Memorial Day!

I was thinking today about we used to do growing up for memorial day. The only real significant thing I did was to go down to the capitol of Washington (Olympia) and play taps for the veteran memorial service with my friend Lauren. We got all dressed up in our band uniforms like good geeks do, and set out to honor those who have sacrificed their lives for our sake...for a cool $20. Not too shabby....except I only did that twice.

In my family, the best way to celebrate memorial day and honor those who have fought and sacrificed for our freedom was to....EAT! We had more BBQ's in our backyard than I can count, come rain or shine in Seattle. This Memorial day is not different, except that I'm not with my immediate family :( and I went to the gym this morning. Gotta burn off what I'm about to eat or is it supposed to go the other way around?! Either way, I'm headed to a friend's BBQ with lots of friends and I cooked some fun gluten-free treats to contribute, that we all can enjoy. I made some baked beans and my new favorite: Almond Crunch Blueberry Pie!! :) Yum, doesn't seem to do it justice.



For those of you who suffer from Celiac disease, or for those who love a sweet treat in the Gluten-Free version, I've included the recipe.

Almond Crunch Blueberry Pie (GF version)

Crust:

Purchase store bought GF crust (easiest way to get a good GF crust)

• make sure it’s mostly thawed before putting in filling

Filling:

• 3 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed and drained

• ¾ cup of sugar

• 1/3 cup Pamela’s Gluten-Free Baking and Pancake flour mix

• 1/8 tsp. salt

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

• ½ cup sour cream

• ¼ tsp. grated lemon peel

• ¼ tsp. grated orange or tangerine peel

• 2 tbs. cornstarch to thicken – just stir into the mixture

Topping:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened

• ½ cup sugar

• ½ cup Pamela’s gluten-free baking and pancake flour mix

• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/3 cup chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 375°. Mix together the filling either by hand or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Pour the mixture into a thawed GF pie crust. Mix together the topping and sprinkle it on top of the pie so that it covers the filling. Bake in the oven with a cooking sheet underneath to catch any running blueberries , for 45-60 min. Keep an eye on it because it may finish in 45 min depending on your oven. Just make sure the topping is golden brown all over. Cool, slice, and enjoy!

Happy Memorial Day!