strawberry letter 23

those of you who know me may already be aware of my strawberry obsession, which began roughly around the age of 5, when i got a strawberry shortcake bedroom set. strawberry shortcake kept away many a bad dream with the combination of her bad-ass doc martins and the cheery 'have a berry nice day' written all over my bedspread. i loved it. i also love(d) real strawberries, and it became the theme of every birthday party i had- strawberry cupcakes with pink frosting, strawberry ice cream, juice, candies, and cakes... mom knew how to stick to a theme.

due to this long-time love, i was extremely pleased to find that strawberries are big here in turkey. not only are they cheap, but as with most of the produce here, they are naturally grown and delicious, and in season earlier than in the us. we've been buying them by the kilo. yesterday i realized i had a LOT of strawberries on hand, and needed something to do with them...

i looked up a few recipes, and then remembered the strawberry pie that family friends used to make. so i emailed an old friend, and requested the special family recipe. i first tasted this pie on rabbit island, ny, when visiting this family at their summer rental. it is the BEST pie. ever. they baked me two of their special pies for my high school graduation gift. i think that was the last time i had it. so, i wasn't sure if they'd be willing to give up the recipe... but,being the kind & special folks they are, i quickly received a response to my email with the recipe for this magical pie... and i got to work. within no time, this

became this!

it's not quite as pretty as the pies my friends used to make, but i think it came out ok. i haven't tried it yet, it's going to be my contribution to dinner at a friend's house tonight. but i am sooo looking forward to it.

oh, and the title of this blog? is the name of the shuggie otis song i listened to while baking my strawberry pie. just, you know, doing as my mother taught me & keeping with the theme... of strawberries ; )