Just a quick update as we are attempting to get this place in order once and for all (or at least, decent enough for some friends to come over tomorrow).

A few weeks ago, after hitting the Regional Market and coming home with some giant, juicy blackberries, I decided to make pie. The problem was that I didn’t have enough butter or shortening, and certainly no lard. I did have vegetable oil though. I looked up some recipes and found a few that called for oil. I was a little uncertain, but I figured if I baked the crust and it failed, I could still use the berries for something else.

I was actually quite surprised at how flaky and tender it came out! I can definitely tell that it was made with oil, but I don’t find that a problem with the berry pie. I think it would work well for pretty much any fruit pie, although I’m not sure I would like the oil taste for say, chocolate or coconut cream. However, it would be interesting to play around with flavorings in the crust. Maybe a little vanilla or cinnamon? Also, a very light flavored oil (canola?) might not have as much of the taste.

I also ended up throwing some blueberries into the mix, hence my referring to this as my “Black and Blue Pie”. Bruise Pie sounded a bit too gory.

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Oil Pie Crust

2 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
6 tbs milk

Mix flour and salt.

In a measuring cup, put the vegetable oil. Add milk, but do not stir.

Dump this into flour/salt mixture and stir, just until mixed.

Divide into two balls and flatten into disks.

Roll out between two sheets of wax paper.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 mins.

I froze the second ball for later use and just baked the first ball blind with some lentils for pie weights.