April 28 National Blueberry Pie Day #BlueberryPieDay

Did you know April 28 is National Blueberry Pie Day #BluebettyPieDay? I don’t know about you but Charlie and I don’t eat Blueberry Pie but I bet you David would if he had a slice. Today I would like to thank the LORD for David’s parents who treat me like one of there children and are the perfect grandparents for Charlie.

I would like to celebrate David’s dad this morning and have Charlie prepare a Blueberry Pie in his Homeschool Cooking Class for us to take to his grandfather. Blueberry and Blackberry Pies are his favorite. Since he flunked his test for Dementia he hasn’t been eating and were all worried about him. Mabey a Homemade Pie from Charlie would change that and he would eat. Who knows.. But it is worth a try because we all would be lost without this man and Granny Sherry couldn’t survive without him. Neither would David.

On National Blueberry Pie Day, April 28, we gather to celebrate the wonder of nature’s only true blue Fruit baked into a doughy, Buttery Pastry. It just so happens that, at the time of National Blueberry Pie Day, the first plump Berries in North America will be coming into season, ripe for the plucking, ready to be Sugar-powdered and baked. Blueberry Pie has deep roots in American Colonial history.

Blueberry Pie, which usually consists of a classic Pie Dough filled with a Berry mixture including Sugar, Flour, and Lemon Juice, is sort of a victory dessert. Before the U.S. became an independent Country, Native Americans lived off the land and used Blueberries, which they called Star Berries, as a source of survival.

In modern times, we look to Blueberries as a cutesy addition to Ice Cream or a nutritional addition to our morning Smoothies. Back in the Colonial days, Native Americans crushed and dehydrated Blueberries and used the resulting powder as a supplementary boost in their foods all year long. Now recognized as a superfood, Blueberries are packed with antioxidants, phytoflavinoids, potassium, and vitamin C. Some historians speculate that without the Blueberry, the earliest settlers in North America may not have survived their first Winter in the new Country.

As civilization continued to expand and farmers began growing produce at a much higher rate, American settlers were no longer so hard-pressed for nutrients and could begin to use the friendly Fruits for their flavor rather than their sustainable nutrition. It was in these times, the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, that the Blueberry became the sweet dessert feature that we celebrate today.

The original Blueberry Pie was baked with wild Maine Blueberries from Maine, where the fruit grows liberally without much assistance from farmers. To this day, Blueberry Pie is Maine’s national dessert. Though Apple Pie seems to have cemented itself as the most stereotypically American dessert, we believe Blueberry Pie is as vital to our nation’s dessert history as the blue rectangle on our flag.

LET”S CELEBRATE NATIONAL BLUEBERRY PIE DAY

1. .Lots of family farms in states all across the Country are open during harvest season for guests to arrive, buckets in hand, and collect their own Berries which my family hasn’t ever done but would be a fun Homeschool Field Trip. Would you like to go with us Berry picking?
2. There’s one very straightforward task that you simply must accomplish on National Blueberry Pie Day and that is to have a slice of Blueberry Pie and yes, you can have Ice Cream with your Pie. Calories don’t count today.
3. I’m sure you know someone that could use a little Spring pick-me-up. Baking two pies won’t take any additional time, and you’ll be able to help another person celebrate Natiuonal Blueberry Pie Day along with you.

FACTS ABOUT PIE

1. One of the number one Pie issues is keeping the crust connected to the filling. Some bakers swear by baking the Crust on its own first before filling, while others insist on putting the crust in raw with the Pie intact. No, matter which way you prepare your Pie its going to be good.
2. Back before refrigerators, the Crust on top of a Pie was meant to help preserve the filling by covering the Fruits inside with a hard covering, families could keep them fresh for longer.
3. The reason Pie was such a dinner staple in Colonial times is that it took far less time, effort, and money to make than Bread.
4. The first Pies, baked in Britannia Centuries ago, were originally filled with savories foods including meat and vegetables.
5. Due to the malleable nature of Pie dough, bakers can make beautiful designs out of their top crusts.

FACTS ABOUT PIE

1. Though Blueberry Pie used to be an incredibly common dessert, its loss of popularity has left it in obscurity. We love this holiday because it offers us a chance to bake a Blueberry Pie with health benefits that we probably haven’t eaten in a while, if ever.
2. The environmental impact of consuming fruits and vegetables that are out of season is massive, but we don’t have to worry about any of that on National Blueberry Pie Day. The scrumptiously sweet festivities conveniently take place at the perfect time of year for picking ripe wild Berries, which means we could actually be helping by eating Berries

Recipe for Blueberry Pie Day

Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 50 mins Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins Servings: 8 Yield: 1 pie

Ingredients

• ¾ cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 (14.1 ounce) package double-crust pie pastry, thawed
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Gather all ingredients. Set an oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl; sprinkle over blueberries.
3. Line a pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-wide strips. Use the strips to weave a lattice top. Crimp and flute the edges.
4. Bake pie on the lowest oven rack until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, about 50 minutes.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates