One Last Piece of Pie

Last week we had a wonderful family dinner in my sister's back yard. We had a wiener roast and I made a saskatoon berry pie ~ my dad's favourite ~ using every last berry in my possession to get the required four cups for a pie. I put a smiley face on it, just like my mom always did. The other pie is strawberry rhubarb. My dad had a piece of both. He died a few days later. I am so glad I was able to give him one last piece of his favourite pie...

Saskatoon Berry Pie
4 cups saskatoon berries
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cornstarch or flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp sugar
pastry for a double crust pie

1. In a saucepan, bring saskatoons and water to a low boil. Stir in lemon juice and butter to melt.

2. Mix together cornstarch, 1/2 cup sugar and baking powder. Stir into berries. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Cool.

3. Pour cooled berries into a pastry-line pie plate. Cover with top crust. Crimp the edges and cut vents in the pastry. Brush with milk and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp of sugar.

4. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 375F and continue baking until the pastry is nicely brown and the berries are bubbling inside, 20-25 minutes.