Fresh Strawberry Pie

Can you tell I'm in a strawberry mood? First the ice cream, now this. It's just too tempting. Every time I go to the grocery, there they are - calling my name. It's hard not to notice the strawberries on steroids. I mean, they are HUGE. Do you notice how much bigger the fruit is now days? Yesterday my friend Erin was eating an apricot the size of a small orange! Anyway. I keep buying berries, and tell myself - it's time to make jam...but I never get around to it. Last night, I remembered I had a tart shell I made a while back, now frozen, waiting to be filled and eaten. I pulled it out, baked it and looked for recipes for fresh strawberry pie. Recipe after recipe listed either "Danish Dessert" (icky, congealed, bright red, artificially filled gluey stuff) a substance you mix up and dump over the strawberries, or Jello as a main ingredient. I wanted the STRAWBERRIES to be the main ingredient. After a little experimenting, I came up with this deliciously fresh and very simple recipe. Did you know strawberries have long been associated with LOVE? It's true. Si's Simple Math:

Homemade Fresh Strawberry Pie + Your family= Love.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1- 8 inch baked and cooled pie or tart crust

1 ½ - quarts strawberries, washed and hulled, divided

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons strawberry jam

red food coloring

Whipping cream

Mash about ½ to 1 cup of the strawberries in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and strawberry jam. Stir to dissolve. Whisk in cornstarch, and cook over medium heat until bubbly and mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Add about 5-8 drops of red food coloring, stir. Set aside to cool. Cut the remaining strawberries in half and place in large bowl. After the sugared mixture is cooled, pour over the fresh strawberries, and mix gently. Pour all of the strawberries into the pie shell. Refrigerate for about 2-3 hours. Top with whipping cream.

Tips:

-Use the freshest strawberries you can find, without bruises or discoloration.

-Serve pie with in about 6 hours of assembling if possible.

-You may use either a single pie crust or a tart shell.

-Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

-Don't forget the whipped cream. Seriously essential.