to cut and serve it, it never ends up quite as organized on the plate!



Strawberry Pie
Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp milk (Lactaid worked)
1 1/2 c. flour (Jules' gluten free flour!)

Filling:
1 c. sugar
1 c. cold water (take it from a gluten free girl, corn starch gets lumpy in warm water)
3 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp strawberry jello
1 lb fresh strawberries, cleaned and sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Mix first four crust ingredients until smooth. Add flour and mix again. Spread this out in a 9"X9" greased glass cake pan. Bake for only 5 minutes. Whisk first four ingredients of filling together over medium heat in a sauce pan. Stir constantly until thick and somewhat clear. Add jello and whisk. Let cool a bit while you clean and slice your strawberries. Pour the filling over the crust and place the strawberries on top. Refrigerate a few hours.

Enjoy!