Dessert-Strawberry Pie

Since Valentine's Day is tomorrow and someone suggested a section for food suited to serve on Valentine's Day, I saw this and thought it might be a good one to try. This strawberry pie sounds wonderful and would be a pretty dessert to serve February 14th.

STRAWBERRY PIE

1(9-inch) baked pie crust

CUSTARD

2 cups milk

1 stick margarine or butter

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

FRUIT

1 pint fresh strawberries

TOPPING

1 cup whipping cream

5 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For custard, heat milk with margarine or butter until melted. Combine 1 cup sugar with flour and add to margarine. Cook in heavy pan over low heat until thick, stirring constantly. This will take about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Cool thoroughly.

Wash, hull and drain berries. Place whole berries ( or cut in half if they are very large) on bottom of cooked crust. Save a few berries for garnish. Cover berries in pie plate with custard.

For topping, whip cream and add 5 tablespoons of sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. When sugar is beaten in, add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Spread on top of custard.

Garnish with reserved berries. Chill until ready to serve. This may also be made with bananas, peaches, or blueberries. For coconut, add 1 cup coconut to the custard and follow directions with whipped cream.