Ohelo Berry Cream Cheese Pie

What a week I had!  I ended up in bed Monday afternoon and evening due to a bout of food poisoning.  I'm certain I got it from the Krispy Kreme donuts Mr. Dependable brought back from Maui.  I don't think he poisoned them on purpose, but it was my second experience with food poisoning from Krispy Kreme donuts.  My favorite Krispy Kreme is the chocolate (no hole) with creme filling.  I had one on Sunday evening and another for breakfast on Monday.  By noon on  Monday. I was praying to the porcelain god. . .sick, sick, sick.  I couldn't eat dinner.

By Tuesday morning, I was much better, but going to Asami's to buy lunch for D2 was totally unpleasant.  The food aroma was excruciating.  I think the cause of my troubles was the staphylococci bacteria.  It was horrible, and it wasn't until the end of the weekend that I could even think about eating normally again.  I don't want to see another Krispy Kreme for a while.

Sometime in the middle of my recovery, it turned into July.  This means that my summer is over halfway done.  That sucks.  In just a few weeks, I'll be back at my regular job.  Hmmmm. . .maybe that doesn't sound so bad.  I've been working all summer, and my summer job is actually more intense than my regular job!

July also means that it's ohelo berry time!  I wonder if I will be able to make it up to the mountain to pick a quart.  Probably not this year.  This past weekend would've been a good time to go, but I didn't wanna chance walking in a rocky area with my ankle not yet fully healed.  I forgot to mention that I twisted my ankle when we had the earthquake last week.  My foot had fallen asleep, but the earthquake scared me so much that I jumped out of my chair, forgetting that my foot was numb.  I didn't step properly and I stumbled around before being able to regain my balance.  It still hurts when I bend and rotate it.  Ohelo tends to grow in rocky terrain so there's no way to avoid walking on rocks.  Luckily, ohelo berries freeze well, so at least I'll get to have my annual ohelo berry dessert since my tummy is better now.

When I worked for a government office, one of my former coworkers would recount tales of an annual trek to Hilo just to pick ohelo berries at a "secret family spot".  She made some kind of cream cheese pie with the berries and served it at a luncheon hosting new teachers.  While I was ecstatic at being reacquainted with ohelo, I wasn't liking the pie much...the topping was hopelessly runny and fell off the pieces when she cut them.  The runny topping also diluted the cream cheese layer.  Auwe!

About a year ago, I posted a recipe for Ohelo Berry Bars.   Those are good to make if you don't have the refrigerator real estate to hold an oblong pan.  If you have space in your refrigerator, then this is THE ohelo berry dessert to prepare.  Ohelo Berry Cream Cheese Pie, at least this version, will not disappoint.

Ohelo Berry Cream Cheese Pie

Crust:  2 c flour
            2 tbsp sugar
            1 c butter

Filling:  8 oz cream cheese, softened
              1 c sugar
              8 oz Cool Whip

Topping:  4 c ohelo berries
                1 c sugar
                1/4 tsp lemon juice
                pinch of salt
                1 tsp gelatin, optional
                4 tbsp cornstarch
                2 tbsp water

Combine flour and sugar for crust.  Cut in butter.  Press into 9 x 13" pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool completely before adding filling.  While crust is baking, make topping.  Combine ohelo berries, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and gelatin in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Combine cornstarch with water.  While stirring berry mixture, add cornstarch and water.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and cool completely.  Beat cream cheese with sugar for filling.  Mix in Cool Whip until well combined.  Spread evenly over cooled crust.  Keep chilled until topping is cool.  When topping is cool, spread evenly over filling.  Chill at least 2 hours before cutting into squares to serve.

Last month, Mr. Dependable went to the mainland with AC.  They visited Las Vegas and Oregon, the zenith of their trip being T's graduation from THAT school.  Since the Ds were left with the task of feeding, watering, and caring for his pets, I asked him to bring us back some Trader Joe's cookie butter.  In addition to my request, he also gave me 2 chocolate bars.  One said "Thank You", and the other, well. . .let's just say it had profanity on it (look at the gold foil-wrapped bar).

Mr Dependable must be on a generosity streak.  On Friday, before taking the Ds on a mini vacay, he brought over a box of apple bananas and 2 more of those nasty chocolate bars.  Talk about adding insult to injury (my ankle and tummy)!

I agree that the sentiment of bringing back omiyage from traveling is a generous gesture, and sharing the bounty of your harvest is also very generous, HOWEVER, the candy bars celebrate the team in the entire NCAA I loathe most.  

Once my tummy is totally better, I will be disposing of those darn chocolate bars in an utterly undignified manner. . .I will gnaw on them with my canine teeth!

I will NEVER EVER cheer for the ducks. 

Go DAWGS!