For my entire life I have been hostessing the very obscure and mostly-private party called the Lunasi Pie Festival, taking place yearly near the Summer Solstice at Lunasi Land Trust, just slightly Northeast of a very small region called Bungy in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania. I must have eaten my first pie in utero through my mother, who hostessed this party before me since it began in 1974. The story of how my father came up with the idea, as well as the abundant traditions and the lore within this tradition, would deserve an article (or several) of their own own. I intend to write these tout suite and share some old photos for your forthcoming enjoyment.
My daughter also came to Pie Fest for her first time when she was in my belly, and this year she celebrated her third ever Pie Festival at the 44th Annual Pie Fest: Pollinator Pie. That is three generations of Pie in four decades. This is something I deeply cherish. This is a gathering I intend to nurture and feed as it uplifts a very rural, real, and ever more diverse and complex community that I grew up in.
This year's theme was a little shout out to our pollinator family, who are gravely threatened by humanity's hubris, especially our use of neonicotinoids - insecticidal chemicals used in agriculture. It is our responsibility as eaters of food to care for our pollinator relatives - the bees, beetles, bats, wasps, birds, and about 200,000 species which we are deeply indebted to for their ecological services and innate wonderfulness. Without pollinators this beautiful flowering Earth would look unimaginably different.
TAKE A MOMENT and actually try to IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT THEM.
Here at Lunasi we are taking a stand for regenerative agriculture, for the amazing web of all life that makes the food we grow and eat HEALTHY and ALIVE. . We know that without pollinators there would be no fruit pies. Imagine that. No Strawberry Pie. No Blueberry Pie. No Peach Pie.
Let that Sink in....Personally, I don't want to live in a world without fruit pies. So, BEE KIND, people!
Last year, I finally moved out of my house and mobilized the resources to begin dealing with a multi-decade "pest" problem which got wildly out of hand. Bats, warring red and grey squirrels, wasps, mice and countless other beings who all came to form part of the eco system my house had become. I had to move out for almost 9 months after a bat crawled over my face at 4am and my whole family had to be vaccinated for rabies, so as not to disturb the gigantic colony of bats during nesting season - because bats need a place to have their babies right now and to begin to thrive again. I moved my whole family back in with my father in the 150-ish-year-old farmhouse, which is the oldest building on the land trust. She has had her own history of giant bee hives in walls causing honey to drip onto the basement steps. My dad was a bee-keeper for years. Let's just say we have a multi-generational commitment to pollinators, my friends.
This year, with the all the many critters now safely evicted from my home, I sprinkled golden Cat Tail Pollen on my pies and when I baked them they turned black, (oops) which made this butterfly look like a bat - one of the most threatened pollinator species and mammals in the Northeast US. I was actually quite pleased by that bat, we'll re-try for the golden look another year.
People always ask me, "What kind of pies do people bring to Pie Fest?" When I answer this question I start to feel like Forrest Gump, rattling off pies in a slow, delicious drawl so I can almost taste them again as I speak their names. Aunt Babies Strawberry Sheet Pie, East Bungarian Millionaire Pie, Shoofly Pie, Pizza Pie, Meat-za Pie, Cherry Pie, Double dark chocolate silk pie with lavender whipped cream, Philly Cheesesteak Pie, Chicken and Waffle Pie, Grasshopper Pie, Salted Caramel and Rose Pie ... on and on my memory of the pies of yesteryear could go. My favorite pie currently is the one I've been making now for almost 5 years:
Bungarian Blueberry Basil Pie
I literally stumbled over this recipe on a quick google search for something combining blueberries and goat cheese. When I read that it contained basil all my imaginal tastebuds started to light up. Of course, that was the perfect pairing. The first year I made it tal cual. And while it was delicious, I found a few things I would adjust. Like that basil that had so allured my appetite at the start, but which was heartbreakingly lacking in potency in the original recipe. That had to change, along with a few other crucial bits and bobs that occur to me while I'm making alchemy inside the Lunasi Kitchen. So, here's the recipe. Tweak to your taste and Enjoy!
Crust: The crust you use is up to you, but I like to favor a somewhat puffy and buttery crust. Which also works well for making cut out designs for the top from the trimmings. Here's a good one from the classic and Lunasi favorite, American Pie by Teresa Kennedy
Also, this is a picture of an indispensable old school tool that you must own in your kitchen if you are a pie maker: the pastry blender
Crust:
3 cups all purpose white flour
1 stick cold salted butter, sliced into 1/4 inch patties
ice water or cold milk
Filling:
1 cup goat cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup dark brown sugar or maple syrup (use less or none if desired, the blueberries are plenty sweet!)
1/2 cup all purpose unbleached white flour
1-2 cups of freshly cut basil (to taste, like everything)
1 large duck egg or 2 chicken eggs
1 large pinch of salt
Blueberries to your hearts desire. I use two large blueberry packs from the store or one gallon freezer bag full of fresh or frozen berries.
Topping
Desired Nuts, Toasted - any type any cut and quantity, I prefer slivered almonds, wanting to branch out into Pine Nuts one day when I can afford it.
Sugar to taste, or not.
1/2 stick butter, melted
Cooking Directions
Mix the goat cheese, heavy cream, egg, sugar, flour, salt and basil together in a bowl. Add the blueberries and mix/fold in the berried with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to the desired texture.
For the topping: Mix the toasted nuts, sugar and butter in a bowl. Sprinkle on top of filling in a thick layer on top. Don't smooth out with a spoon, you'll ruin the beautiful textured look if you do.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour, turning pie around in the oven half way through, until the blueberries start to bubble up through the crunchy and bubbling butter nut topping. Cool for at least 1/2 hour before serving to let the cheese and berries set together. Best served hot/warm with beaucoup whipped cream and fresh minced basil leaf on top.
Suggested Activities While Cooking
While you are waiting for the pie to come out of the oven, why not read a book together, like this one by Mycologist (and My Personal) Superhero, Star Wars Movie Star, and Bee-liever in a More Bee-oo-tiful World, Paul Stamets.
Stamet's and his associates at Fungi Perfecti are doing some of the most amazing research out there on the symbiotic relationships between medicinal mushrooms and bees. Check out the mind blowing ways that bees detoxify and fight off viruses, bacterias and mites using immune supporting wild mushrooms found in forests by reading all about it here.
Then, finish off this delightful time together with some ticking and belly laughs among the wafting aromas of blueberries and basil and the hopefullness that hangs in the air when hot pie is on the way.
Until I write again, Don't Worry, My Friends. Though the state of the world BEE troubling at times, we must BEE the change. We must BEE the seeds of hope we want to plant in our children's hearts. We must BEE peaceful and BEE kind, My Friends. Don't Worry, BEE Happy. When all else fails, bake a Pie.
After all, If there is no pie, I don't want to be a part of your revolution.
With Love,
Lily