Blueberrying

First one of my morning exercise friends mentioned that she'd been blueberrying at a new blueberry farm near my home.

Then my great-niece, Violet, mentioned to me during a brief visit with us that she'd never had a blueberry pie.

I decided I'd pick some blueberries and make Violet a pie when she visited us last week.

I was all set to pick the blueberries before Violet's visit. Then I got a grip on myself and realized I'd be a fool to do the blueberrying by myself, when  certain ten-year-old could help me.



So Violet and I went blueberrying one very warm and muggy morning last week.

I made the pie crusts before we left to go to the farm. That way, it was just a matter of rolling out the crusts, mixing the flour, sugar, shortening, and pinch of salt, and dumping in the fresh blueberries.

We had blueberry pie for dessert that evening. Violet declared the pie "awesome."

Best Ever Pie Crust (from allrecipes.com)

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 c. shortening
1/2 c. water

Combine flour and salt. Cut shortening in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate four hours or over night.

Roll out dough on floured board. Don't over work it. Use as directed in pie recipe.

Maine Blueberry Pie (from Cooking Down East, by Marjorie Standish)

4 c. blueberries
1 c. sugar
2 T. flour
Dash of salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 T. butter

Line pie plate with pastry. Mix sugar and flour; spread about 1/4 of it on lower crust. Fill with blueberries. Sprinkle remainder of sugar/flour over them. Add salt; sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. Dot with butter. Place top crust on pie, flute edges and cut slits. Bake at 425° for 40 minutes.