Summer Berry Pie

Earlier this summer, I was visiting a friend in Cedar Rapids.  One of the highlights was our trip to the city's giant 16-block farmer's market.  We bought all of the ingredients we needed to make dinner and also, a bumbleberry pie.  This was one delicious pie, and needless to say, it did not last the night.  Since that weekend, I vowed to make a pie this summer, and I followed through!  This is one is actually a no-bake recipe from Baking Illustrated, clearly one of my favorite cookbooks.  The pie turned out perfectly.  The graham cracker crust actually stays together and doesn't get soggy from the berries!  I will tell you upfront that although it is no-bake filling, there is some time involved.  Totally worth it though.

Quick note about the berries: You can use any combination of the berries to get 6 cups; I am not a huge blackberry fan because of the seeds, so I only used 1 small container of the blackberries, 2 small raspberry containers and 1 large blueberry container. Also, I thought it was weird to have the red currant jelly in the ingredient list, but I still bought it and used it. I think it adds a nice tart undertone.


Ingredients:


For the Graham Cracker Crust:

• 9 graham crackers, broken into rough pieces 
• 2 tbsp sugar (I ended up using one tbsp white sugar and one tbsp brown sugar) 
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and still warm 
• pinch of cinnamon (optional) 

For the Berry Filling:

• 2 cups raspberries 
• 2 cups blackberries 
• 2 cups blueberries 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 3 tbsp cornstarch 
• 1/8 tsp salt 
• 1 tbsp lemon juice 
• 2 tbsp red currant jelly 

Instructions:

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.


2. In a food processor, process graham crackers until it turns into fine crumbs, about 30 seconds, then add sugar and pulse to combine. Continue to pulse while adding the warm melted butter (and cinnamon, if desired) in steady stream; pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Transfer crumb mixture to 9-inch glass pie plate. It's important to press the crust down as firmly as possible for it to stay together later; it may help to press it with a small bowl or measuring cup. Bake the crust until fragrant and beginning to brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely while making the filling.


3. FOR THE FILLING: Combine berries in large colander and rinse carefully; spread them out on paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet and gently pat dry with additional paper towels.


4. Using a food processor, puree 2 1/2 cups mixed berries until smooth and fully pureed, about 1 minute. Strain puree through mesh strainer into a measuring cup or directly into a small saucepan. This will take some work, because with all of the seeds, the liquid will have trouble getting through the strainer. With all of the berry puree, you should have 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in small bowl to combine, then whisk this mixture into puree. Bring puree to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Eventually, the berry puree will start to boil and thicken to the consistency of pudding. Remove the saucepan from heat, stir in lemon juice, and set aside to cool slightly.


5. While puree is cooling, place remaining berries in medium bowl. Heat jelly in second small saucepan over low heat until fully melted; drizzle melted jelly over berries and toss gently to coat. Pour slightly cooled puree into cooled pie shell; top with fresh berries. Loosely cover pie with plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled and puree has set, about 3 hours (or up to 1 day).


I served the pie with some Reddi-whip, but if you are feeling ambitious, you could whip up some fresh whipped cream. ENJOY!

Black Bean and Corn Salad with Roasted Jalapeno Dressing

Earlier this summer, my fiance and I bought two jalapeno pepper plants at our local farmers' market, since we didn't have any luck growing them from seed.  The two plants we bought have just EXPLODED with jalapenos after a couple of months, and now we are trying to find a use for them!  I adapted this recipe from one I found on Pinterest (surprise, surprise).  I pretty much doubled it, and adjusted the ingredients to my own personal preferences.  Here is the link to the original recipe:

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Fiesta-Black-Bean-Salad-Recipezaar_1?columns=6&position=14/36

I wish I had a picture to share, but I wasn't planning to post the recipe until I discovered how awesome it turned out.  And by then, it was all gone  :-)


Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn, husks and silk removed, rinsed and patted dry
• two 15 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• two jalapeno peppers, whole
• one bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped (any color, but I used green)
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato, seeds and pulp removed
• 1 ripe avocado, chopped (do this at the very end)
• the juice of one lime
• 1 tsp grated lime zest
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• black pepper, to taste

Start by cooking the corn-- preheat the oven to 400 degrees and wrap the corn individually in foil.  Place the jalapeno peppers (whole) on a baking sheet with the corn and bake everything for 20 minutes.  Check on the jalapenos after 15 minutes; if the peppers are already look sunken in with darkened skin, they may be ready to take out.  

When the corn is done, let it cool before cutting the kernels off with a knife (or one of those fancy corn kernel cutters, which I don't have).  In a large bowl, mix the corn kernels, drained black beans, bell pepper, green onion, and tomato.  

In a smaller bowl, combine the lime juice, lime zest, garlic, olive oil, dried oregano, honey, salt, black pepper and cumin.  Carefully remove the stem of the jalapeno and roughly chop them up to your liking (seeds and veins removed if you don't want too much heat, but you may leave them in for some extra kick).  Add the roasted jalapeno to the dressing and whisk to combine.  Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix to coat.  Have a taste, if it needs more salt or pepper, go ahead and adjust the seasoning.  

This can be served immediately, but it also tastes great if it is left to "mingle" overnight.  Right before serving, cut up the ripe avocado and toss everything together.  This is to prevent the avocado from browning if it sits too long.  Enjoy!!