It's a new year and a new logo! Time for more
This time, I want to feature a book I just read called Matched. Fans of The Giver or the Uglies trilogy will eat up this one.
It's years in the future and the Society has streamlined life to perfection. Everything is statistically mapped out, from who you will be 'matched' with, to how long you're able to bear children (none past age 31), to what you eat, to your job, to when you die (the prime age? Eighty.). This story focuses on Cassia, a seventeen year old who just learned that her Match is Xander, a childhood friend. Life is humming along nicely. The snag comes when she discovers that a second boy is mistakenly put in her file and she begins to fall in love with him. She begins to wonder if everything the Society has done is truly best.
Near the beginning of the book, Cassia goes to visit her grandfather (a strong role model in her life), who is enjoying a piece of berry pie. Cassia's never had pie, so she has to imagine it's delicious: "The flakiness of the sugared crust, which reminds me of crystals on an edge of snow. The red-stained berries smeared across the plate, ripe and surely full of taste" (60). Shortly afterward, her grandfather reaches his 80th birthday and for the celebration, he orders pie for the whole family. "I serve everyone else first and then I pick up my piece of pie, flaky and warm and fruit-filled, and lift a forkful of the pastry to my mouth. I wonder if death will always taste this good" (78).
We have a TON of berries and fruit in the freezer, so I needed to find a pie recipe to use the stored fruit. Most recipes I have on hand use fresh berries or fruit.
1 c strawberries, halved2 c blackberries
2 c blueberries
2/3 c sugar
¼ c cornstarch
1 T lemon juice
pie crust
1. Thaw and drain fruit. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 400°.
3. Add fruit to sugar and stir to coat. Let rest 15 minutes. Add lemon juice.
4. Fit pie crust into a deep dish pie plate and pour in fruit mixture. Top with pie crust, crimping closed. Cut holes to vent. If desired, coat with an egg wash and sprinkle with additional sugar. Cover edges with foil so they don't over-brown.
5. Bake for 20 minutes on the lowest rack. Reduce oven temp to 375° and move rack to middle. Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes.
4. Fit pie crust into a deep dish pie plate and pour in fruit mixture. Top with pie crust, crimping closed. Cut holes to vent. If desired, coat with an egg wash and sprinkle with additional sugar. Cover edges with foil so they don't over-brown.
5. Bake for 20 minutes on the lowest rack. Reduce oven temp to 375° and move rack to middle. Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes.
My notes: uh, well, most of my notes are incorporated in the recipe above, though I didn't thaw my berries enough. If you use the link below, it's a bit different... several of my adaptations are based on comments from the Allrecipes site. Oh, and I'm not including a pie crust recipe as there are a lot out there, including premade ones!
The berries really shine in this recipe!
Book recommendation: Matched by Ally Condie
Recipe recommendation: Three Berry Pie
Parody recommendation: Pagagnini
5 comments:
I want to know what happens next! You certainly chose an intriguing book to feature and the pie it inspired looks perfect, a great way to make use of those berries stored in the freezer. Speaking of which, maybe I ought to take a look and assess my berry reserves. Thank you so much for contributing again to Novel Food!
This story gives me the chills. I can imagine readers of it working up to "Never Let Me Go," when they come of the right age. Great choice, Ruhama.
Love that pie - mixed berries and double crust is a deadly combo, indeed.
((BTW: I tried (and failed) at initial starter for the poolish. I'll write you soon to discuss where I went wrong. I do want to try again.))
It's a really quick read, not only because it's a teen novel, but because the author makes you want to know what happens! And it's not a cheesy ending, for which I am quite grateful.
And I used the Cook's Illustrated vodka pie crust recipe. YUM.
Susan--the bread is certainly worth another go! I'll watch for your email. :)
Beautiful pie!
I've always enjoyed dystopian fiction. I'll have to look this one up. :)
I am sad that the pie is gone. But guess what? I still have bags of berries in the freezer!
The book is also available in audio format, though I haven't given it a listen, so I'm not sure how that is.
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