Today was the first full day Chris had off in months. We slept in, ate pancakes at 10:30, then met the inspector at our almost new house (all’s well on that front), and spent a bunch of time together as a family. Chris got lots of lazy, put-up-his-feet time on the couch to make up for all those long work days standing in the kitchen, although he was pretty much always the designated baby chair and/or preschooler trampoline any time he sat down.We also decided to let Nora pick something special to do. She has been eyeing the rock wall at the rec center, so we ended up spending part of the afternoon there climbing and swimming at the pool.I was so, so proud of Nora! She was incredibly brave and climbed at least 7 or 8 feet up. I fully expected this to be one of those things she says she wants to do and then changes her mind at the actual moment; boy did she prove me wrong.
After the rec center and a couple of short naps to rejuvenate, we had dinner and celebrated Chris being home with a surprise Nora helped me cook up.
I decided sort of last minute that I wanted to make a dessert and so I was stuck making do with what we had. We have no chocolate (my normal go-to sweet) and no eggs, so I had to get creative in what I could do, and thus this pie was born.
It’s my normal all-butter pie crust with a lemon pudding (thickened with cornstarch since we have no eggs) on the bottom and fresh blueberries on top.It turned out surprisingly well and seems like a perfect light summer dessert, so I thought I’d share the recipe. If you make one yourself, please let me know how it turns out.
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust, baked until golden brown
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 lb fresh blueberries, rinsed and picked over for stems
Directions
Prepare pie crust and bake empty until golden brown.
To make pudding, whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then whisk in milk until smooth. Add lemon zest. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice and butter.
Pour pudding into baked pie crust and top with blueberries. Gently press berries into the top of the pudding with the back of a spoon. Allow pie to chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving or until pudding is set. Serve cold.