School is back in full swing, and I can’t seem to find a minute to myself. People tell me that someday, I will miss these days. I’m not so sure. Having nothing to do every now and then sounds pretty sweet to me.
I finally found some time today to take care of some of the produce my hubs grew this summer. Every year, he tries something new. Last year, it was scorzonara (I’m still not sure what that is). This year he grew physalis pruinosa or ground cherries. They are of the same genus as tomatillos and same family as tomatoes. Never heard of them? Me neither, but they have got to be the coolest thing ever! First of all, they grow in these cute little packages much like the paper lanterns plants people decorate with.
When they are ready to be eaten, they fall to the ground. Hence the name “ground” cherry. My favorite part is that in order to get to the fruit, you need to peel open the little paper-like packages they come in. It’s like Christmas! It really is! The really cool thing is that they look like and have the consistency of small cherry tomatoes, only they taste like pineapples. Yes, PINEAPPLES!
Pinterest produced several recipes that looked delicious when I needed to find out what to do with these amazing little creatures. One of my faves is for Ground Cherry Pie from All Recipes.com. This recipe is an old Mennonite recipe, has a crumb topping, and is so simple to make. If you are lucky enough to find ground cherries at your local farm stand. Grab them quick and make this pie. It is so unique and yummy. I guess you could call it… yumnique.
Ground Cherry Pie
via allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups ground cherries
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 2 TBSP water
- 1 (9″) unbaked pie shell
- 3 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 3 TBSP sugar
- 2 TBSP butter
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Pour washed ground cherries into bottom of unbaked pie crust.
- Mix together brown sugar and flour and sprinkle evenly over ground cherries. Sprinkle water over entire mixture in pie crust.
- Combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture has a crumb-like texture. Sprinkle this evenly over ground cherry mixture.
- Cook in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes then reduce oven to 375 degrees and cook for another 25 minutes. Let pie cool completely before serving.
