Can we talk?

Strawberry Pie

         Today I made a strawberry pie. Now my question is "Why do we eat strawberry pie?" There are perfectly good, wholesome strawberries, covered with a thick mass of sugared, mashed strawberries with cornstarch on a fat-filled pie crust. We go from healthy to unhealthy. It's delicious, of course. But why?

         First, you have to bake a pie shell. I filled my pan with the raw dough. I've never made a pretty crimped edge, but it tastes okay, so there. I checked about halfway through the baking, and oh no! This shell was shrinking. It no longer covered the edges, but was halfway down the sides. I pulled it out, took a fork, and started poking more holes in the bottom to let out the air underneath. I started smoothing it out, pressing out the lumps, and pushing it back up the sides. The fork gave it a distressed look, so I used my thumbs (I always wash for kitchen work) to press it up. I gave up and finished cooking it. It ended up with a few cracks in the bottom.

         Well, the crust did taste fine. It saved you from dying of the sweetness in the throat that gags you. It was so good, I had to have just another half slice. I was too ashamed to have more. I still wondered why we don't skip the glaze, and just do the high calorie crust cut up in small pieces with some sliced low-calorie strawberries instead. A dollop of whipped cream optional. You wouldn't have to worry about its appearance, and it would cut down on the guilt a tad.

         Pies can be very interesting. I guess we make them just because we can. I have had tomato pie (I didn't care for it) and yellow squash pie (two thumbs up), I have made buttermilk pie and cornmeal pie; both were delicious. I have made apple, pumpkin, peach, and coconut pies, with varying types of crusts. Pillsbury makes a nice crust, but I still can't crimp them correctly. Store versions fall a little short of Pillsbury's standards.

         Pie-making is a fading art. Ask a group of cooks for pies, and only a few show up. Ask the same group for cake or cookies, and you'll get an abundance. I don't count "pizza pie" as pie. And quiche falls in a category all by itself. A "crustless" pie may be better for your hips, but it just isn't pie.