Happy Pi Day!

Despite being a τ supporter (albeit one who admits that π isn't going anywhere), I'm always up for any event that involves pie. To that end, below I present my wife's cranberry pie recipe, which is truly the greatest pie in the world. (It's also vegan, for those who care.)

I love pie. I am also lucky enough to be married to an excellent baker, who kindly makes me a pie for my birthday every year. But before we get to the recipe, I'm going to tell you about the first time she made me a cranberry pie.

Several years ago—probably almost a decade; it was before we were married, anyway—Laura asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. I replied that I'd much rather have a pie, which is in all cases superior to cake.

"Okay," she said. "What's your favourite kind of pie?"

"Cranberry," I replied instantly. Cranberry is the best berry, so naturally it makes the best pie.

"Cranberry pie? I've never heard of that. But I'm sure I can find a recipe."

And she did.

She cut me a slice, and I took my first bite, and let me tell you: it was delicious. She describes the taste as "kind of like Fruit Roll-Ups", which doesn't really do it justice, but I can't come up with a better description—so my suggestion is to just make the pie and try it for yourself. But I'm getting side-tracked.

Laura was looking at me expectantly. "How is it?" she asked.

"It is great," I said.

"Best cranberry pie you've ever had?"

I hesitated. "Yes," I finally replied.

"Well, is it better than any of the other cranberry pies you've tried?"

I took a deep breath. "Well, I haven't actually ever had a cranberry pie before."

Laura was distinctly unimpressed, and I can't really blame her. I'm lucky that she puts up with me. But in my defence, I was right: it really is my favourite kind of pie.

Happy π day!

Laura's Cranberry Pie

3 cups of cranberries
½ cup water
1¾ cups sugar*
5 tablespoons corn starch (or flour)
¼ tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 double pie crust (see below)

* I actually only use 1½ cups of sugar myself, but I like my tarts tart.

Preheat oven to 425° (why are all of my recipes in Fahrenheit?). Halve each cranberry, then add them to the water in a saucepan and bring them to a boil. In a mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, starch, and salt. Decrease heat and add the dry ingredients slowly to the boiling cranberries and cook, stirring regularly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract.

Allow filling to cool completely. This is a good opportunity to make the crust.

Laura uses a pretty standard Crisco crust, but whenever I make a pie I use this recipe that I poached from Greta Christina a few years ago (though it's evolved a little along the way). Here's a link to the original.

Greta's Double Pie Crust

2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1¼ cup cold vegetable shortening
¼ cup cold water
¼ cup cold vodka (or lemon juice, if you don't have alcohol handy)

Sift the dry ingredients together. Cut the shortening into small pieces and add it to the flour. Using a pastry cutter, break the shortening into small pieces roughly the size of peas coated with flour. Combine the water and vodka and sprinkle over the flour mixture, enough to make the dough hold together and roll out without making it too sticky. Liquid measures in a pie crust recipe are always approximate, so you may need less, or perhaps more.

(Generally, it's best to work the dough as little as possible while still combining the ingredients. Don't overwork it, and use as few strokes as possible to roll it out. You don't want the fat to heat up; everything that can be cold, should be cold.)

Break the dough into two pieces (divided about two fifths and three fifths). Sprinkle flour onto your rolling surface, place the larger portion onto the surface, and sprinkle it with flour as well. Roll the dough out from the centre. Place it gently in the pie plate and flatten the edges over the lip. Prepare the second portion of the crust as above and set it aside; it will be used to top the pie.

Fill the pie as desired, then place the second crust over top. Pinch the crust together where the top and bottom overlap then trim the remainder along the edge of the pie plate.

Bake for 35–40 minutes.

Apple Crisp

Apple crisp is pretty much the best. Here's how my recipe currently stands!

Filling:
7–9 Granny Smith apples
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cardamom
pinch cloves

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup cold margarine
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Core, peel, and slice the apples into a 9x13 pan. In a bowl, mix the spices with 3 tablespoons each sugar and flour. Pour into the pan, and mix well with the apples.

In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, oats, and (optional) walnuts, and slice in the butter. Avoid getting the butter too warm or over-mixing. Spread the topping over the apples and bake uncovered at 375˚F for 45 minutes.

Optional: Replace 2 apples with 1½ cups chopped rhubarb, increasing the white sugar to ⅔ cup.

