Vegalicious

Hello, beautiful! I hope you had the greatest 4th of July celebration.

I did! Although most of it was spent chasing kids, taking care of people, and picking and prepping berries for the off season.

I am drowning in berries! 130 lbs of freshly picked strawberries, 100 lbs of organic, locally grown blueberries, and 40 lbs of juicy cherries.  In other words nearly 200 lbs of flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.  You can never have too much of that!

But what do you do with all this deliciousness, besides, of course, enjoying it as mother-nature gives it?  

You make smoothies, raw desserts, parfaits, and, to take a little walk on the wild side, pies.  Mmmmm…

When I even whisper the word “pie” around my family, both Hubby and Sprout squeal for joy, since they don’t get spoiled too often with sugary treats.  But, there is always an occasion for an exception. Picking 100 lbs of blueberries in one week was certainly a call for celebration.

I was inspired looking at an ocean of blue on my counter, as I was prepping it for the freezer.

So, I started with a bowl of blueberries.

Then I decided to add some strawberries.

A perfect whole wheat crust.

Some sugar and flour.

Spices and a little bit of Earth Balance to bring it all together.

And before I knew it, our house was flooded with that undeniable, saliva inducing berry aroma.

7 cups of berries in one pie!  That’s seven reasons to celebrate Summer.

While sugar and Earth Balance don’t scream “waist slimming” and “celebration” (and perhaps I should start a new recipe category here titled “don’t make this!”), Sprout and Hubby go bananas for the crunchy crumbly topping on this pie.  That’s why I decided to share it with you.  Once you make it, I guarantee you that you will too.

I created this recipe super simple to make–you will feel like a chef once it comes out of the oven (ahem to all the guys wanting to impress your lady ;)).

This blueberry pie is nothing like what you might have tasted or seen before–it is super crumbly.

It won’t stay in a pretty pie piece once you take it out of the pie plate.  Nope! It will crumble right on your serving plate.

But that’s alright, because the moment you take a bite, you will forget what you think a pie should look like.

And, if you are naughty enough to make it even tastier, top it off with a scoopful of Coconut Bliss ice cream, and you will forget not only about perfection, but the world outside altogether.  When Sprout finally got a chance to take a bite, after my blueberry pie cooled off, and I tried speaking to her, she pointed her little finger at me, demanding a silence.  It took her a few seconds, and a few bites, to finally come up for air and listen to me.

I am warning you that the same thing might happen to you.

But…if you are a perfectionist, and want a presentation fit for a recipe book, (you can tell that I am the only person who cares about food presentation in my family), you can scoop the pie, crust on the bottom, crumbly topping on the top, into a gorgeous water glass and top it off with fresh berries and ice cream.

Now, it’s picture and book perfect.

Indulge, my friend! Here’s the recipe.