Secret Family Recipes: Raspberry Blueberry Pie

My mother has always made great pies, trained in the art by my grandmother. Sadly it’s a trait I’m afraid that has not been inherited by the Accidental Locavore. It’s not that I don’t make good pies, I almost never make pies, or do much baking for that matter. My mother’s stellar pie, is her raspberry-blueberry pie, which she will only make when both raspberries and blueberries are in season. And to my mother, a blueberry only comes from Maine where they are wild and small. None of those big marble sized blueberries for her (trust me, we’ve tried)!
Use your favorite recipe for pie crust, you will only need a bottom crust.

• 1 pint fresh raspberries (you can also use a 12 oz. package of frozen raspberries, thawed)
• 1 quart fresh Maine blueberries (you can use others, just don’t tell my mother)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• 1 baked and cooled pie crust

Make a puree of the raspberries by pressing them through a sieve with the back of a wooden spoon, you should have 1 cup. In a small saucepan add the raspberry puree with 1 cup of the blueberries, the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir it over low heat until it’s just boiling. It should be thick and transparent. Add 2 cups more blueberries, and cook until it bubbles again. Cool. This can be done in advance of serving the pie.
To assemble, pour the filling into the pie shell, and sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the top.
Serve with good vanilla ice cream on the side (and the leftovers are great for breakfast the next morning) and enjoy!

The pie and other great recipes are available in Word of Mouth and all proceeds go to the Humane Society of Knox County.