A bountiful harvest awaits you this summer

I love summer in Seattle. A heatwave has blanketed the Pacific Northwest, the hot air lulling us into the dog days of the season. One thing I love about living here is that it’s usually mild. While I prefer cooler weather, this isn’t so bad. Drinking lots of water and staying in the shade does the trick to keep cool.

In more exciting news, today is my best friend’s 34th birthday!

This morning, I gathered the ingredients to make a special birthday treat for him. Another thing I love about living in the Pacific Northwest is that there’s an abundant harvest waiting for you in the form of fresh fruit hanging from trees and vines. The fruit is so abundant that a non-profit organization called City Fruit has a program where you can register your fruit tree. So that, in order to minimize wasted food, whatever is left over from the harvest can go to the food banks around the city. I’ve never volunteered for City Fruit, but I know where all of my favorite fruit trees are in my neighborhood.

After picking blackberries, I climbed a tree and picked Italian plums. I love picking fruit straight from the source and eating it on the spot. Urban foraging is one of my favorite things; it reminds us where food actually comes from.

I picked a whole bunch because I make a pie crumble every year for my friend’s birthday. I call it the Pacific Northwest pie, because the filling is picked straight from the source. The pie crust is store-bought from the co-op, but if you want to make your own, there are plenty of vegan recipes for that. If you really want to be an overachiever and make the crust from wheat and oats that you’ve milled yourself, then that’s an über-Pacific Northwest pie!

This recipe makes two pies.

Pacific Northwest Pie Recipe

Have ready:

• 2 store bought pie crusts

Filling:

• 4 cups of Italian plums, pitted and quartered
• 4 cups of blackberries
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup organic sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Crumble top:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (or whatever vegan butter you prefer)
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Follow the instructions on how to prepare the pie crusts. They should be on the label.

For the filling, first mix the fruit together. The blackberries will most likely be crushed as they’re stirred around. Splash in the lemon juice. Then add the flour and sugar until everything is mixed well. Spoon the filling into the two pie crusts.

For the crumble topping, cream together the sugar and the Earth Balance. Add the cinnamon. Then add the flour and rolled oats until a sticky dough forms. Divide into two parts. Crumble each part onto a pie.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. The blackberries will dissolve and the plums will hold their shape.

After the pies are done baking, cool for 20 minutes. The filling gets very hot. Waiting is hard, but trust me on this one. Once it’s cool enough, enjoy the pie. It pairs well with Coconut Bliss vanilla ice cream.