IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOD

This is a little excerpt taken from the website fo the movie ETHOS, which I definitely recommend you watch. Of course it is about food, and about how it not only affects our body and mind but also our entore sociaty and the world we live in.
"Often this conversation begins with a discussion about Organic foods, but that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this vitally important subject.
This is the stuff we put into our bodies, it is where we spend most of our money, and it drives the chemical and agricultural industries that have a massive effect not only on our environment, but our economies and our politics.
Poisonous colorings and preservatives have long been cause for discussion and now newly developed genetically modified products are giving cause for alarm. GMOs are not only a subject of serious environmental concern; we do not know the effects of these products in our environment. GMOs are of great political concern as patent holders force local and third world farmers, as a condition of IMF loans, to accept their products and are bringing massive law suits for patent infringements that are driving small family owned farmers out of business in order to corner the markets.
Food is a serious issue. The first concern should be for health. The food we eat has less and less actual ‘food’, sustenance, vitamins, protein etc., and more and more chemicals used both in the food and its manufacture. This is more than alarming in health and environmental terms. The prices of common foods are kept artificially low because of these practices and organic foods naturally seem more expensive by comparison. However, it is important to note that one organic banana, for example, has more actual ‘food’ in it than a Big Mac Meal and costs a fraction of the price.
We have to start paying close attention to what we eat, reading labels and making healthier choices, but this is a very important point: manufacturers monitor your purchases meticulously. They spend billions of dollars studying consumer behavior. When we change our buying habits they will notice that trend in the market instantly and they will follow our demand.  They have no choice. If you stop buying products that have chemicals in them they will have no choice but to take them out. This is where we spend most of our money. If we change the way we spend that money the effect will be massive. There are two great food documentaries, FOOD INC and FORKS OVER KNIVES you have to see them."

A grain of sand, can become a mountain if you want it to

There are so many environmental issues and causes right now. Everyone talks about being green, about saving the planet, about going back to our roots and feeling a deeper connection with the earth. All of this is wonderful and I feel lucky that I am witnessing the winds of change that are happening in the minds of many young people nowadays.

Of course it would be ideal if we all had solar panels on our roofs, if we all drove hybrids, or better yet, all electric cars, if we all had fancy water purifying systems, if we could all live in recycled material homes, if we could all afford to shop at Whole Foods every week. But the truth is that none of these options are affordable for every day people.  Some people don’t realize that there are several little ways to put in our grain of sand to make things better for ourselves and for our planet. We are part of this world after all and it’s about time we started acting like we are, and not like this is a place we can use and abuse without any regard. It’s time we thought about everyone and not just ourselves. The world is not going to end this year, but it will decline rapidly and steadily if we don’t do something about it. The ONLY reason this planet would perish is because of us. It’s only in OUR hands. WE are the only ones responsible for the wellbeing of our planet earth, and therefore, our own livelihood.

Some of us are very aware of the problems our planet is facing and we try to do anything we can in our own little way to help.

Here are some of the little things that can make a huge difference in our lives and create a ripple effect that can reach many people, turning a grain of sand into a mountain:

1. REFUSE PLASTIC BAGS and DON’T BUY DRINKS IN PLASTIC BOTTLES at the grocery store: Have you ever heard of the Pacific Trash Vortex? It is literally an island in the middle of the pacific ocean made mostly out of plastic bags and waste just floating around, suffocating marine life. Plastic dos not decompose. So It accumulates and accumulates and eventually ends up in the ocean. So, next time you go shopping, bring your own bags, they even make them very fashionable nowadays.

2. TURN OFF THAT FAUCET: When you are brushing your teeth in the morning you do not need the water running the entire time, just turn it on real quick to soak the brush, then turn it off again. Turn it back on to rinse and that’s it. Without water, we can not exist. Cherish it, save it

3. RECYCLE : I am just going to quote part of a children’s song here that should explain in a very simple way why we should recycle. Especially if you live in a neighborhood that has recycling pickup. There is NO EXCUSE not to recycle.

“Good Garbage breaks down as it goes.
That's why it smells bad to your nose.
Bad garbage grows and grows and grows.
Garbage, garbage,
Garbage is s'posed to decompose.”

