63. Pie making is a delight for me! I started my love for pie dough and the construction of pie back in Home Economics Class in Jr. High. My darling mother would give me freedom in her kitchen to bake all sorts of pie variations.
Today I made a Gooseberry Strawberry Pie! My sweet friend Joann brought me wonderful gooseberries that were huge. As big as my thumb!! 
She knows an elderly gardener who grows all sorts of fruit and vegetables in his yard.
I had 2 cups of gooseberries in the freezer 
and decided to use them. And what a better combination than with strawberries. I've made gooseberry pie in the past and gooseberries have a very subtle and tart flavor. As a child we had gooseberry bushes in our yard. When they were ripe, it was part of our chores to pick the berries in bowls, then sit with little scissors and clip the stem and "beard" from each gooseberry. What a nightmare! But as I've gotten older, I have come to appreciate those little round berries! My mother would make all sorts of things with gooseberries: cake, custards even gooseberry juice! And it was delicious.
So here is my recipe:
Gooseberry/Strawberry Pie
Recipe for a double crust pie
2 cups fresh or frozen gooseberries, washed and trimmed
2 cups strawberries cut in pieces, washed and hulled
2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons tapioca
butter
sugar
Mix together fruit, sugar and tapioca blending till all fruit is covered. 
Set aside
Set asidePrepare pie crust
and place bottom crust in pie plate. 
Pour the fruit into the bottom pie crust and dot with butter.
Place top crust over fruit
and seal.
Brush the top with water or milk and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake 400º for 20 minutes then reduce the heat to 350º till pie filling is bubbling, approximately 40 minutes.
I made a lattice top crust.
Delicious! Just like a little slice of heaven on a plate.
"Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how;
it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate
and needs enthusiasm with a deep love of food to bring it to life."
Georges Blanc
