CSA Share Week 6 and Blueberry Pie with Currant Crumb Topping for the Fourth!

Things are getting crazy at the farm.

Picked just a few hours before I hauled it all home:

Blueberries
Currants
Green Beans
Yellow Beans
Italian Green Beans
Italian Yellow Beans
3 Tomatoes
Green Cabbage
2 cucumbers
3 bulbs of garlic
Snow Peas
Sugar Snap Peas
Kohlrabi
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
2 8-ball green squash
1 yellow zucchini
1 yellow 8 ball squash
1 patty pan squash
Easter Egg Radishes
French Radishes
Basil
Broccoli
Pickling cucumbers
Cauliflower
Mint

This is what my counters looked like yesterday afternoon.

Crazy right? All kinds of lovely things are coming forth from the land.

Look at that yellow cauliflower and the size of that cabbage and kohlrabi! 

Red, White and Blue Currants - these babies are going on top of a crumb topped blueberry pie! 

How pretty are these radishes? I roasted some with olive oil and salt and pepper and they were SWEET! 

Fresh beans! 

This is too much food for one family, for one week. And this is exactly why I signed up for the CSA. My goal is too preserve what we can't eat fresh so that come this winter, I can reach into my pantry or freezer and serve my family healthy, locally grown produce that was preserved at the height of its flavor. No trucking, no additives, no ingredients other than what I put into it. And certainly nothing in there that a 3rd. grader couldn't pronounce. 

So I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon, peeling and cutting and blanching and packaging. It didn't take more than an hour to get this:

Beans (two kinds) and peas - ready for the freezer. Twenty-two servings. Today I'm going to make some refrigerator pickles to take to my family's Fourth of July picnic. Just some cider vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, salt and dill, heated up and poured over sliced cucumbers in a mason jar. Refrigerate for a day and two and voila! Crisp, zesty homemade pickles... maybe I'll add some carrots for fun, color and extra flavor. 

I'm also making the most of the beautiful berries in season right now. As a new twist to a centuries old standby of Blueberry Crumb Pie I'm going to throw some of those red, white and blue currants on top of the crumb topping. The heat of the oven should burst the berries creating a stunning patriotic explosion of color and flavor. 

Blueberry Crumb Pie: serves 8

Use your favorite pie crust recipe

6 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup sugar

zest of half a lemon

juice from half a lemon

1/4 cup cornstarch

pinch of salt

Roll out pie crust and fit into pie pan.

In a large bowl combine all the filling ingredients. Pour mixture into pie shell. Place pie on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare the topping.

For the topping

2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick COLD unsalted butter

In a small bowl combine all the ingredients. Working the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives, blend until large clumps appear. (I don't like to use my hands as the warmth from my fingers melts the butter)

Sprinkle the topping over the blueberries. You can be VERY generous if you like here, or save half the topping and freeze for your next treat. Optional: throw a handful of currants on top of the crumbs. 

Bake pie for 45-60 minutes. You will know when it is done when your house smells amazing, the crust is nice and golden brown, and the blueberries are bubbling.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or homemade vanilla ice cream. My Uncle Rich swears that the only topping for blueberry pie is chocolate ice cream. It is pretty darn good if you are the daring type. Enjoy!

A Cook's Notes: You know I support local, seasonal eating and this year's CSA share is my way of walking the walk and not just talking the talk. But does it make a difference? Can ONE person make a mark, take a stand, forge a better way of living and eating? I think so. And I think you, dear readers think so too. There is a movement afoot. A food movement. People care. People want to live healthier, more purpose driven lives; lives that are more closely associated with their surroundings and rooted in this earth we share. I believe this to be true. Do you?