Happy Pi Day!

Nope, that's no typo...today is March 14...as in Pi (3.14)!!!  So happy Pi Day to you all!  And there's no better way to celebrate than with pie!!!

This week the challenge led me to the television show Chopped.  I decided to give it my all, and use all of the ingredients provided for one of the courses.  The secret ingredients provided for the dessert course included celery, blood oranges, frozen pie dough, and jaggery.

Now...how can all of these things come together into a pie, in honor today's spectacular holiday???  Well, the answer seemed quite simple to me.  I love strawberry-rhubarb pie, and celery has a similar consistency to rhubarb...so there you go, my own creation: Strawberry Celery Pie!  Sounds delicious, right...?  Maybe not...but hey, this is Chopped, Scrumdeliocious style!

I began by zesting and juicing the blood orange.  I added some about a cup of chopped celery to a sauce pan with the orange juice, and a few tablespoons of shredded jaggery.  The idea was that the celery would absorb the citrus flavor, and soften sligthly to give my pie a less crunchy texture.

And now for a quick lesson in jaggery.  Jaggery is an unrefined sugar cane product that is sold in solid bricks, and used primarily in Indian and Asian cuisines, so I was afraid it would be hard to find, but we have a large Asia supermart near by, and they had plenty of it available.  I shredded my jagery cake for ease of use, and the sweet smell of molasses filled the kitchen.  I think I might use jaggery in place of brown sugar the next time a recipe calls for it!

While the celery simmered, I chopped up 2 pints of strawberries, and threw them into a bowl with a cup of shredded jaggery, and a tablespoon of orange zest.  I added the celery and tossed to combine.  I poured the mixture into the pie dish that I lined with the frozen pie crust, and finished it with a lattice top.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes.  The pie looks great!

As for the flavor...well...it's definately a strawberry pie, but I can still taste celery.  Maybe simmering it longer on the stove would have removed some of that flavor, or added more of the citrus.  I'm still very proud that I made this pie all on my own!  No recipe to read from!  Maybe next time I'll attempt an appetizer or entree...

Maybe...