a raspberry and ale pie

I think I first discovered Une Gamine dans la Cuisine - a blog - through Pinterest. Oh, the photos!  The food in those pictures was irresistible to me. I had to make something.

I haven't looked too far back, but I think it's all desserts. That's okay. I chose Prospero's Raspberry and Ale Pie - doesn't it sound intriguing? We have some ale hanging around the house; all I needed were the berries.

Well, at the supermarket I quickly realized that I'd have to spend fifteen dollars to get five cups for the pie, and I wasn't going to do it. But the frozen ones were on sale, two bags for six - okay, frozen would do!  Then, there was the ale issue - it calls for dark ale, and ours isn't.

But I like to use what's on hand if possible, so that what I used.

Then, there was an issue with the crust - she makes a butter crust with three tablespoons of sugar in it and some cream, or milk. I usually make an oil crust. Should I, or shouldn't I? I really try to avoid more dairy than I absolutely must eat, so I decided to go with my crust, and just put some sugar in it. But three tablespoons?  I put in half that amount as we also try to keep sugar levels down around here. Oh, and did I mention she's got oregano in the crust?  It sounds strange, doesn't it? But also exciting, so I wasn't going to leave that out. Except I didn't have fresh - one tablespoon - so I used dried - one teaspoon - as we know that dried herbs are more potent than fresh ones.

It was rather odd, I thought, that she didn't use any thickener at all for this pie - berries are so juicy, and frozen ones even more so - plus you're adding a quarter cup of liquid to it (the ale) I was afraid it would be very runny. But I left it as she said.

Now before I go any further, I want to point out something I read on Like Mother, Like Daughter  a week ago - Deirdre linked to a hilarious piece on the comments one finds on food blogs. I'm not sure they're all authentic - 'I just started Paleo yesterday, and I'm wondering if there's a way to make this without the ingredients.'  Really??  So as I made this pie, and changed this and subbed that, I kept wondering at what point a recipe is still what it's supposed to be when you're changing it so much. Anyway, I may be asking the question, but don't imagine I've got the answer.

So folks, I made the pie. It was very good!  I love fruit pie, anyway. But I should have put some instant tapioca in there, just a little, because it is very runny and that's a shame because the bottom gets all gooey, as you know. As for the oregano crust, it isn't weird at all! I like it! And I shouldn't have shied away from the extra sugar in there, either - it would have been fine with the three tablespoons, so next time.......

I learned something here - it's okay to put herbs in your pie crust. And you can add some unusual liquids into your fruit. But maybe I'll still play it safe and look for clever people who've already invented these recipes so I don't have to experiment.

Now please excuse me while I go read The Tempest, with a slice of raspberry and ale pie.