Summer Strawberry Pie

This gluten-free version of strawberry pie was a HUGE hit at a backyard party last week - with all the people that COULD eat gluten. The combination of oat flavor and texture was wonderful.

I also wanted to find away around using products with artificial flavors and colors. I think that it is pretty close to the original, and darn tasty.

CRUST:
1 3/4 c Oat flour*
2 T Flour or Potato Starch or Corn starch
1 T Sugar
1 stick of Butter

In pie pan, melt the butter. Mix in the oat flour, starch, and sugar and pat out in the pan and around the edges. The crust will slide down a bit in the pan as it bakes and consolidates so push it as high up the sides of the pie pan as it will go. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Cool.

* I pulsed gluten free oats in an coffee grinder until fine flour was produced.

FILLING:
1 c Sugar
2 T Corn Starch
1 c Water
1/4 c Mashed Strawberries
1 t Unflavored gelatin (about 1/2 a Knox packet)
1 1/2 lb Strawberries

Mix sugar and corn starch together in a saucepan. Add water, stir often and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add jello powder and mashed berries. Cool until lukewarm but still pliable.

Place cleaned and cut strawberries in the cooled pie crust. Pour cooled (but not cold) filling over the berries. Refrigerate and allow to set. Serve with whipped or ice cream.

Strawberry Pie - Traditional

This is the strawberry pie that I grew up with. It was one of my favorites and I loved when my mom would make it for us. This was the recipe that I picked to add to our class 5th grade cookbook (which 90% were desserts - go figure).

CRUST:
1 stick of Butter
1 1/3 c Flour
1 T water

In pie pan, melt the butter. Mix in the flour and water and pat out in the pan and around the edges.  Prick holes in the pie crust with a fork. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Cool.

FILLING:
1 c Sugar
2 T Corn Starch
1 c Water
4 T Strawberry Jello mix
1 qt Strawberries, cleaned & hulled

Mix sugar and corn starch together in a saucepan. Add water, stir often and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add jello powder. Cool until lukewarm but still pliable.

Place cleaned and cut strawberries in the cooled pie crust. Pour cooled (but not cold) filling over the berries. Refrigerate and allow to set. Serve with whipped or ice cream.

Gluten Free Strawberry Pie Option

Corn Toppers

It doesn't get much better than corn on the cob in the summer. The 4th of July is just around the corner and corn is likely on many of our menus. The sweet, juicy and crisp kernels are great on there own, but the right topping can make it over the top amazing. I have lots of fresh herbs coming from my container garden and I chopped a bunch of them for dinner tonight and the corn was AMAZING.

I melted a little bit of butter and let some fresh chopped flat leaf parsley hang out in the warm butter to infuse the flavor. Topped with a bit of sea salt - it was so good. I've got plans to try some of these options over the next couple of weeks. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Butter w/parley & lime
Butter w/cilantro & lime
Butter w/basil
Butter w/basil & lemon
Butter w/thyme
Butter w/thyme & lemon
* Butter can be replaced by Earth Balance dairy-free spread for dairy-free or vegans

Applying melted butter in a measured and moderate amount can be a bit difficult. I just used a butter knife to drizzle it on and spread it around. It worked, but it wasn't very efficient. Next time I think I will use a pastry or basting brush.

On to enjoy more tastes of summer.

Limeade

So my son found a bottle of lime juice in the refrigerator and wanted to drink it straight. He should be thankful that I convinced him to wait.

He loves citrus drink (lemonade in particular) so I figured he'd love Limeade. He did. I found a great idea online about making a concentrate so you can make it as you go. This is going to save a whole lot of time.

Limeade (makes 3 cups)
1 c Limeade concentrate
2 c Water

Limeade Concentrate
1 c Lime juice (6-8 limes)
mixed with simple syrup
   - 1 3/4 c  Sugar 
   - 1 3/4 c Water

CONCENTRATE - Heat water and sugar until all the sugar dissolves. Add juice and allow to cool (or pour over ice when mixing the Limeade). 

LIMEADE - Add a ratio of water to concentrate (over ice if hot) and allow to chill. Serve cold.

Caprese Pinenut Pizza

This pizza is a seasonal sensation. I have fresh basil from my herb container garden. Real tomatoes are starting to appear in the store - you know the ripe kind. Put them together with freshly grated mozzarella, loaded tomato sauce, and pine nuts for a tasty and sophisticated pizza. 

There is something amazing about toasted pine nuts. They aren't cheap, but just a few add such great crunch and flavor. I keep them in the fridge for little splurges and to make pesto.

As a texture eater, crunch is one of the best things you can add to any dish. This pizza has the pine nuts for crunch along with toasted mozzarella and a crisp crust. Under that crisp surface is the stretching gooey cheese and a fresh sauce.

Spray the edge of the crust with a little oil and sprinkle with salt, sesame seeds, crushed herbs, or whatever you enjoy before baking.

The crust:
2 c Unbleached Flour
2 c Wheat Flour
1 1/2 c Water
2 T Olive Oil
1 t Italian Seasoning
1/2 t Sea Salt
1/4 t Garlic Powder
2 t Yeast

Throw it all the bread machine and let the paddles do the work for you. Spread out on parchment paper, add your choice of toppings and bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes. I put a bit of basil on the flavors to bake in and sprinkled on fresh chopped basil after it came out for the fresh taste.

Time Crunch Method - add topping to your favorite frozen cheese pizza. Reserve some fresh basil to sprinkle on after it finishes baking.

Ice Tea Slushies

On a hot summer day it is really hard to beat the taste of an icee/slurpee/slushie (whichever term you use for a blended ice drink). However, I am not a fan of the super sweet/artificially colored and flavored syrups from which the are made. I've made lemonade slushies before with good results from the kids, but I thought I'd make one from one of my own summer time favorites - lemon sweet tea.

Can I just tell you that sweet tea is a weakness for me? I know the vast amount of calories that they can contain, so I usually make my own to try to control the calorie count - which is better but not great. So this slushie idea is great because I get the volume without sacrificing flavor, and the taste without all the calories. Win-win.

I started with about 2 c of ice in a blender and poured in 1 1/2 cups of tea (pick your favorite brew). I blended until it reached the right consistency (about 90 seconds on mine). I did end up adding a bit more tea to get it right, but that was more for the sake of my cheap blender than it was for the drink.

I filled a large sports bottle with me and hit the road (hence no picture - I'll try next time). It lasted far longer than an actual tea would because my mouth could only handle so much cold before needing a break. The slushie lasted the road trip to bring a meal to a friend recovering from surgery and made it for a nice summer drive.

This one is DEFINITELY going in the stack to make again. Now if I could justify a better blender...

Zucchini Bread Pudding

Why did I never think of this before? I love zucchini bread and I love bread pudding. Why not put them together and feast on their team effort? I broke a loaf of zucchini bread out of the freezer and made my plan. This plan is one that I'll be repeating for sure.

1 loaf of zucchini bread
4 large eggs
1 c milk
1 t cinnamon

Cube up the bread and put it in an 8" X 8" or 9" X 9" pan. Double the recipe for a 9" X 13" pan.
Wisk together eggs, milk, and cinnamon. Pour over bread cubes and use a piece of plastic wrap or the back of a large spoon to push the bread down into the custard mix. Allow to sit for 30 minutes - up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and back for 35-40 minutes until the top starts to brown slightly and appears to be dry. Serve warm or cool. Great topped with whipping cream or ice cream. Delicious on it's own.