Lemony Blueberry Pie (and how to bake a frozen pie)

Another pie?  Yes!  Pie and pastry seem daunting, but with a little practice (tasty, tasty, practice!) they are rather easy.  Here are 2 few things I have learned along the way:

1. Keep everything really cold.  I like the method of freezing the shortening for 30 mins or so and then grating it into the flour.  I usually then stick the whole bowl of  flour/shortening into the freezer for 15 mins or so before adding the cold water and bringing the dough together.

2. Filling fruit pies is basically the same.  4-5 cups of fruit to 3-4 tbsp of some thickening agent (cornstarch, tapioca), ¾ cup sugar, lemon juice, and spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger).  Juicier fruit like peaches and strawberries do well with a 50/50 cornstarch/tapioca mix.

Lemons and blueberries are a perfect match, and this pie is bursting with the flavours of both.  You can use unthawed frozen blueberries if you don’t have fresh, making this a perfect pie to make year-round.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 recipe pie dough, as per this recipe

- 4 cups blueberries

- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

- ¾ cup sugar

- 3 tbsp cornstarch

- finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

- pinch of salt

- ¼ tsp cinnamon

METHOD

1. Make and roll out pie dough as per this recipe.

2. Gently toss blueberries with the lemon juice.

3. Whisk sugar and cornstarch together, then mix in lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon.  Gently toss with blueberries and fill pie shell.

4. Add top crust, cut steam vent, and refrigerate for 30 mins, or until pie has firmed up.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees then bake in the lower 1/3 of the oven for about an hour, or until the filling is bubbling all over and the crust is golden.  Add about 15 mins for frozen berries. 

HOW TO BAKE A FROZEN PIE

If you want to make a pie and save it for later, I think they taste best if they are put in the freezer, unbaked in a freezer bag, and then baked up later.  Here’s how to do it:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack on the bottom shelf.  Wrap the edge of the pie crust in a strip of aluminum foil.  Bake for 15 mins, then reduce heat to 375 degrees.  From here it will take another 45 to 60 minutes to finish the pie.  Juicier pies (like peach) will take the longest.  Remove the foil for the final 15 mins of baking to brown everything up nicely.  

Summer Tart

 Summer has once again blessed us with her bounty.  The backyard has yielded an abundance of raspberries, and strawberry picking is winding down after a great season.  Vegan Son #1 and I collaborated on this dessert.  He helped make the pastry cream and designed the layout of the fruit for the top of the tart.  I made the dough.  The trick with the pastry dough is to be patient and gentle when bringing it together.  Only use as much water as is necessary--too much will make for a harder final product. 

Tart Dough
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine (1 baking stick)
- 200g (1.25 cups) cake and pastry flour (or all purpose)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vegan cream cheese
- 3 tbsp ice cold water (more if needed)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD
1. Place margarine in the freezer for 30 mins.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together flour and sugar in a medium bowl.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together cream cheese, water, and vanilla until smooth.  Place in fridge until needed.
3. Grate cold margarine into the flour and gently work with your fingers until it resembles coarse bread crumbs (it should not take too long).  Add cream cheese mixture and use a fork to bring together into a dough.  Add a few drops of water if needed.
4. Immediately roll out into a 12 inch circle on a floured surface and transfer to a 9.5 inch tart pan.  Gently press dough into the bottom of the pan and trim to allow 1/2 inch overhang.  Fold overhang back into the pan and press into the sides.  Refrigerate until firm (30 mins).
5. While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in the bottom third of the oven.  Cover dough with foil and half fill with dried beans.
6. Bake for 20 mins, then lift up foil to see if crust is light golden and no longer wet.  Return to oven for a few mins if it is not.  When crust if light golden and dry, remove foil and beans and bake for another 5-10 mins, or until golden.  Allow to fully cool on a wire rack.

Summer Tart
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tart shell (above)
- 1 recipe pastry cream, cold
- summer fruit of your choice (halved strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries is what I used)
- 1/3 cup apricot jam

METHOD
1. Remove tart shell from pan and place on a serving dish.  Fill with pasty cream and smooth.  Top with fruit.
2. Heat apricot jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until runny.  Strain out chunks then brush fruit with the jam to glaze.  If jam gets too sticky, just return to heat until it is runny again. 

