It’s almost never changed since 1621 on the significance and celebration of Thanksgiving Day. On this day, churches of each denomination are open for disciples to let them express gratitude to God for the generous gifts gifted. Thanksgiving Day is a family holiday and husbands and wives, children and the elderly all over the country from different cities to different towns and villages go back home to spend together the festival. People who can not go back home will give long distance calls to her parents and family members and share something all about Thanksgiving.
The whole country is actually the same with the dinner for Thanksgiving Day. The table is always filled with various delicious food and desserts. But naturally the main dish is turkey. And eating pumpkin pie is to remind everyone of the Indians who had given such a present to the first settlers. And in many families, they will play some traditional games after the meal, such as cranberry competition, corn game and etc.
Thanksgiving Day is a joyous celebration, a family reunion, and a friendship reclassification moment. Even bachelors are always invited to somebody’s home on that day to share with everyone the joy of Thanksgiving and thank God for grace and generosity. And that’s the significance where Thanksgiving Day lies.
I wouldn’t say anything that will do harm to this special and traditional festival. And I think it is grand to set apart a day a year for giving thanks to God and nature. It’s meaningful and most of us still believe that what we thanked is God, and it’s not only about stuffs like a feast of turkey and a whole night’s watching football game.
Grateful to good things happened in our lives is likely to magnify our experience which enabled us to enjoy them more deeply and thoroughly. And gratitude helps us stand horrible and tough life on a manner of dignity, even humor. And giving thanks is like tasting a good meal, every bite of it is an enjoyment, rather than wolf down as if it’s some sort of race towards time.
So when you think of Thanksgiving Day, what pictures will appear on your mind? Roasted turkey? Pumpkin pies? Football games? Or maybe Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? I reminisce the taste of mom’s blueberry pies on past and countless Thanksgiving Days. Blueberry is one of my favorite fruits that barely disliked, when I was a little girl, my mom always told me that how healthy a little blueberry is, because of my mom’s edification and influence, I gradually became an enthusiastic fan for blueberry and I studied a lot about blueberry.
Blueberry is rich in flavonoid and polysaccharides and thus it is named as the “King of berries”. As well know that anthocyanin is very beneficial to our eyes (protect our eyes from visual fatigue and improve our vision), and guess what? Blueberry contains 15 kinds of anthocyanin components which are really very high. A Japanese doctor wrote that by clinical report, anthocyanin in blueberry is able to guard against shortsightedness and improve vision.
Back to our point, here I “plagiarized” my Mom’s healthy recipes about blueberry pies that she used in past years on Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy yourself!
#1 – Classic & Healthy Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
A: 100g gluten free flour, 1 egg yolk, 60g butter
B: 30g cream cheese, 50g milk, 50g whipping cream, 10g caster sugar, 1 egg, 70g blueberries
Method:
1. In a container, blend all the ingredients of A and knead dough, package the dough with a plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for 30 minutes
2. Take out the dough, place a plastic wrap under the dough, roll it into a 5mm slice, and rotate in a pie pan. Press gently along with the edge of pie pan.
3. Press the edge with a rolling pin to eliminate the extra dough
4. Top with blueberries evenly on the dough
5. Heat cream cheese over hot water and whip it with an egg beater, pour in milk and whipping cream and mix
6. Beat egg and stir in step of 5, add caster sugar and mix until melted
7. Sift
8. Slowly pour in pie pan with the liquid until 80% done. Preheat oven to 365F, middle layer, bake for 20 minutes and then grill until colored
#2 – Tornedals Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
For the crust: 100g butter, 240-250 all purpose flour, 50g caster sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla powder, 0.5 teaspoon sea salt, 0.5 teaspoon baking powder, 1-2 tablespoon water
For the filling: 600g-700g fresh blueberries, 200g sour cream, 200g light cream, 2 eggs, 100g caster sugar
Method:
For the crust:
1. Turn butter into little cubes and soften under room temperature
2. Blend flour, caster sugar, vanilla powder, sea salt and baking powder well
3. Use your finger to mix butter with powder ingredients (faster and slighter with your finger), add a little water depending on the requirement
4. After dough is shaped, put it in a pie pan, and press gently
5. Put the pie pan into the refrigerator for cold storage about 30 minutes
For the filling:
1. Mix sour cream with light cream and beaten eggs, stir in caster sugar
2. Preheat oven to 392F, put the pie pan in the middle layer and bake for 12-15 minutes until condensed
3. Sprinkle blueberries in the pie pan, pour in egg/cream liquid and return to the oven and bake for another 35-40 minutes
#3 – Sweet Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
250g sweet crust
160g wheat flour, 5g baking powder, 130g milk, 30g egg yolks, 200g blueberries
105g caster sugar, 1g salt, 125g butter
Method:
1. Roll the sweet pie crust into 4mm thickness and lay in the pie pan to trim and loosen for 15 minutes
2. Put stones or beans over a baking paper on the pie crust and into an oven, bake to 392F for 12 minutes
3. Sift wheat flour, baking powder and salt together and into a container
4. Add cut unsalted butter cubes and 80g caster sugar, cut while mix the butter with a scraper to form a pastry
5. Measure 40g and wrap the pastry with a plastic wrap and into the fridge
6. Add egg yolks and milk per several times with remaining pastry and mix
7. Whip egg whites with an egg beater
8. Add 25g caster sugar and whip until stiff peak, add in crust per two times to form the filling
9. Pour the filling in the pie crust only eight points, sprinkle 40g pastry and fresh blueberries evenly on the crust
10. Heat oven to 356F/392F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden and brown
#4 – Blueberry & Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients:
For the crust: 2 cups cake flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2/3 cups butter (cold), 6-7 tablespoons cold water
For the filling: 12 ounce rhubarbs, 1 bowl fresh blueberries, 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, 100g caster sugar, 4 tablespoons corn starch, 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon full cream
Method:
1. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt
2. Cut butter into particles like soybeans, put in the bowl
3. Slowly pour the cold water into the bowl, keep stirring with your hand until dough shaped evenly
4. Package the dough with a plastic wrap and into the fridge for 1 hour
5. Preheat oven to 392F
6. Remove the dough from the fridge, roll it into a thin slice, press gently in the pie pan, keep the remaining slices
7. Prepare the filling. Blend rhubarbs, blueberries, orange juice, corn starch and caster sugar into a bowl
8. Remove the filling into the ovenware, and line the remaining slices into a grid
9. Mix egg yolks and full cream and brush evenly on the grid, sprinkle some sugar
10. Put in 392F oven and bake for 45 minutes. If the grid turns into gold and brown, better remove the ovenware from the oven and cover the pie with a layer of silver paper and them back to the oven (avoid of burning on the surface)
11. Let cool
#5 – Simple and Easy Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
100g low protein flour, 50g butter, 30g water, 2g salt, 5g sugar
Method:
1. Sift the flour into a container
2. Add in butter cubes and flour and mix
3. Knead dough
4. Roll the dough into a round slice
5. Loosen for 10 minutes
6. Put the dough in a 6 inch pie pan
7. Trim the edge
8. Poke holes on the pie crust, brush egg wash
9. Bake to 392F for 20 minutes
10. Remove from the oven and top with blueberries
