TWD: Double Crusted Blueberry Pie

One of my favorite pies is blueberry. I come by this love in two ways: environmentally and genetically.

I grew up in the small town of Bellevue, Washington. Well, it was small way back then. It grew substantially after I left for college, so not much has remained the same. A few years ago, when I returned for a visit, I happened to see a display of photographs taken of early Bellevue. The photos were so dated! Cars, buildings, clothing styles – they all looked like something out of the distant past. Only they were depicting the years when I actually lived there. Gosh, they sure didn’t seem dated or old to me at the time…… Anyway, in the part of town where Iived, there were still blueberry farms. During summer vacations kids made extra money by picking blueberries, so my dream has always been to grow blueberries as a reminder of my childhood. But it seems that I always manage to live in places with alkaline soils, so it has yet to happen.

I remember lots of great things about my maternal grandfather. He chewed Juicy Fruit gum, loved the Dodgers, and would take me to the beach in San Clemente when I would come to visit. His most favorite pie in the world was blueberry with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Anytime blueberries were in season, my grandmother would bake him a pie. I guess I was predisposed, then, to love blueberry pie as well.

So, this week, when Amy, of South in Your Mouth, chose Double Crusted Blueberry Pie for our TWD event, I could hardly wait. Luckily, it’s blueberry time here. The stores have containers of all sizes, and if you are really adventuresome, there’s a local grower with a U-pick blueberry section. I decided to make the pie for 4^th of July, in honor of my grandfather and also for my grandmother, whose birthday fell on the 4^th. (With one exception, all my family members have holiday birthdays.)

I did substitute lime zest and juice for the lemon because that’s what I had on hand. Otherwise, everything else was the same. I use the butter-shortening combination quite frequently. Butter adds flavor, while shortening contributes to flakiness, and most shortenings, nowadays, are trans-fat free. I also used finely ground plain bread crumbs from Trader Joe’s, and you would never know they were part of the pie. Overall, the pie was delicious, and except for the addition of a bit more salt in the filling, I will definitely be baking it again. (My sugar crystals were lavender, hence the weird crust color.)

All the other bakers at Tuesdays with Dorie will be sharing their delicious versions of this pie, so be sure to stop by.