4. TRY TO EAT SEASONAL: This one may seem like a little bit of a sacrifice for some, but lets be honest here… do you REALLY need strawberries in January? No, you don’t. You can wait 6 months and they will be event tastier. The environmental impact of getting those strawberries from Uruguay or Mexico to you’re your local grocery shop in the Northeast is HUGE. Genetically modified seeds that make the strawberries grow at double the speed of a normal strawberry, chemical sprays to give them the red color since they are always picked before they’re ripe, tons of harmful pesticides used to keep them from getting infested by ever resistant bugs, gallons and gallons of oil to truck them from one point to the next.  The best things comes to those who wait.

5. CONNECT WITH NATURE IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE: Go to the park, go camping, take walks along a river or a creek. The only way we can truly appreciate mother earth is to feel as we are part of it. Because we are, we survive thanks to it and we will all become part of it when we die. Being at peace with the earth is being at peace with one self. Treat Earth as you would your mother, with love and respect, because she is our mother, she nurtures and cares for us and gives us everything we need to survive and we have to be close to her so we can recognize when we need to give back to her, nurture and care for her.

These five things are the easiest I could think of. If we all started putting our little grain of sand, we will see the results. I guarantee it.

A couple of product reviews

I’ve decided to start writing some product reviews, because some of my friends and family members are always asking me what ingredients I use in my cooking or how I get certain things to taste the way they do. The truth is that my secret, which is really no secret, is that I try to make as much homemade food as I can. This means that I NEVER buy processed or frozen “ready made” foods. The reason is simple. I want the purest ingredients which makes for not only healthier but also tastier results. I know that is seems like you need a lot more time to dedicate to this kind of meals but the truth is that all you need is just a little extra time, maybe 30 minutes or an hour, that you can take from the weekend instead of watching that reality show. Trust me your body and your family will be better for it. And if you want to go the extra step you can prepare quantity and freeze fore those moments when you really don’t have time or energy to prepare things from scratch.

There are moments, however, when I find myself needing to buy packaged foods because either I have run out of my own supply of homemade ones or just because I honestly do not have the infrastructure or the knowledge to make my own.. yet .

Here are a few of my favorite to go products to buy in a pinch:

POMI: Italian strained or chopped tomatoes

 

I have been canning for the last 3 years now and the more I do it the easier it gets, but it seems that I still haven’t quite realized just how many  tomato jars we go through in this house! I doubled my production last year I now, March I only have 4 jars left which are now being rationed carefully in the hopes that they will last until the next tomato season. But who am I kidding… I LOVE tomatoes! But, I rarely buy them in the fall or winter (only about 3-4 at the most)

So, when I run out of jars and I still crave the occasional red sauce, or I’m in a pizza state of mind I always buy POMI. 

The reason why I love this brand is because after carefully reading every single (really, EVERY single) can label on the supermarket I realized that POMI is the only one that has 1 ingredient in their list, you guessed it: TOMATOES.

How refreshing is that!

The simpler the ingredient list the better a product is and it doesn’t get any better than 1 ingredient.

Even thought they are not organic, they are the least processed tomatoes I have been able to find in the market. They don’t need any preservatives or citric acid because they package them as soon as they are picked and peeled in BPA free cartons, which you can even recycle to plant your own tomato plants! See? Now you are even recycling the package and using it to your advantage.

So there you go, POMI for sauces, salsas, pizza sauce, etc..

PASTA: WEGMANS Super Pasta

Again, I have been trying to perfect the homemade pasta, but I still haven’t gotten my hand on a pasta maker so it’s not that easy when you have to roll and cut it by hand. And even though I love the work, I am still not that crazy. So when I buy my pasta in a package I buy Super Pasta. It even sounds cool “Super Pastaaa to the rescue!”

This pasta is actually a step beyond whole wheat pasta, without tasting like it completely. I actually hate whole wheat pasta. To me, it tastes like cardboard and sand… sorry but it’s true. But super pasta is only partially made with whole wheat flour, and then they added extra protein and fiber, calcium, vitamin D, and ALA omega 3-s.

I try to give this pasta to my daughter instead of the regular bleached flour pasta and she loves it. Super Pasta has fiber from whole grains, as well as some resistant starch, a kind of fiber that comes from corn. Both types slow down the rate of digestion, so you feel fuller longer, and the rise in blood sugar is more gradual and sustained. That’s good for everybody, but especially for people with diabetes and people trying to watch their waste line… and who isn’t right?

