Straight From The Pie Hole

Ah Memorial Day weekend, that sweet unofficial start of summer.

I've taken notice of a few other unofficial summer starters, too. Yesterday I saw various neighborhood kids running around with their beach towels and flip flops. Last night showcased its first lightening bugs of the season, lighting up the sky for a brief moment so that we could pinpoint their location. And on top of all those sure-fire signs of summer, a new pie has been made (and mostly devoured).

The first pie of the Second Annual Summer Pie Challenge has met its demise.

PB&J Pie. From the beginning, it didn't really stand a fighting chance.

I began with the strawberries. Big, red, juicy. Oh, were they delicious! I bought an extra quart at the farmer's market just so I could snack. I love strawberry season.

Anyway, many people don't bake with strawberries because they believe the strawberries will get too mushy. But, so do practically all the other pie fruits (blueberries = mushy, cherries = mushy, peaches = mushy). What these people need to learn is that strawberries want to be baked. I know this because they told me last year.

Strawberry 1: "Chrissy put us in a pie."
Chrissy: "Like, with the jello?"
Strawberry 2: "No, no. Bake us."
Chrissy: "Ok..."

But last year I realized one thing: strawberry pie with peanut butter would ROCK!



And it did. The strawberries tasted like jam, with chunks of the fruit remaining. And the peanut butter...Well, anyone who has ever had peanut butter pie knows how wonderful that is. Their powers combined create Captain Planet! Or, at least, Captain Awesome Pie. Which served as a delicious cool treat on a warm (almost) summer's night.

1 down/15 to go. Come enjoy a slice!