Fresh Strawberry Pie

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks again to Rosemary Zwick of Cape Town, South Africa for today's
food funny.

This guy was watching TV as his wife was out cutting the grass during
the hot summer. He finally worked up the energy and went out to ask
his wife what was for supper. Well, his old lady was quite irritated
about him sitting in the air conditioned house all day while she did
all the work, so she scolded him. "Think of me as dead."

So he went back in the house and fixed himself a big steak, potatoes
and iced tea. She walked in about the time he was finishing up and
asked him, "You fixed something to eat? Where is mine?"

"Huh? I thought you were dead."

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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A couple of weeks ago I asked my imaginary girlfriend Betty Lou if she
had a favorite dessert. She pulled out this recipe and I immediately
recognized it as the recipe I originally published on June 12, 1998.
It turns out that Betty Lou had been a subscriber to this ezine way
back then, more than five years before we met, and neither of us had
realized it. Small world, eh?

Fresh Strawberry Pie

6 cups (1.5 L) firm ripe strawberries
1-9 in.(20 to 25 cm) pastry pie crust, baked and cooled
1/2 cup (125 ml) plus 1 Tbs (15 ml) sugar
3 Tbs (45 ml) cornstarch (cornflour)
2 Tbs (30 ml) cold water
1 Tbs (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

Pick over the berries carefully, removing the stems and hulls. Wash
in a sieve or colander under cold running water and place on paper
towels to drain. Pat the berries completely dry. Arrange half of
them (the most perfect ones) in the pie shell and set aside. Coarsely
chop the remaining berries and combine them with 1/2 cup (125 ml)
sugar in a stainless steel saucepan. Bring the berries to a simmer
over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl mix the
cornstarch, water, and lemon juice together to form a smooth paste.
Pour the paste into the strawberry mixture, stirring constantly, and
continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture thickens.
Puree the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down
hard with a wooden spoon or spatula to extract as much of the berries
as possible before discarding the seeds. Taste the puree and add more
lemon juice or sugar, as desired. Pour the puree over the berries and
spread it evenly with a rubber spatula. Cover the pie loosely with
aluminum foil or wax paper and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Just before serving whip the cream and 1 Tbs (15 ml) sugar until it is
stiff. Spread on top of the pie, making decorative swirls with the
spatula, and serve immediately. Alternately, you may serve the
whipped cream on the side and allow diners to help themselves.
Serves 6 to 8.
Received on Fri Feb 4 05:43:15 2005