Summer Berry Pie

I had lots of berries and tart cherries from my CSA pick-up and we weren't able to eat them fast enough so I decided to make a pie.  I didn't want to have to worry about processed sweetness to off-set the tart was of the cherries and berries so I used turbanado sugar.  I also had to make sure the crust was gluten and dairy free and not full of transfats.

CRUST: 

Makes enough dough for one 9" bottom crust and a floating top.

1 & 1/2 cups of gluten free flour

1/2 cup of solid coconut oil

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1 tablespoon of turbanado sugar

5-8 tablespoons of cold water

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt.  Cut in the coconut oil.  When combined. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time.  Fork stir after each tablespoon until you have a soft ball of dough.  Wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

FILLING:

6 cups of whole fresh berries.  You can use a single type of berry or a mixture.  

1/2 to 1 cup of turbanado sugar, based on your tastes

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon 

1/4 cup of tapioca starch or arrowroot starch

Mix sugar, cinnamon, and starch.  Add to berries and mix carefully but well.

ASSEMBLY & BAKING:

Lightly oil a 9" glass pie plate with coconut oil.

Remove dough from fridge and roll out to 1/4-1/8 " thick.  Line bottom of pie plate with dough and press in.  Trim off the edges and set aside.

Pour filling into crust.  Roll out the remaining dough and lay it on the top of the pie.  Do not seal it.  It should look like its floating on top of the pie.

Bake at 375 for about an hour.

COCONUT CREME TOPPING:

Several hours prior, place a steel bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill.

1 can of full fat coconut milk refrigerated for several hours.  The longer in the fridge the better.  This will allow the cream to solidify and cone to the top.  You will use the cream for this topping.  Reserve the oil for another use.

1 tablespoon of turbanado sugar.

1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract.

Carefully scoop out the white cream from the top of the coconut milk and put it in the chilled bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla.  Beat on high until a smooth creme forms.

CASHEW CREME TOPPING:

In a high-powered blender or food processor place:

1/2 cup of water

2 large handfuls of raw cashews

4 pitted medjool dates

1 tablespoon of pure vanilla

Blend on high until a smooth creme forms, adding more liquid if necessary.  You can use some of the left over coconut oil.

Fruit Prep

People ask me how I prep my fruit for smoothies.  I try to do as much prep as possible when I get my fruit so when it's time to make a smoothie, its quick and easy.  I shop at our local public market every Saturday.  I buy as much of my produce there as I can.  It's cheaper and most of it is local to the area and/or state.  I freeze most of it, much to my husband's dismay.  My freezer is jam packed! 

Below is listed how I prep my fruit for smoothies.  Some of it, like citrus, I leave on the counter.  Any fruit I use for the juicer, I keep fresh on my counter.  I usually go through it pretty quick but if something starts to get soft, then into the freezer it will go. 

Make sure you wash all of your produce well.  There are several products you can buy such as Veggie Wash, Vermont Soap Organics, Biokleen or you can make your own.  I typically use Veggie Wash but if I don't have any then I use fresh lemons.  I just throw one in my juicer and them pour the juice into a sink filled with cold water.  You can also use distilled or apple cider vinegar.  Use about 1/4 of a cup in a sinkful of cold water.  I soak my produce for about 10 minutes then rinse and dry.  The only produce I don't soak are berries.  They are too delicate.  I just rinse them briefly.

BERRIES
This includes blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, boysenberries, cranberries, and grapes.

Gently rinse your berries.  Use the pointed end of a veggie peeler to pluck out the green part of the strawberries and cut them in half.  All others, including grapes you can leave whole. Lay your berries flat on a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once they are frozen, put them in bags quickly and refreeze util needed.  Grapes, cranberries and gooseberries can be put directly into a bag and frozen. 

You can store your berries by kind or you can make a mix of several kinds.

POMAGRANATES
Remove the seeds from the fruit and store them in the freezer.  These will not work in your juicer so save them for the blender.

CHERRIES
De-stone them and bag them and freeze them.  If you don't have a cherry stoner, invest in one.

APPLES & PEARS, PEACHES & NECTARINES
Leave the skins on your apples, pears, peaches, & nectarines!  There is a lot of nutrients in those thin skins!  Chop them into 1" cubes and take the seeds out.  Lay on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze.  Store in freezer bags and store in the freezer.

BANANAS
Peel bananas and cut into 1" chunks.  Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze.  Store in freezer bags.

MANGOS, PAPAYA, PINEAPPLE, MELONS
Peel skins off, cut into 1" chunks, layer on cookie sheets and freeze.  Store in freezer bags.  A note on the papayas, you can eat the seeds!  Store them separately in the freezer.  Add some to your smoothies for a burst of protien.

CITRUS
I keep all my citrus on the counter.  Use a carrot peeler to gently peel the zest off of your citrus.  The white pithy part has a lot of vitamins in it so leave it on.  (Juicer note....you don't have to peel the zest off of lemons and limes when you juice them.)

THE GREEN TEAM Smoothie

1 cup hemp milk or almond milk
1 banana
8 medjool dates pitted
1 cup of mixed berries
2 cubes of frozen wheatgrass juice
1 capful of aloe juice
1 tsp of spirulina powder
1 tsp of Garden of Life Perfect Food Supergreen Formula

Put everything in the blender and whiz until smooth.

BERRY GOOD SPROOZIE Smoothie **Green Monster**

I know......corny name. I just got done with a run and a milk-based smoothie didn't sound refreshing so I used sparkling water instead. I also didn't have to worry about watching the blender too carefully because this won't thicken like milk-based mixes do. Enjoy!

2 cups of flavored sparkling water (I used mixed-berry)
1 cup of berries (any kind)
1 tablespoon spirulina (optional if you want to make a Green Monster (Green Monster is a trade mark of http://ohsheglows.com/ so check it out!)

Blend everthing together, pour and enjoy!

**The term Green Monster is a trademark of Oh She Glows