A fond memory from my childhood is going out to pick wild Saskatoon berries in the summer from the bushes that grew in our neighbourhood. I remember bringing home a big bucket of them and mom making us a Saskatoon berry pie. I couldn’t actually find a Saskatoon berry pie recipe in my family cookbook so I made this one up.

We have a Service berry tree in our front yard (a type of Saskatoon berry) that, for the past two years, I’ve had the kids help me pick the berries and then made them a pie. A lovely tradition to carry forward.

Ingredients

• 1 double pie shell, 9” (using Grandma Donna’s pastry recipe, of course!)
• 4 cups frozen saskatoon berries
• 1 cup water (if using fresh berries, use 1 1/4 cups)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp soy milk

Yield: 9” pie

Heat all ingredients (except for the pie crust), stirring constantly, in a medium saucepan over medium- high heat. Let simmer until the berries are soft and the sauce thickens (about 15 minutes).

Let the berries simmer until soft and the mixture is thickened – about 15 minutes.

At this point you can use the sauce over ice cream, yogurt, as filling for perogies, etc. or you can keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 2 months.

If using for pie, pour the sauce into an unbaked pie shell and cover with a top crust in any configuration you like (I prefer full tops for berry pies).