So these are my 2 reviews for today. I'll post more as I remember and/or use them. 

Hope this helps!

12 resolutions for 2012: February is make bread from scratch!

If I was on a deserted island and only could take with me one food item, it would be bread. I love it, I crave it, I dream about it straight out of the oven, still steaming, slathered in rich butter. Yum! I especially love French baguette and country style homemade loafs. Fortunately for me, my friend Caroline from Grow it Cook it Can it, has had the great idea of making it our February resolution project.

My mother in law had given me a book about breads a few years ago and for some reason I felt a little overwhelmed by the amazing bread recipes in it. I didn’t feel confident enough to tackle any of the recipes thinking… me? Make bread? How? Don’t you need a special oven, special flour, special everything? Turns out… not really. After tackling several other homemade projects including pizza dough and last month’s homemade pasta, I felt like bread couldn’t be that difficult anymore. In fact, it’s pretty easy and such a magical process to watch the yeast do it’s magic.

I decided to go through that great bread book and pick one that would be a little more challenging than just a regular white loaf. I found a recipe for Rosemary-Sage bread that sounded absolutely to die for. Now, I love fresh herbs but rosemary is my ultimate favorite so what can be better than rosemary scented bread? Not much I think.

The original recipe makes 4 loaves and includes goat cheese but I figured I would just make 1 loaf my first time (less depressing if you mess up one loaf and not 4), and since my husband hates goat cheese – a sad, sad thing – I omitted the cheese in my recipe.

This recipe is a basic loaf which is then filled with the rosemary-sage sauce and baked, so if you prefer other herbs, or prefer to just do one herb, you can adapt it to your particular preference.

Here it goes...

Basic white bread recipe (makes 1 loaf)

½ tablespoon of yeast

2 cups of warm milk

2 cups of warm half & half

¼ stick of butter, melted

1/8 cup of powdered sugar

4 cups of all purpose flour plus extra for dusting

1 ½ tablespoons of salt

1 tablespoon of water

1 egg

In a large bowl (or measuring cup) dissolve the yeast in the milk and half & half. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the year is foamy. Add the butter and mix with a whisk. Add the powdered sugar and mix well to break any clumps.

In a large bowl mix the flour and the salt. Slowly add the liquid mixture to the flour and knead well. If the dough is too sticky keep sprinkling flour until your hands can work it without becoming a gooey mess. 

Knead for about 4-7 minutes. Keep the dough moist for a soft, tender bread

 

Before Kneading

 After kneading

Place the kneaded dough in a bowl generously sprayed with oil (or buttered if you prefer). Cover and leave in a dry warm place to rise for 1 hour.

In the meantime make the Rosemary-Sage sauce:

1 ½ tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of olive oil

½ can (13.5oz can) of coconut milk

1 teaspoon of almond extract

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

1 tablespoon of  freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons of freshly chopped rosemary

3 tablespoons of freshly chopped sage

¼ teaspoon of black pepper

pinch of salt

In a skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the olive oil, coconut milk, almond extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir to mix well. Add the rosemary, sage and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring frequently. Remove the sauce from the stove, pout into a bowl and let cool.

 At this point your bread should have risen nicely.

NOTE 1: If it doesn’t seem to rise enough you can turn on the oven for 2 1 minute, turn it off again and place ot in the oven with the door open. This will get the dough a little warmer and help it rise better.

Now that your dough has risen place it on a floured surface. Roll it to form an 11”x9” rectangle so that the long side is perpendicular to your body.

Spread  the Rosemary-Sage sauce evenly over the dough.

NOTE 2: I ended up not using all of the sauce because it looked a little too wet, instead I strained most of the herbs and spread those on the dough, leaving some to sprinkle on top as well.

Butter of spray a 9” loaf pan.

Tightly ( or as tightly as possible) roll the dough into a loaf, with the rolling action going away from your body. To hold most of the filling, fold the outer edges of the dough as you roll. This might get messy, but it’s all part of the fun.

I would have posted a picture of this if it hadn't been completely impossible to handle the camera while having gooey, wet doughy hands. Sorry.

Place the dough seem side down into the loaf pan. Place the an in a warm, dry place and allow the dough to rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 400º.

Beat together the egg and water to make an egg wash. Brush egg wash over the dough.

If you still have any sauce left, strain the herbs and spread them over the top of the bread. 