Some Recipes

As promised on the podcast (by Ian), here are some of my favourite (vegetarian) recipes. Many of them can be made vegan with only minor fiddling. So, in no particular order...

Curried Squash and Apple Soup

1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 medium butternut (or large acorn) squash
2 apples
2 cups chicken-flavoured broth
2 cups milk
salt and pepper

Peel and chop the squash and apples. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in curry power, squash, and apples, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add broth, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15–20 minutes, or until squash and apples are soft.

Blend the soup using an immersion blender, then stir in milk and reheat over medium heat, stirring, until steaming (but do not boil). Season to taste, serve, and garnish with fresh herbs if desired.

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1½ cups vegetable broth
1 cup salsa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons sliced green onion

In an electric food processor or blender, combine beans, broth, salsa, and cumin. Blend until fairly smooth. Heat the bean mixture in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Ladle soup into 4 individual bowls, and top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of the sour cream and ½ tablespoon green onion.

Eggplant Parmesan

3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
½ teaspoon dried basil
salt

Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Salt the eggplant slices, then dip them in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5–10 minutes on each side. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Dal Makheni
(Indian Lentils)

1 cup lentils
¼ cup dry kidney beans
water to cover
5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, broken
4 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1½ tablespoons ginger paste
1½ tablespoons garlic paste
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup canned tomato purée
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons ground coriander
¼ cup butter
2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves
½ cup cream

Place lentils and kidney beans in a large bowl; cover with plenty of water. Soak for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain.

Cook lentils, kidney beans, 5 cups water, and salt in a pot over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and set aside. Keep the lentils, kidney beans, and any excess cooking water in the pot.

Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook cumin seeds in the hot oil until they begin to pop, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and cloves; cook until bay leaves turn brown, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low; add ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir to coat.

Stir tomato purée into spice mixture; cook over medium heat until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, coriander, and butter; cook and stir until butter is melted.

Stir lentils, kidney beans and any leftover cooking water into tomato mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Stir fenugreek into lentil mixture. Cover saucepan and simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Add cream and cook until heated through, 2 to 4 minutes.

Paneer Butter Masala
(Indian Curried Cheese)

250 grams paneer, cubed
3 tablespoons cashews
4 medium tomatoes, puréed (or 2 cups canned tomatoes, puréed)
1 green chili, sliced long
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch ginger, crushed or diced fine
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon kasuri methi (fenugreek leaves)
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon red chili powder
3 tablespoons ghee or butter
1 cup water
¾ cup cream
cilantro to garnish
salt
sugar, if required

Soak the cashews (time permitting) and then grind them with water into a smooth paste.

Heat the butter in a pan. Add bay leaf and fry for 15 seconds or until the oil becomes fragrant. Add the crushed ginger and garlic paste and fry until the raw aroma disappears.

Add the tomato purée and stir well. Add the red chili powder after 2 or 3 minutes and stir again. Sauté until the oil begins to separate from the tomato paste.

Add the cashew paste and stir well. Sauté the cashew paste until the oil begins to separate again.

Add the water and cream, and stir, turning the heat low. Add the green chili, salt, and sugar, and simmer until the curry begins to thicken.

Add the paneer cubes and cook them for a few minutes, until they become soft. (Don't overcook: the paneer can become too tough.)

Finally, add the fenugreek leaves and garam masala. Stir, and garnish with cilantro.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1½ cups milk (1¾ if using any whole wheat flour)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice (or cloves and nutmeg)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and lemon juice. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine. Spoon onto hot oiled griddle or frying pan on medium heat.

Shortbread Cookies

½ cup corn starch
½ cup icing sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup butter, softened
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Sift together cornstarch, icing sugar, and flour. With a wooden spoon, blend in butter until soft, smooth dough forms.

Shape into one-inch balls. (If the dough is too soft to handle, chill for half an hour.) Alternatively, roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

Place the cookies 1½ inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 300˚F for 15–20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Apple Crisp

(Note: This recipe has been updated! Click here for the new version.)

Filling:
7–10 Granny Smith apples
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons flour

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup cold butter or margarine

Core, peel, and slice the apples into a 9x13 pan. In a bowl, mix the cinnamon with 3 tablespoons each sugar and flour. Pour into the pan, and mix well with the apples.

In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, and oats, and slice in the butter. Avoid getting the butter too warm or over-mixing. Spread the topping over the apples and bake uncovered at 350˚F for 45 minutes.