Helloooo! Bear here. Terry has saved my Berry Best Pie recipe for last, which must mean it must be the best. Which it is. From the time I was just a cub, I remember watching Mama make this delicious berry pie. Something about the fresh blackberries makes it so good. Maybe it’s because my thick fur keeps the brambles from sticking me, so I can reach the highest, sweetest, ripest berries, or it’s the feel of the berry juice dripping down my muzzle, but I just find this is the perfect pick for any summer dessert. Mm-mm-mmm! It’s so berry good!

Bear’s Berry Best Blackberry Pie
Gather from the forest:
1 unbaked 9-inch double pie crust (I make mine from “scratch” but you could lumber on over to the store and get one of those ready-made frozen kind)
4 cups fresh blackberries (frozen works too, but isn’t quite as tasty)
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. sugar
Aluminum foil or pie ring

Here’s what you do:
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. In a small bowl, mash a handful of berries. It won’t take long if you have big paws, like me. Or you can use the back of a spoon to squish them. Mix in the cornstarch. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, gently mix the remaining berries, sugar and flour. Carefully fold in the berry-cornstarch mixture, trying not to break any berries (otherwise, you might end up with a runny pie).
4. Pour into bottom pie shell. Add dots of butter.
5. Lay out the top crust layer on a floured surface. Using a sharp knife or pie wheel, cut into ½-inch strips. “Weave” the strips over the pie mixture, forming a lattice top. Pinch over edges to seal.
6. Brush lattice with a little milk then sprinkle with sugar.
7. Place a pie ring on the rim. If you don’t have a pie ring, cut a ring of aluminum foil (by folding it as if you were cutting paper snowflakes–but cut it into a ring shape).

*Note: Using the pie ring is important as it allows the pie to cook entirely, without burning the outside edge of the crust.
Bake until the juice is bubbling, about 40-45 minutes (I like to put a sheet of aluminum foil below it, so catch any juice drips).
Cool on a wire rack then serve plain or with vanilla ice cream. I guarantee, it will be berry, berry delicious!

Excuse me…is it my turn? Are they ready? Oh, hello, my deers…I mean, my dears! I’m Deer, the quiet one of the group, you could say. Certainly, the most refined. You have no idea how difficult it can be to keep up with all those rascally little forest creatures. I’m constantly having to watch where I step for fear one will scoot right under my hoof! But alas, I digress.

When Terry asked me to share my favorite way of eating berries, other than straight off the bush, I knew without a doubt that I would give away my family recipe for the berry best salad you’ll ever taste. This recipe goes all the way back to my great-great-grandmother, who, as the tale goes, had a fleeting cameo role in the movie, Bambi. And this dish is so simple to put together that even a human can do it. So, without further ado, I give you, Deer’s Berry Best Salad.

Deer’s Berry Best Salad
Serves 4

Gather fresh from the forest and wash:
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries

Buy at the store:
¼ cup light sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 ½ teaspoons orange juice

1. Cut the strawberries in half.
2. Gently mix together all of the berries.
3. Make the dressing by stirring together the rest of the ingredients.
4. Serve the dressing with the salad.
For a fun twist, serve in a halved and scooped out cantaloupe!

Let the flavors leap and dance in your mouth!