The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

We were just strolling through the farmer’s market, and this just kind of happened. We got almost all of the ingredients at the market; obviously the sweet cherries, but also the ice cream, and even the flour! It’s hard to beat pie, but it’s nearly impossible to beat homemade farmer’s market pie.

The Journey:

You know who makes a good cherry pitter? A 4 year old.

Cherry pie used to be my all time favorite pie. Now I’d probably say apple, but cherry pie still ranks up there. And you don’t get it nearly as often as apple.

I love our little farmer’s market. It’s not the biggest market, but it has everything you need (and it’s certainly the closest market). A couple of fruit and vegetable stands, chef demos, cheese, meat, eggs, bread, (flour!), crepes, and flowers. What more could you ask for? It’s so nice to see all the familiar faces, both the vendors who have been coming every week for years, and the neighbors you run into when you’re there.

We go every possible weekend that we can, and regret every weekend we can’t make.

The Verdict:

I know it’s almost a cliched debate at this point, but for my money you CAN NOT BEAT warm pie with vanilla ice cream. Don’t give me any of that cake nonsense. I mean, sure, cake is delicious. But moist, delicious, fruity, warm pie, with ice cream melting in your mouth?

Heaven.

The Recipe:

Whole Wheat Crust recipe from Whole Foods. I did get both a full bottom and top out of this recipe.

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons very cold butter

1. Mix flour with salt in food processor.
2. Add cold butter and pulse in food processor.
3. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until dough forms into a ball. (It actually took me 3 1/2 tablespoons)
4. Gather up and pat into a disc. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes before rolling out.
5. When ready to use, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle. (It was very crumbly at first; I had to work it with my hands for a bit until I could roll it.)
6. Gently fold into quarters using a little flour as needed to prevent sticking. Place dough in pie plate and carefully unfold, fitting loosely and then pressing into place. Trim the edges and crimp for a decorative crust.

Pie filling recipe sort of derived from Food in Jars, but using directions from the Food Network.

• 4 cups (1 quart) pitted sour cherries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons corn starch
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat.
3. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well.
4. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix.
5. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. (~10 minutes maybe?)
6. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.
7. Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Place top crust on and crimp edges with a fork. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape.
8. Sprinkle with sugar.
9. Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.