Norman's mixed fruit pie

Norman’s Mixed Fruit Pie

I don’t know why it is so hard to find frozen sour cherries these days. Ten years ago, almost every grocery had them in the freezer. Now, I only know of one store that still carries them (Meijer) and that isn’t near my home. Darn, I had a taste for cherry pie too.

Oh, well. I went to my local grocery and checked out their frozen fruit. They didn’t have much. They had blueberries, but you would need to take out a mortgage to afford those! I settled on a 12 oz. bag of frozen mixed fruit (Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries). To that I added an apple and a plum to get enough to make a pie with. This is how I made it.

12 oz. frozen mixed berries

1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced

1 red plum, peeled and diced

1 cup of orange juice

1 lemon’s zest

1 lemon’s juice

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of corn starch

2/3 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 nutmeg grated

Tajin Seasoning (optional)

2 pie crusts (either homemade or Pillsbury)

Preparation

Heat a skillet that is a little larger than your pie plate. Add the orange juice, the berries, the apple and the plum. Stir and add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the sugar, corn starch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Now sprinkle a little Tajin seasoning over the fruit mixture. Don’t worry if you can’t find the Tajin, the pie will be fine without it.

Bring the berry mixture to a boil and stir well to mix it. Turn off the heat. Place the bottom crust in your pie plate and make sure the edge of the crust is over the edge of the plate. Fill the pie with the berry mixture and place the top crust over the pie. Roll up and crimp the edges. Made a large center hole and several smaller vent holes in the top of the pie. Place the pie plate on a baking pan in case it bubbles over. Bake at 370º for about an hour, or until the crust is nice and brown and the pie is bubbling.

Serving

I like this fruit pie after a big meal of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, dinner rolls and a salad. With that, I’d have a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Once dinner is done, I’d serve a large wedge of this pie with a big scoop of ice cream. I’d have coffee with my pie and a Serbian Plum Brandy to settle the stomach.