Bake for approximately 1 hour.

Ovens vary so taste for doneness. Remove loaf from the pan and tap bottom. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. If not, continue to bake, checking every few minutes.

When loaf is done remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack or a wooden board. 

Congratulations! You made bread!

 

12 resolutions for 2012: January is make your own pasta!

My friend and fellow blogger and lover of all things homemade, Caroline, recently posted about making kitchen resolutions to learn new skills and techniques during 2012.

She invited friends and other food bloggers and anyone who’d like to join her in doing the projects. My fellow home cooks and foodies will agree that there is nothing better than food made from scratch. Not only the taste is superior but it is budget friendly, season-conscious and most importantly, it brings people together.

The plan is that every month is a new project. Each project will be one that we all have little or no experience with but that we love and can’t get enough of. How amazing it would be to be able to make them ourselves!

This month’s project was: Make your own pasta from scratch.

I have to admit that I cannot live without pasta. Those “carb-conscious” diets are my enemy #1. I simple do not believe in a world without pasta. Maybe it’s the Italian in me.

Learning how to make my own pasta has always been a dream, but a very intimidating one. Luckily, for me, my younger sister Paola has been visiting us from Italy and when I told her about the project, she immediately said she would teach me how to make homemade pasta just like she had seen it made in Italy by the moms and grandmothers of her friends.

We decided to make “Orechiette” which is a typical pasta from Puglia, a southern region in Italy, the heel of the boot! Even though we are from Northern Italy, we have a lot of Southern Italian friends and they are the ones who are renowned for staying in the kitchen for hours at a time making their own pasta, sauces and anything in between.

Orechiette means “little ears” in Italian, and that is what the pasta shape looks like. And we made it with a “polpetine al sugo” sauce, which is basically a  soupy tomato/white wine sauce with small meatballs.

OK, before I begin I have to say, this is not  for the impatient cook. This pasta takes A LONG time to make. But if you have good company and nice bottle of Italian red, it is actually fun, relaxing and extremely enjoyable. Not to mention the immense satisfaction and sense of accomplishment of eating something shamefully delicious that you made with your own hands. It’s heaven on a plate, and you are god.

Here we go: Orechiette al Sugo con le Polpetine

Serves 4

For the pasta dough you will need:

*1/1/2 cups of Semolina 1/1/2 cups of all purpose flour

approximately 1 cup warm water (the amount depends on the dough consistency)

½ teaspoon of salt

* I could not find semolina flour, so I mixed Semolina with regular flour and it worked perfectly

For the Polpetine sauce:

1 lb. of ground 97% lean grass fed beef

1 cup of panko bread crumbs

1 cup of bread dough (from cooked white or whole wheat bread)

½ cup of milk

2 eggs yolks (ideally from fresh farm eggs, organic or grassfed hens)

salt and pepper to taste

2  tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

½ an onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

½ cup of dry white wine

1 tablespoon or a sprig of rosemary

2 pint jars of fresh canned tomatoes roughly pureed (If you do not have your own canned tomatoes you can also used a good quality can of peeled tomatoes – and watch the sodium, please)

½ teaspoon of sugar

salt and pepper to taste

On a clean surface, make a well with the mixed flours and salt. Pour water slowly (1/4 cup at a time) bringing the edges of the flour in towards the water.

Start needing together with your hands. It’s going to be a bit messy… just like the picture, but eventually it will come together. Keep adding water until you have a smooth dough that does not stick to your fingers.

Now it’s time to do some heavy kneading!  This dough needs to be very smooth because it does not have eggs in it. The only thing holding the pasta together is the gluten in the flours, which has to be worked a lot so the gluten starts working.

We kneaded this baby for 10-15 minutes. You will notice how slowly the dough becomes softer and softer, and does not break, until it becomes similar to the consistency of Playdoh (see Emma below making her Playdoh Orechiette too, she wanted in the action).

The dough should look like this when you are done kneading

Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 20 or 30 minutes.

Ok, now It’s time to start the pasta!

Take a little piece off the dough, and keep the rest covered. In a generously floured wooden surface (could be a wooden tabletop or a large cutting board), roll out the piece of dough into a long shape, a little thicker than a pencil. Like below.

Then cut off little ¾” pieces with a knife. Like so:

  

This is the harder (but fun!) part. Take one of the pieces and put the tip of the knife over it, the drag the knife towards you all the way until it goes all through the dough.

