I love making pie. I also love eating pie. Therefore, I only make pie when I have people to share with (and my 4 year old does not count). Last month I participated in the Pie for Pride contest and fundraiser at the New West Farmers Market and I made this recipe, apple-strawberry pie, and that led me to make it again to share. My 4 year old had other ideas, unfortunately. While he doesn’t like sweets and pie much, he does like strawberries, and the local market strawberries are irresistible to him. I made the pastry and had it resting in the fridge, and was beginning to prep the fruit when I noticed the berries had been raided.  I’m kind of used to a certain degree of chaos and this was a very minor blip, so I took the raspberries I froze a few weeks ago and kept on baking, substituting those for what were eaten. 

Strawberry (or raspberry) Apple Pie

Serves 8

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes

5-6 tbsp ice water

Filling: 

3 cups apples, peeled, quartered and sliced

3 cups berries (strawberries sliced, with tops removed)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp corn starch or tapioca 

1 tbsp lemon juice

Egg Wash:

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

Directions:

Mix the flour, sugar and salt together and add the butter. Cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 knives, until the butter pieces are no larger than a pea. Using a fork, mix in 1 tbsp of ice water at a time until the dough forms a ragged ball. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead 5-8 times, until it comes together. Divide into 2 pieces, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove from fridge and roll into 2 12” circles. Line a 10” pie plate with one of the rounds and trim the excess dough. 

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place all the filling ingredients into a medium saucepan and heat over medium until it starts to boil, then lower the heat slightly and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool slightly and pour into the pie shell.

Cover with the second pastry round and trim the excess, leaving approximately 1”, Crimp the edges, and pierce the top to let steam release in the oven. Brush the crust with an egg wash and bake for about 40 minutes.

And enjoy!

We’ve been fortunate enough to have one of our market regulars, Alyssa, (who is also an amazing home chef) agree to share her Farmers Market inspired recipes with us every month. Enjoy her first instalment below! – Lily 

 (source: The Friday Lunch)

As a kid, my favourite restaurant was, without a doubt, the Lhy Thai on Edmonds, in Burnaby. Amazing food, authentic, and very ‘cozy’. The space, more than 20 years later, hasn’t changed much. It’s tiny, cramped and always busy. I walk in and can still remember sitting with my parents and 3 sisters 20 plus years ago, eating together, enjoying both family and community. I moved back to New Westminster 2 years ago with my son, and I feel blessed to be raising my son in the same wonderful city I grew up in. New West has always been a city that thrives on personal connection and history. 

The New West Farmers Market is one of my favourite ways to experience this city as a personal community. Even among strangers, connections are deep. Food does that to people, it forges connections, and the farmers market brings it all together in a very special way. I was lucky this week to pick up plenty of produce and meat. I found lovely spinach, parsley, and garlic, plus more goodies for other meals, and got some chicken from Rockwell farms.  

The recipe I decided to share is a favourite dish of mine from my childhood, chicken satay, which I serve with spinach and rice. I use an oil based marinade with fresh garlic, ginger and parsley, and crushed whole cumin, which is a far cry from the traditional coconut milk based marinade used in Thai chicken satay. My kiddo is a bit picky so concessions and compromises mean we can both enjoy more adventurous meals together. 

Serves 4

Satay sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes 

Cooking time: 6-8 minutes 

1 cup coconut milk 

2-3 tbsp Thai red curry paste

1 cup natural peanut butter 

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp cider vinegar (or white vinegar)

1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk well, and heat until bubbling and thickening, then cook for 3-5 minutes. It should be a thick but pourable consistency, if it’s too thick it can be thinned with a bit more water. Remove the pan from heat and cover to keep warm until serving. 

Chicken 

Prep time: 20 minutes, in addition to the time to marinate

Cooking time: 10 minutes 

3-4 chicken breasts, sliced or cubed

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2″ piece ginger, grated

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp whole cumin 

1 tbsp brown sugar

Juice and zest from 1 lime

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp olive oil for cooking

Mash the marinade ingredients with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor.

Mix marinade with the chicken pieces in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The chicken can be cooked in individual pieces or threaded onto skewers.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and preheat a pan on medium with the remaining oil. Place chicken in the pan without overcrowding and cook for approximately 7-10 minutes, depending on size, flipping once. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 F at the thickest parts.

Keep warm until serving, drizzle with sauce and serve with sautéed spinach and rice.