Sweet Summer Pies

The fruits of summer are plentiful, sweet, cheap, and bright with color and flavor. Whether its peaches, rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, or nectarines they are savory fresh or prepared in their beautiful bounty.

My favorite way to sweeten the heat of summer is by making a pie. Nothing fancy is ever necessary with a base of ripe fruit. The ingredients I add to fresh fruit fit for a pie is always the same. There are only two rules:  the more watery the fruit, then add more flour; the sweeter the fruit, the less sugar is necessary.

This is my basic recipe for pie filling:

6 cups fruit cut into chunks
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup white flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice

Mix all of the above in a bowl. Set aside.

Pie crust does have to be bland. The best pie crust recipe comes from my dad. When it comes to crust, this one wins every time for its rich flavor and flakiness:

Mix the following ingredients together well:

6 c. Flour
2 tbs. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 lb lard
1 stick butter

Then add the following to a one cup measure:

1 beaten egg
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
And fill rest with whole milk.

Mix above and add to dry ingredients.
Knead and roll dough on floured surface.

Whatever dough remains can be wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen for a future use.

I fill my pie with the filling and because the crust is so lovely, I always give it a flat solid or lattice pie crust top. I brush on an egg wash and bake for about an hour at 325 F. Letting it cool completely is mandatory for the filling to set.

Top with whip cream or serve ala mode.