Common Cuisine |

This is my Nana’s recipe. Custard must be an old-fashioned word for jellied sauce; this comes out more like a tart. She makes her pie crust from scratch; I buy mine. There are ways I try to preserve homestyle cooking, and then there are ways I compromise in light of my available time.

• 1 qt strawberries
• 1 C sugar
• 3 T cornstarch
• 1 T butter
• 1 refrigerated Pie Crust (or make your own from scratch)

Prepare pie crust as directed; let cool.

Divide the berries into two parts, putting the best berries in one part. Put the less perfect berries into a sauce pan; add sugar and cornstarch.

To make the custard, mash the berries with a potato masher. Cook slowly, stirring continuously. When the mixture is thick and clear, add butter.

Place custard in baked pie crust. Slice the better berries and arrange on top of the custard. Serve with whipped cream.

For best results buy the strawberries, make the pie and serve it in the same day.

This amount of strawberries makes for an adequate, if smallish pie; for a fuller pie, add more strawberries (up to double) while leaving the remaining ingredients constant.

For more on my opinion of pie crust, read on.