Then, carefully pick up the little piece of dough and turn it inside out

That is your Orechiette!!

Place each finished Orechiette on a floured tray.

Now make 1.354.650 more and you have enough for 4 people! Yay!

They have to dry so, leave them to dry for a couple of hours. You’ll see that they become harder just like the fresh pastas you find at a specialty pasta store.

Note: Take into consideration that this takes a little practice. My first Orechiette (pictured below) looked more like a piece or smashed chewed gum than pasta, but eventually I mastered it.

While your Orechiette dry, make your sauce.

Lets start with the meatballs. In a medium size bowl, mix the bread dough with the milk and let sit for a few minutes, add the ground beef, egg yolk, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste.

 Keep your hands wet so the meatball mix doesn’t stick. Make balls of about ¾” diameter.

Set on a grease cookie sheet.

In a pot over medium heat, heat up EVOO, add the meatballs a few at a time. Do not crowd the pot or the meatballs will boil instead of sauté. Turn meatballs slowly until they are browned on all sides and take them out of the pot and back onto the cookie sheet Repeat with all the meatballs and set aside. Add a little more EVOO to the pot, sauté garlic and onions until translucent in color but not brown. Add white wine and meatballs. Cook for 2/3 minutes, add crushed tomatoes, the rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the meaballs are completely cooked. The sauce will be quite acidic, so to lower the acidity, Italians’ secret is add a little sugar. This balances out the flavors without making the sauce sweet.

Shake excess flour off your dried Orechiette  and boil in  salted water  for 6/7 minutes, or until “al dente”. Drain, add a tablespoon of EVOO.

Plate some Orechiette and top with the meatball sauce and some freshly shaved or grated Parmigian Reggiano.

ENJOY!

NOTE: There are a number of Youtube videos that also teach you an easier way to make this pasta shape, being Italian and a stickler for pasta perfection, when it comes to making pasta, it has to be the real deal. I find that the harder and more time it takes to prepare a meal, the more enjoyable it is. Yes, I might be crazy… but I am food crazy, and proud.

I hope Caroline is also proud of me and I can’t wait for the next project.

Arden Farm, week 3: “Weed and hoeing around”

This week at Arden farm was the hardest so far. I learned that it is one thing is to plant tiny seeds, being filled with hope that they will become an amazing bounty of fresh food, then harvest the fruit of your labor, feeling the excitement and satisfaction of looking at a crate full of fresh produce you just picked, and quite a different thing to actually do the  “in between labor” that is involved in any farm, especially an organic and sustainable farm. These activities include but are not limited to: weeding, mulching, mowing, pruning, etc. All are essential to the successful management of a farm and none of them very exciting, rewarding, or fun.  The past 3 days were a combination of these activities. We started out by weeding green onions. This we were able to do by hand and it didn’t seem very hard, except for the fact that the sun was beating down on us with full force. Myself, being the tanning freak that I am, didn’t use anything for protection so that I would get “little bit of color”. I know, bad idea. You don’t have to tell me; I know now.  The first day wasn’t so bad. The green onions hadn’t been invaded by weeds so much and it seemed like a pretty “relaxing” job actually. But then, this morning it was time to move into the rainbow chard. Sara, one of my farmer partners and the one with the most experience, handed me and Melissa - a newbie like myself- a hoe. And off we went into the field. The weeds were so many that we had to pick them out by hand first to be able to find the little chard plants hidden by a mini forest of weedy green.

After the had picking came the actual hoeing. Can you picture a scene in one of those movies where they show prisoners doing road side labor in the sweltering sun a la “Cool Hand Luke” and you think 

“Wow, that looks tough” Well, that was us. We were on a mission to lift those weeds out of the ground and away form the precious chard.

One hour later, sweating and with blistery hands (even though we wore gloves) we were done. But wait! Now we have to mulch the cucumbers, over there… on that long field.

A picture speaks louder than word, so here are two pictures of the size of the cucumber fields we mulched. The actual mulching part wasn’t as tough (besides the inclement sun, again) but the carrying of the hay bales was the hard part. I’m serious when I tell you that I am canceling my gym membership because I am going to get all the workout I need here.