Quick and Easy Peach-Blueberry Turnovers

OK, so you spent all that time making the puff pastry, but now what? I like wrapping veggies and the like in the pastry for some kind of en croute creation like this, but I always save some dough to make some turnovers. I posted this recipe a while back, but since doing so I got my hands on a copy of Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Baking and I think this method makes for a nice golden and well-baked turnover. Also, after making puff pastry I am in no mood to mess around with complicated filling.

INGREDIENTS
- puff pastry
- peach jam
- frozen blueberries
- soy milk for brushing

METHOD
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. How much puff pastry you need depends on how many turnovers you want to make. 1/2 recipe of the puff pastry will make 8 turnovers. If you are making 8, roll the chilled dough into a 9x18 inch rectangle. If you are making 4, make a 9x9 inch square. Cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise to make 8 squares (or four).
2. Spoon a generous tablespoon of peach jam slightly off centre in each square. Top with a few blueberries. Fold over to make a triangle, then seal edges with a fork. Place on the prepared sheet, cover, and refrigerate for 30 mins.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When the turnovers are chilled, brush them with soy milk and sprinkle sugar over top (regular or large grain). Poke the tops with a fork a few times then bake for 20 mins. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, rotate the pan, and bake for an additional 15 mins, or until golden and nicely puffed up.
4. Let cool for 15 mins in the pan, then serve.

Peach Blueberry Cobbler

I'll have to admit that cobbler really isn't in my culinary vocabulary. That is probably because my Mom was more of a crisp person. Or is it because cobbler is more of an American thing? Anyway, after making the Southern Tofu dish I was in the mood for an appropriately southern dessert and cobbler jumped to mind. But, what is cobbler, exactly? Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I can tell, it is a mix of fruit and cake, baked into moist and syrupy goodness. In many way, it is like the pudding cakes I posted a while back. Peaches and blueberries are in season here (though not for long) so it was a perfect dessert.

INGREDIENTS
Fruit
- 4 cups peeled and sliced peaches
- 1/3 cup water (more if peaches are not that ripe)
- 1 cup sugar
Cake
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (I am sure WW pastry flour would work fine)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups soy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract

- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1 cup blueberries

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Put peaches, sugar, and water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to bubbling, stirring regularly, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins.
2. While peaches are simmering, whisk together dry ingredients. Place 1/2 cup margarine in a 9 x 13 pan, then place in the oven to melt. Put wet ingredients into the dry and gently whisk until mostly smooth (like pancake batter).
3. Pour batter over the melted butter, but do not mix. Sprinkle blueberries over that, then spoon the peach mixture over that.
4. Bake for 40-45 mins, until top is golden and peaches are bubbling away happily. Serve while warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

For the Love of Berries (and Summer)

Can fresh berries from the garden make up for months and months of cold and snow? Lately, I am beginning to think yes. Winter was particularly cruel this year, and summer has been rainy and cool, but the berry crop has been absolutely fantastic. We spent the weekend at the cottage and when we came home the canes were laden with berries. After picking I weighed the berries--the total was 6 1/4 pounds! That was enough for 8 jars of jam and a cookie sheet worth of berries for the freezer.
This year we are also enjoying wild blueberries. Last year the birds harvested the berries before I could, but a strategically placed net has thwarted them this year. I only have a small patch in the backyard that yields about 1.5 cups of berries every week. The first crop went into some pancakes, the second into some banana hemp muffins. Speaking of pancakes, I tried the slow-rise pancakes from Vegan Yum Yum. They are totally awesome and worth the extra planning it takes to make them.

I will be back soon with an actual recipe and less gloating about summer berries.

Blueberry Shortcake

Soy ice cream was on sale this week, along with blueberries, so shortcake was in order (yes, I know I just made mini shortcakes last week). This is shortcake, straight up, like my mom used to make (without the butter, of course). You can serve it with whatever berry or fruit is in season. I can't wait for peaches!

INGREDIENTS

- 1 3/4 cup flour

- 1/4 cup powdered sugar

- 1 tbsp baking powder

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 5 tbsp cold Earth Balance margarine

- generous 3/4 cup soy creamer (or soy milk)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in cold margarine (or use your fingers). Mix in soy creamer with a wooden spoon. Add a splash more creamer if dough is too stiff.

2. Spread batter in a 9" non-stick round pan (or, grease and flour a pan if you don;t have anon-stick one) with a silicone spatula.

3. Bake for 15-17 mins, until lightly brown on top. Let cool for a 5 mins, then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

4. Cut into wedges and top with berries and soy ice cream.

We also had out first Ontario corn of the season, bought from a roadside stand. It was pretty good. Ah, summer . . . .

