Food on the Fourth

Happy Fourth of July!

I think the advent of the Fourth has finally reminded New England that it's summertime, because today the heat finally showed up - with a vengeance. I may just have felt it more because the boyfriend and I have not yet been able to install an AC. So what do I do on my day off right after I wake up in an 85 degree apartment? I preheat the oven to 400 because I'm going to make a pie.

You need pie on the Fourth of July - remember that apple pie has long been synonymous with America. But while I didn't make an apple pie, I made a peach berry pie to finally take advantage of the summer berry crop. Berries also tend to be another popular facet of Fourth of July eats, as shown by the ubiquitous American flag cake which cleverly arranges blueberries and strawberries (I wonder if France or England use the same berry color schemes for national celebrations?).

I modified this recipe, reducing the sugar and replacing the 3 cups of blueberries with about 2 cups of chopped white peaches and 1 cup of chopped strawberries. It's a long story, but I don't eat blueberries. Taste of Home is one of my varied sources for recipe ideas. I like that the recipes are both site- and user-generated, and that you can browse them by the hundreds using very specific criteria, i.e. healthy cooking, quick meals, vegetarian, eating for two, etc. While admittedly there are plenty of comfort food recipes that call for lots of mayo, sour cream, cream of whatever soup and 'processed cheese food', there are also plenty of healthier, whole food options that provide lighter takes on classics.

My peach berry pie is only the third pie I've ever made, and the first I've made where the filling didn't come in a can. I figured I'd go for broke and even make a lattice top. The result:

Not gorgeous, but not too shabby if I do say so myself. I'm eating it now and I'm very happy with it - it's not too sweet, the crust is flaky and it definitely gives me that 'mmmmm...pie' feeling. Now I actually didn't make the pie for any Fourth of July gathering. For the past few years the bf, GP, and I have gone to his family's annual cookout where there's always huge amounts of snacks, salads, grilled meats and plenty to drink. We went to that yesterday and, neither of us being very keen on crowds, have spent the Fourth puttering around the apartment, cooking, cleaning and working on weekend projects in between bouts of heat-induced catnaps.

And for dinner? I was planning on an Asian chicken salad of my own invention - lettuce, radishes, carrot, edamame, mandarin orange and chicken - but for some reason both packages of chicken I bought on Saturday from our local Trader Joe's smelled awfully like rotten eggs and had a strange white bubbly skin on them. Needless to say we tossed them both. As a side note, I absolutely love Trader Joe's, though ours tends to have a lackluster produce department, but I have never had a problem with their meat before. Not sure what happened. Anywho, we made a straight up 'Asian salad', incorporating some extra bok choy and scallions we had. We also modified a dressing recipe from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook and made it with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, ginger, sesame seeds and sriracha (rooster sauce). It was delicious and cool for a hot evening, and left plenty of room for PIE!

Well, that was my Fourth feast. I can hear the fireworks booming outside right now. What's your favorite Fourth of July food?