As usual, Dan is a great mentor and he wasn’t going to let the week go by without a reward. Our reward this week was the opportunity to be a part of a “Pasture Walk” with a member of the Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District and a Tomato plant walkthrough with an expert of Tomato growing from Cornell University who drove all the way from Ithaca. These people are extremely knowledgeable and came to help Dan improve the production and profitability of how farm and provide valuable knowledge in organic and sustainable practices so Dan not only can continue to grow his vegetables in an organic way but also start a “Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing” system for his animals that will be extremely beneficial for both the animals, the soil and Dan and the key to successful pasture raised animals.

Here is an article about Rotational Grazing 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managed_intensive_rotational_grazing

I am looking forward to the coming week and what other great things I can learn.

Strawberry Fields Forever

How can I talk about seasonal delights and not mention the strawberry! Strawberries are one of the most amazing gifts of nature. Sweet, tart, bursting with juice! They are so versatile and so beautiful. I hope most of you who read this got a chance to get some strawberries this June. We are coming to the end of strawberry season and it would be a shame to say goodbye to this month without a little blog about one of the world’s favorite fruits.

My husband, Mike and I went strawberry picking yesterday. We live about 5 miles away form an organic farm and they have a “pick your own” system every year in June. Last year with the new baby we missed our chance to pick strawberries but this year there was no way I was going to let the season go by without stocking up. We use a lot of jam during the year (especially in the fall and winter) and it’s very hard to find organic, local strawberry jams that fit our weekly grocery budget so, of course, I HAVE to make my own. Plus, as you know, it’s one of my biggest pleasures to make my food from scratch.

We called Thorpe’s Farm ahead before going and they told us it was the end of the season and it would be “slim pickins” but we decided to go anyway.

The picture below will show you what “slim pickins’ means around here. Woah!

And here is my husband in the middle of the field

I can only imagine if we had gone last week! Well, now we know and I will be there next year right when the seasons starts.

Needless to say we were able to come home with a great bounty of 11 quarts and all for the modest amount of $25. Tell me where in the city can you get locally grown, organic strawberries for that price? Eat your heart out Whole Foods!

I am SO excited for my gorgeous strawberries. Yes, as you might have noticed seasonal food makes me VERY excited. (I don’t east fresh strawberries for the rest of the year, so this is my chance to indulge)

Here is my plan for the “not so slim pickins” strawberries:

-       1 quart went to Mikes mom for taking care of our baby while we were out in the fields having a ball picking

-       8 quarts were washed, chopped and turned into 12 half pints of delicious preserves

-       1 quart of the larger prettier ones were left whole and put in bags to freeze (for smoothies, juices and of course… daquiris)

-       1 quart will be used to make a decadent, glistening, bursting with flavor Strawberry pie.

Here are my cutey little preserve jars. 

I found the labels at a country store nearby

 

Is your mouth watering yet?

Go ahead and make yourself a strawberry pie, eat it slice by slice, slowly, with a bit of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and think about how awesome it is to be you.

Here is my mother in law’s recipe. It’s by far my favorite pie recipe and I normally use it for Rhubarb but any berry works fine as well.

 

Mom Sharon’s Famous Pie:

Crust:

-       2 cups of flour

-       1 cup of vegetable shortening (like Crisco)

-       2/3 teaspoon of salt

-       1 egg, beaten

-       1 tablespoon of white vinegar

-       3 tablespoons of water

Filling:

-       4 cups of strawberries (whole of sliced, whatever you prefer)

-       1 cup of sugar (you can make it ¾ cups if you like it less sweet)

-       4 tablespoons of flour

-       1 egg, beaten

-       2 tablespoons of butter

Start by making the crust. Mix 3 first ingredients together and then add the egg, missing well (I like to do it with my hands), then add the vinegar and the water one spoonful at a time. Once all is well mixed cover the dough and place in the refrigerator for one or two hours.

15 minutes before you take out the dough, start making the filling. Mix all of the ingredients together, except the butter. It’s that simple. Set aside.

At this point preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Separate the dough into two equal amounts. Roll out the one of them and fit into a 9”pie pan. Pour filling into the pan, add the butter to the top of the filling in small dollops. Put on the cover crust. Press ends together and crumple if you wish. Make 3 diagonal slits n the top of the pie to let steam out. (or place one of those gorgeous pie birds in the middle if you are lucky enough to have one)

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes.

Let cool. Slice. Enjoy!