Blueberry Lemon Puff Pastry Pockets

I really have to stop making puff pastry before I turn into a fat, greasy, blob. Ha! It will have been worth it! I wanted to see if non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening could be used in place of Earth Balance margarine, since store-bought versions use shortening instead of butter. The main motivation for this is the fact that Earth Balance costs $5.33 here, while an equal weight of shortening costs about $1.00. The answer is yes, it works just as well and makes for a very tender and flaky pastry.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 6

- 1/2 recipe puff pastry

- 1 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries

- 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 1 tbsp flour

- 1/4 cup sugar

Icing:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of lemon juice in a small saucepan over med-lo heat. Add in a scant 3/4 cup of icing sugar and stir to dissolve.

METHOD

1. Mix frozen berries, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until bubbling and thickened. Remove from heat and place in fridge to cool down. Filling must be cold before it can be placed on the pastry.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Roll pastry into a 12" x 16" rectangle. Slice into twelve 4" squares. Place a heaping spoonful on filling on the centre of 6 squares.

4. Lightly moisten dough around the filling. Place remaining pastry squares over top of filling and press down firmly around the edges to seal. Use a fork to further seal the edges, then trim with a pastry wheel. Cut two slits in the top.

5. Bake for 20-25 mins, until golden brown.

6. Let cool for a few mins, then drizzle icing over top.

As you can see, the shortening makes a very nice pastry dough. It is a bit softer, but cooks up flakier. Make sure you chill the shortening before using it in the recipe.

Raspberry Shortcake with Blueberries

When life gives you berries, you have to make shortcake. To me it is the quintessential summer dessert. Of course, strawberry season is over so it's time to move on to raspberries and blueberries. These personal-sized shortcakes have a wonderful pinkish hue from the berries, and are nice and tender with the right amount of sweetness.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 9 medium, or 12 small, shortcakes

- 2 cups all purpose flour

- 4 tsp baking powder

- 2 tbsp sugar

- pinch of salt

- 1/4 cup cold Earth Balance margarine

- 1 cup raspberries, mashed with a fork

- 3/4 cup soy creamer (or milk)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a muffin tin.

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together. Cut in margarine (or work in with your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.

2. Mix in mashed berries and milk in with a fork. Use two spoons to drop dough into 9 or 12 sections of the muffin tin. Sprinkle each with a bit of sugar. Bake for 12-15 mins. Cool on wire racks.

From here, you have a few choices. My original plan was to make vegan cream, but I had no coconut milk. So, I made the vegan clotted cream from Vegan Yum Yum. You can also serve it with soy or rice ice cream, or douse the whole thing with some non-dairy milk (still my favourite way to eat shortcake).

Easy Blueberry Sauce (with crepes)

Sunday brunch is fast becoming a tradition in our household. Today I added crepes into the mix. Son#1 has been asking for them every since I made dinner crepes and he was dismayed to see them not covered in some sweet fruit sauce. Now, I know I said that the dinner crepe recipe would not replace my sweet breakfast crepe recipe, but I lied. I upped the sugar to 1/4 cup, and cut the chickpea flour to a generous 1/3 cup. The end result is less delicate but far less finicky. Add this sauce for super tastiness.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 cups frozen blueberries

- 1 cup water

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 2 tbsp cornstarch

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

METHOD

1. Bring blueberries, 3/4 cup of the water, and sugar to bubbling in a saucepan. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/4 cup of water and add to pan. Stirring constantly, bring back to bubbling and let thicken. Stir in lemon juice and serve.

Waffles and Blueberry Sauce

Who doesn't love a lazy Saturday morning that begins late and ends with homemade waffles? Ahhh . . . . Of course, I should point out that sleeping in for us means 7:00am. Oh, parenthood . . . . These waffles are very tasty, easy to make, and taste great with this blueberry sauce.

Vegan Blueberry Waffles
Makes about 16 waffles
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 2/3 cup rice milk
- 1/3 cup oil

METHOD
1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix liquid ingredients and flax seed in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Let batter sit for 5 mins to let the flax seed absorb some liquid.
4. Cook according to whatever waffle iron you are using. I oil the iron down with a pastry brush, and use 1/4 cup of batter per waffle square.

Blueberry Sauce
Put 1 1/2 cups of frozen wild blueberries in a saucepan with scant 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar. Bring to bubbling. Dissolve 1 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch or arrowroot powder into 2 tbsp of water and stir into the blueberry sauce. Stir in 1 tsp of lemon juice.