Created by Sherry Blum and Annie Wilkes

My entire family loves to read. When on vacation, they literally fall into books about adventure, spies, romance, and fantasy; only coming out to cook a fantastic meal. 

Throughout Annie’s youth, we carved out hours reading out loud to each other. We laughed our way through books like “The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler,” cried like babies when reading the “Island of the Blue Dolphins,” and drooled over the description of big, sweet, and delicious strawberries while reading the book “Strawberry Girl.” When my daughter Annie and Sherry, my older sister, spent weeks perfecting strawberry pie in the summer of 2008, it reminded me of the first time Annie and I read that book.

The obvious link was the perfectly ripe strawberries, but digging deeper, I realized that the gift of spending time reading together and creating recipes is about the bonds that form with each other. I am very grateful for the lessons learned from the books Annie and I read together, such as the compassion felt when that damn dog dies in “The Island of the Blue Dolphins,” the candid discussions about relationships in Steve Martin’s “Shop Girl,” and the importance of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler’s organizational skills.  Cooking and reading together is a treasure; it carves out hours to be with each other, and build relationships like nothing else in the world can do.

This strawberry pie helped us create memories that are priceless. 

Ingredients

• 1 Baked pie crust
• 2-6 T Softened cream cheese
• 1 C Whole strawberries 
• 1 ½ C Mashed strawberries 
• 1 C Sugar
• 3 T Cornstarch

Directions

Place mashed strawberries in a medium saucepan.  Add sugar and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.

Spread softened cream cheese evenly over the bottom of the pie crust. Place whole strawberries points up over cream cheese.  

Pour cooked mashed strawberries over raw fruit. Cool for an hour in the fridge. Serve with whipped cream.