Vegan Summer "Berry Good" Pie According to Fannie Farmer (A Tale of Two Cities for Me This Summer)

Pies don't last long in this house. It's a tradition for me to bake at least three or four pies during the summer. But given we've had some really steamy, icky-raining, crappy summer days here in St. Louis this year so far, this is my first pie. But oh, what a pie! It's a three berry pie: blueberries, blackberries and raspberries all done according to the Fannie Farmer Baking Book by Marion Cunningham. (One of my most treasured cookbooks--and is to be saved first should, godforbid, anything happen to this house.) 

As pies go, if you don't attempt to learn anything else in baking, learning a pie dough recipe by heart will add years to your life and the life of your loved ones. Abiding by the directions from Fannie Farmer, "Pie dough should be made by hand in order to achieve the greatest flakiness. Other methods, using the food processor or blender, overblend the fat and flour and end up making a good, crumbly tart pastry instead of a flake pie crust." Truer words were never said. So here is the memorized pie dough recipe I have used:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cup vegan shortening
6-7 tablespoons ice cold water

Add flour and salt to medium bowl, then add shortening in pieces, mix together with your hands until a fine crumb forms. And in this case, the mixture should look like what Fannie Farmer says: bread crumbs. Then, add the ice cold water one tablespoon at a time until you can pinch the mixture together and it holds. Split the dough in half, shape into a flat disc, wrap in plastic and chill in fridge for about 30 minutes. (Fannie Farmer says the chilling part is not necessary, and it really isn't despite what you've read. I just like the way the dough handles after a brief chill--my rolling pin experience involves less cursing as well.)

And for the filling, keep it simple: 

5 cups of whatever fruit you'd like
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch
juice of half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter
Toss this all together and pour into your pie shell.
Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, then turn oven down to 350, bake 25 minutes more. Cool the pie.
Ta-da: Pie!

I have so much to catch you up on in this post, I'll try to be "tweet-like" and give the highlights. For starters, my sister and I had not seen each other in eight months. Quite a long stretch. Dr. Thyme has been crazy-traveling for work and was heading home for a much needed vacation during the holiday. He suggested it might be a good time for me to take a break, too. I agreed. So off I went: Chicago. My second favorite city. (On my most favorite Lake Michigan. . . home for me.) 

But here's the travel skinny for you all, I booked my stay through "airbnb": first time!
 As a former business traveler, I have seen the inside of more hotel rooms than I care to count. 
Ick. Sterile. Ick. I wanted to stay on Lake Michigan, too. I mean: On. The. Beach. 
(Because I grew up on Lake Michigan, it has and always will hold a special place in my heart.)

So stay on the Lake I did. As I said, I am a first-timer to the whole "airbnb' experience and I can honestly say: Wow. What a pleasant, incredibly delightful experience I had. I got lucky maybe? I just happened to find one of the kindest hostesses ever, who happened to have one of the most adorable apartments. She made it very comfortable for me--having a book handy with all the ins-and-outs of getting around in the neighborhood, spots to eat, get coffee, how to access the beach. Such a treat. I was so lucky! 

In case you didn't know--this is just a little sidebar piece, but I didn't know either: 
*Airbnb: One of the fastest growing companies in the country right now. This is a result of our "sharing" economy and for me, it worked. It really, really worked. And I am really picky. 
 (My Chicago Uber experience worked, too, btw.)
Loved.
Because I was literally right on the lake, my morning routine consisted of hitting the Lakeshore Trail very early. No one is on the beach at this hour except usually runners. Well, maybe because it was only in the sixties--at the end of JUNE, and because it was the crack of dawn--I'm an early bird. 
But it meant some beautiful, quiet morning runs.
And of course you have to go off the beaten path a bit to see some of the art not in the Art Museum in Chicago. (Right along the beach.)
One morning during my run, I came across folks stacking cups of water and Gatorade on a table. This could only mean one thing. Could it be. . . a race? I asked the cup-stackers what might be happening (this is three miles into my morning run already!) and was told the Proud to Run Chicago 10k and 5k was taking place. I had no plans on racing. None. 
But. But. But it's the competitor in me, dammit. 

 I asked when the race started and was told in about fifteen minutes. Now mind you, I had at least a quarter mile to go till I got to the tents where registration was taking place. I was nervous:
 Could I run a 5k after just running three miles? 
THAT would be over six miles? Almost a 10k!
Am I up to this. . . at my age?  
Would my finish time be at a "walking" pace
What about my plantar fasciitis? (Screw that PF!--I am absolved to just live with the PF.) 
I ran.
All told total miles for the day: ten! 
And. . .Very little pain!

What a beautiful location for a run--right along the lake. What a weekend for me to just "happen" to be running and to just "happen" to find this event (the day after the Supreme Court ruling, no less!). Seriously. People were in great spirits. The folks in Chicago that put this run on are an all volunteer group--they were super friendly and super organized. It was a lucky moment for me as I was the last person to register that morning, I think. But they could not have been nicer. I started the race a bit behind everyone else--there were over 1500 participants in total. 

Well. My finish time wasn't my best by a long shot. But for me, it wasn't about that, it was about NOT having raced since last November and just getting out there and doing it. 
And what a morning--beautiful sixties, sun, a bit of wind. 
By nine a.m., I had texted both Dr. Thyme and my sister this photo and they both died laughing. . . we haven't even had our coffee yet for crying out loud--was basically their notes back to me. LOL! 
Finish time: 36:07. Placed 13th out of 33 people in my age group (over fifties-something), 203 out of 423 in total 5k. Right in the middle. Not that it matters! 
It's just fine with me. So thankful I can still run. So. Thankful. 
On my way home, I cooled my feet off in the Lake. 


Of course the time with my sister was precious. We are a hot mess when we get together--laughing, catching each other in our "moments", remembering our mother, our grandmother, the 'dads', and all the other crazy we endured growing up. . .shopping, eating. We've both concluded that it's a damn miracle we've made it this far and are still. . . "somewhat" mostly sane.
We hit Epic Burger at Old Orchard mall. 
Nothing makes for better shopping than a really good veggie burger and fries.

Having a sister is one of the greatest gifts our mother gave us. Our history tells us that. 
We were so happy to see each other.

Till next time sissy. . . but not eight months from now, 'kay?
Kelly and Julie: Summer 2015.

Coming home is always welcome. 
To MY city.
You really never know what you've got til it's been out of your sights for a few days.
DH and I spent a beautiful morning at the Botanical Gardens last month. One of my favorite places of all in St. Louis. (Now if we were just a few hundred miles NORTH, a few degrees cooler in the summer, AND on a lake. . . never mind.)
The Lantern Festival is taking place through August. So worth a day trip to see the display in its full color. We both love the Botanical Garden. It's St. Louis' crown jewel if you ask me.

And then back to my own garden where things are in full swing right now. My favorite flowers, the Stargazer Lilies are blooming, as are the purple coneflowers. And we've had our first harvest of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. 
It's been a full summer so far. 















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