Blueberries and Rose Petals

Blueberries and Rose Petals

My perfect morning starts with coffee while I watch the news.  Lately the virus has overshadowed most of the news programs.  Then I watch the Golden Girls and go out to water the plants in the patio.  Recent rains have made the plants happy.  

Sometime during late morning or afternoon I like to bake.  Pies are my favorite.   Due to the virus outbreak, my patio is my favorite spot to sit and relax safely.   It is enclosed with a 3-foot wall.  Beyond the wall is a beautiful park area.  Nearby residents come here to walk their dogs.  One man does his weight lifting here.  To me it looks like he would get enough exercise just from carrying  the weights to the park and back.   And children come as well (now supervised and kept at an exceptable distance by a parent).  Yesterday I made a pie.  I had a lot of blueberries.  It's never been my favorite pie until I made this one.  I think the addition of the cream cheese and  rose petals and pistachios were a great addition.  

Blueberry Roses Pie

For the Crumble:

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cold un-salted butter

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground if possible)

2 Tablespoons ground pistachios

For the Pie Crust:

2  1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 sticks cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces

Ice water as needed

Filling:

2-3 cups blueberries

Grated rind of one lemon

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons broken, dried edible (no pestisides) rose petals 

1/2 cup cream cheese- room temperature

1/4 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon allspice 

Make the Crumble:

Mix all ingredients for the Crumble and set aside.  

Make the Pie Crust:

In a food processor puree the pistachios and set aside.  Pulse the flour, salt, brown sugar and cold butter.  Add ice water (in a dribble) until dough sticks together without being sticky.  Divide dough in two parts.  Cover and refrigerate while making the filling.  

Make the Filling:

Combine all ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Set aside.  

Roll out half the pie crust on a floured board to fit a 9-inch pie pan.  Place the filling in the shell. Dot with small pieces of butter.  Roll out the top crust and place over the filling.  Pinch together around the edges of the pie pan and trim excess.  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the pie for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 1 hour or until nicely browned.   

Serve with ice cream if desired.