MINIMALIST PIE
Visited my friend Eliza at her summer place yesterday. A cottage right at the mouth of an estuary, dripping with unstudied charm. However, as there is neither an air conditioner nor a fan in the entire place, in hot weather its inhabitants are also dripping with...well, you know. In Victorian times they would be described as glowing gently. So Eliza has come up with various menus that don't necessitate the oven being turned on. She fixed this dessert for us lucky visitors yesterday, and it tasted as good as it looked. Or maybe even better.

No-Bake Pie
Crust:
I graham cracker crust
Filling:
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
Seasonal fruit

1. Beat cream cheese till fluffy
2.Mix in other filling ingredients
3. Pour into the graham cracker crust
4.Chill in refrigerator till firm (at least four hours)
5.Gently press fruit onto the surface, in whatever combination appeals to you.


You can tell that Eliza is an artist by profession, as the pie is so beautiful. But it would probably be hard for anyone to go wrong: fruit is just plain decorative. For this pie, there were thin slices of kiwi underneath blueberries and raspberries. Yum!