Summer Reflections...and Blueberry Pie

My summer has been completely typical of the average 27 year old female. Nothing unusual at all.

Among the highlights and lessons learned....

• I judged a teenage pie-eating contest (Lesson Learned: One's love for food and cooking does not necessarily translate into a passion for competitive eating.)

• I almost got kicked out of a Planetarium show by an angry Physicist (Lesson Learned: When you warn your students about the importance of following rules--like not texting during a Planetarium show--make sure you follow your own rules.)

• I observed a sunset funeral for a bat...who was killed by one of the students...inside the office (Lesson Learned: A sunset service is the only way to go.)

• I was serenaded daily to the tune of "The Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang, and "Baby Got Back" by Sir-Mix-a-Lot (Lesson Learned: When driving a 15 passenger van of teenagers is part of the job, listening to their iPod playlists also becomes part of the job.)

Needless to say, living, eating, and working with with 22 teenagers for 6 weeks makes for an eventful and joyful summer.

The summer camp portion of my job has concluded for this year though. And while I'm sad to see the kids go, I'm looking forward to enjoying the non-work pleasures of summer: evening walks, Dairy Queen treats, yard work with Adam, Team Trivia with friends, and eating dinner on the porch.

Did I mention blueberry pie?

Because a juicy Blueberry Pie with a cinnamon-y crumb topping is definitely on my list of summer pleasures.

I baked this blue beauty on Saturday afternoon, basking in the glow of all the summer that still lays ahead.

Blueberry Crumb Pie

(recipe from Allrecipes.com)

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 unbaked pie shell (I used my favorite recipe for Perfect Pie Dough)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 5 - 6 cups fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 6 TBSP butter

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Press pie shell into a 9 inch pie pan; set aside in the refrigerator.

2) In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Stir until blueberries are fully-coated. Pour into the pie shell.

3) In the same bowl, combine the brown sugar, oats, flour, and cinnamon for the crumb topping. Cut in the butter and mix with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Pour evenly over the blueberries.

4) Bake pie for 40 minutes, or until edges of crust and top are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream :)