Fresh Fruit Pie

My mom is a wizard in the kitchen.  Whenever we go home to Idaho, Ben jokes that he blinks and she whips out a fresh batch of pita bread, tray of cookies, or any other number of recipes stored in her head.  Of all of her many specialties, my favorite is her pie.  Most of my siblings would agree.  Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without bottomless pie (I'm talking 20+), and the day after Thanksgiving is not complete without pie for breakfast.  As much as I love pumpkin, lemon meringue (my sister Karen's specialty), apple, cherry, banana cream, chocolate, etc... fresh fruit pie in the summer is at the top of my list.

Yesterday I called my mom for her fruit pie recipe so I could make it for a Fourth of July party.  The pie was a hit.  People were licking the tray and commissioning future pies.  I explained that my mom was the true genius behind the recipe and that it wasn't too hard to make.  Without further ado, here is her world famous recipe and an abbreviated video tutorial:

Fresh Strawberry Pie

3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 - 3 tbsp strawberry jello powder
1 cup water
1 cooked pie shell
Fresh strawberries
Whipped cream

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and jello in a pot and mix.  Add water, stir, and bring to a boil on the stove.  Continue stirring until the sauce has thickened.  Turn off stove and allow the sauce to cool completely.  In the meantime, rinse the strawberries, cut the stems, and dry them with a paper towel.  Fresh strawberries from the garden or farmers market are preferable.  In a bowl, pour the sauce over the strawberries and fold so that all strawberries are covered by the sauce.  Add the strawberries to the pie shell and chill in the fridge so the sauce can congeal.  Serve with fresh whipped cream.

This recipe works for other kinds of fruit pies as well.  Peach and raspberry round out my top three.  Just substitute the jello flavor and fruit (e.g., peach jello and peaches).