Happy Summer!  On Monday, our neighbors Amy & Abby, the boys, and I drove to Smolak Farms in North Andover for a morning of strawberry picking. Few things taste quite as summery as fresh strawberries! Griffin ate his way through the field and luckily I remembered to dress him in a red shirt!  I have few memories of my maternal grandmother, but one is strawberry picking with her and my mother on a hot June day. Monday was a sweet reminder of her, made even more special by sharing it with my boys. Here are a few pictures from our outing.

So, what to do with 5+ lbs of fresh strawberries?  Get baking, of course!  I made a yummy pie filled to the brim with fresh berries, tart lemon zest, and basil.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. fresh strawberries, stemmed & halved

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

the zest of 2 lemons

3 tbsp. tapioca or cornstarch

3 tbsp. sugar

2 pie crusts

1 egg (to brush on the crust before baking)

Directions:

Rinse, stem, and cut up the strawberries.

Attempt a photo of your toddler eating oatmeal with fresh strawberries. Is that an EYEROLL?  Already?

I used a ready-made pie crust, but it fell apart, so I had to make the floury mess of my counter I was trying to avoid.  Boo.

Once the pie crust is in the pie plate, cover it with foil and fill with dry beans. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Add the basil, lemon zest, cornstarch, and sugar to the strawberries and mix gently to incorporate.

My helper.

Lay the second pie crust out and cut even strips with a pizza cutter.

Fill the partially baked pie crust with the berry filling.

Weave the strips to create a lattice pattern.  Trim the extra dough around the edges.  Using a pastry brush, brush whisked egg on the lattice strips and edges.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  Enjoy!