Let Them Eat Pie

Apple Pie Harvest

by Janet Kruskamp

I can not resist sharing this beautiful pie. It is a combination of chopped apples from the apple tree, (mostly green variety), purple plums, and blackberries, mixed with tapioca to thicken it. Berries make a lot of juice so it is important to mix in flour or tapioca when making the filling.

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I purchased this deep-dish, made-in-America Pyrex brand pie dish, which is over 11 inches wide, at Walmart for only $6.95 and it is the best pie dish I've ever had. 

I do not have a specifically measured amount of ingredients to tell you about, and so I can not give you a recipe, but if you will look up how to add tapioca to fruit pies, you can get an idea of how to make a berry-apple pie.  The crust is brushed with an egg-yolk wash, which makes it have a very golden look, and makes the crust very flakey and delicious. 

I like this crust all pieced together with scraps of dough. The hole is left in the top for steam.

The fruit was just picked moments before the pie was made. You can get the same results with frozen fruit or fresh fruit from the grocery store or farmer's market.

Pie Making Day

by Janet Kruskamp

Pie Instructions

This pie contained about 12 cups of mixed fruit, which included blackberries and peeled, chopped apples, so you will have to determine how many plums you need. Cut each plum alone the seam line. Shown is a regular knife but I prefer serated knifes for cutting fruit because it grips the fruit better.

The plums have to be very firm but not as hard as rock, and cannot be overly ripe or mushy, for this pie.

Now cut the halves into fourths. There is no need to peel the plum. The skin will be tender and if it is a purple variety, it will add to the wonderful jewel-like color.

 When fruit is heated, it gets tart and sour, so the pie will need some thing sweet added to it.

 Read the back of the tapioca box to determine what amount to add to the pie mix. This might be anywhere from two tablespoons to one-fourth cup, depending on how many cups of fruit you have. To this pie was added over a fourth of a cup of tapioca.   

In a small bowl combine the tapioca and the spices:

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg, allspice and cardamon

2 cups sweetener of your choice

Mix it all together  and let it sit while you make the crust.

Line the pie plate with the crust, add the berries into a mountain and cover with another pie crust, patching where necessary. If you have any left over fruit, make another small pie.

Before you bake it, be  sure to put a cut in the top to allow steam and bubbling juice to escape. Also, place your pie on a larger pan in the oven, because some of  the juice may leak out. The oven was set at 400 degrees and the pie took approximately half an hour to 45 minutes  to cook, however it depends on your oven and the kind of pan you use, as to the amount of time. If you smell the pie, it is probably done! Makes some notes to yourself about the taste of the pie so you can determine next time how to make it better, and how long to leave it in the oven. Since 400 degrees is very hot, set the timer for half an hour first, and then, if it needs more time, put it on for 15 more minutes.

When cut, it looks like a treasure box with all the jewels spilling out!

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