Pi Day

Hi Sisters!  This is my first post on our blog.  I'm excited to contribute and hope I can think of interesting things to post about more often.

My sister-in-law, Liz, informed me yesterday that it was national Pi Day.  That's right.  Not "Pie Day" but, rather, "Pi Day."  Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th (Pi = 3.1415926535…).  Well, we actually did make it "Pie Day" by eating a homemade pie.  You see, I married into a pie-loving family.  The Munks really, really like pie.  I have adopted that same enthusiasm and love for pie over the past few years.  But, I also feel strongly about eating healthy so we don't eat pie all that often (just when Aunt Liz comes to visit because she is a pie maker master!).  So, I knew Alex would be pretty excited about coming home to a homemade pie last night.  I was right.

Now, I know pie isn't a health food or even remotely close.  But, I decided to make it a touch better for us by making the crust whole wheat.  I used a recipe that I found on the back of a bag of Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour (I love Bob's Red Mill products... they should be paying me to say this!).  Alex and I both thought it turned out really well.  It was flaky and delicious.  So, I thought I'd share it with you.

Flaky Whole Wheat Pie Crust

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled
5 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.  Cut butter into 12 pieces and rub into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-size pieces.  Sprinkle water over mixture, one tablespoon at a time and knead lightly just until a dough forms.  Form dough into a ball.  Cut in half and press each into a disc shape.  Wrap each disc in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.  Yield: 2-9" single pie crusts or 1-9" double pie crust.  Crust will bake alone with the filling for the pie or pre-bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

As you can tell by the pictures, it was an apple pie.  Instead of using a double crust, I covered the top with the same topping I use for apple crisp (oats, flour, brown sugar, spices, and butter mixture).   The pie was a hit with Eliza and Zoie.  Below is a picture of Eliza (yes, her hair is out of control) admiring the pie before her first piece (yes, she had more than one piece).