Last night, I attended the 5th annual Pie Lovers Unite! — a fabulous celebration of pie hosted by Slow Food Huron Valley:

Pies are a great example of how local, seasonal foods can signify welcome and community with unique regional qualities. The Pie Lovers Unite! extravaganza honors pie-making traditions in Michigan by inviting people to bake, bring, share, and taste pies from around the area. Pie Lovers Unite! demonstrates that a community is only as good as its homemade pie — and we have a GREAT community.

This event is a step back in time, held in a beautiful Victorian house (The Ypsilanti Ladies Literary Club). It is a tribute to pie, to local ingredients, to handmade works of art, and to tradition. To see 75 or 80 gorgeous pies of all varieties — both sweet and savory — laid out on a lace tablecloth is a vision of beauty!

Last year I made a rich, luscious peanut butter pie for the festivities; this year, I decided to make a Peach-Raspberry Streusel Pie.

The peaches were beautiful specimens from the Farmers Market, which a dear friend had bought. The raspberries came from Marilyn, my beloved friend who often shares the bounty of her garden with me. My pie was a celebration of both Michigan fruits and the generosity of my loved ones!

My favorite part of this event is not the pie-ku recitation or the pie walk which offers a chance to win a prize; of course, the best part is when the guests have an opportunity to taste the pies they've been ogling all evening!

This portion is a bit chaotic, as there's not much space in the room with the pies, especially when dozens and dozens of fellow pie afficionados are vying for slices as well. But it's fun to taste and deconstruct and analyze and chitchat, choosing favorites (Chocolate Rum Truffle Tart for me, Pecan Brownie Pie for my friend) before the winners are announced.

I have yet to win a prize at Pie Lovers Unite!, but I don't attend for that reason anyway. A hearty Mazal Tov to those who did win, though:

Best Use of Local Ingredients: French Apple Tart
Best Sweet Non-Fruit Pie: Buttermilk Chess Pie
Best Fruit Pie: Peach Blueberry Pie
Best Kids' Pie: Blueberry Crumble Pie
Best Savory Pie: Pancetta Caramelized Onion Pie
Best Crust: Apple Pie
People's Choice Award: Wild Black Raspberry Pie

The event was made possible because of devotion from numerous volunteers, and with thanks to generous donations of coffee from Mighty Good Coffee and pies (for Pie Walk prizes) from Zingerman's.

Our charming hostess, Kim Bayer of Slow Food Huron Valley, stated that "Pie needs coffee like flowers need rain." Coffee and pie on a summer evening... does it get any better than that?

Peach-Raspberry Streusel Pie

Crust:
1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
5 tablespoons ice water

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Using a fork, mix in butter until crumbly. One tablespoon at a time, add water and mix in with fork until mixture adheres together when pressed. Form into a ball and press to flatten; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Filling:
1-1/2 pounds peaches, pitted, chopped
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup white wine (Flip Flop Wines Chardonnay, a lovely marketing gift, was ideal!)
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/2 pint raspberries (reserve for assembling pie)

Bring peaches, sugar, cornstarch, wine and jam to a boil in a medium saucepan; lower heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened. Let cool to room temperature.

Streusel:
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup instant oatmeal, plain
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/8 cup butter, softened

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon and walnuts. Using a fork, mix in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Assemble pie:

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll out crust into a generous 12-inch circle. Carefully place into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan.

Place peach filling into the crust and sprinkle with raspberries.

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the filling.

Place the pie onto a baking sheet. Bake the pie for 45 minutes until the crust is lightly browned, the streusel is golden, and the filling is just starting to bubble. Let cool before cutting.

Serves 8-10.

Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures in the kitchen. She was thrilled to have her post about Scottish Oatmeal Shortbread named as one of the daily "Best of the Blogs" by the prestigious Food News Journal.

Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — on which she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related. Her newest feature is Frugal Floozie Friday, seeking fun and food for $5 or less ... really! Feel free to email her with questions or comments or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here.