Marilyn's Bakery - Hobart, IN by Diane

Thursday, August 30. Several months ago I attended the Chicago Green Festival and tabled for Sustainable Table. (I actually enjoy tabling every so often to speak with people and to see how our materials are received.) This festival was jammed packed – an estimated 30,000 people came through the doors on the first day alone!

Among the people I met was Barbara from Hobart, Indiana. She runs a sustainable bakery that her mother started so we spoke briefly about the Eat Well Guided Tour that I was in the process of planning. Well, one thing led to another and, on Thursday, we found ourselves pulling into the parking lot of the bakery for some pie and a conversation.

What we didn’t realize before pulling in was that Barb had planned a brunch for people in the area, so what started out as a slice of pie ended up being quiche, muffins and biscuits and gravy. Oh, and corn on the cob. The food was amazing, but the highlight was definitely the Very Berry Pie, which we all shared at the end. I actually think this might be in the running for best pie on the trip (and I’ve put the recipe below).

The recipe here is a slight variation on what they make in the store – in the store, they make large batches of dough so they don’t have a recipe for one pie. The other thing we learned is that as the cook, you need to vary amounts of ingredients on occasion. For this pie, we were told that the blueberries were so sweet that she cut back on the sugar (and the pie was still really sweet!)

We also got to meet Marilyn, who, even though she says she’s retired, still comes into the shop to work. She, Barb and one other person bake pies three times a week, and they make over 60,000 pies a year!!! Can you believe that? 60,000 pies! In a small kitchen to boot!

The ramifications of this are huge. They source as many local ingredients as they can, with a lot coming from their own farm (which the store is on). Barb said that the blueberry harvest was late this year, and they just got the blueberries in – 2,000 pounds of them! And she said if they could find enough of the right farmers, they could actually use 6,000 pounds! Add to that eggs and other fruit, and you’re talking a lot of local sustainable food going into the pies.

And they don’t only do fruit pies. I bought a mini-pie called ‘chocolate silk’ – it’s like chocolate mousse with fresh whipped topping on it – and it’s unbelievable! In addition to desserts, they also do salads and sandwiches. If you’re ever near Hobart, Indiana, you must stop by and try some pie – you will not regret it!

While at the brunch, we met Susan Calderone, the manager of Three Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana. The restaurant has a 2500 ft landscaped garden plot where they grow a lot of vegetables that are served in the restaurant. You can’t get much more local than that!

So if you’re thinking that there aren’t any sustainable outlets in your area, you might want to recheck. Marilyn’s is in Hobart – I’d never heard of the town until she told me about the bakery – and this is another example of how sustainable stores, restaurants and outlets are opening up all over the place. Yeah!

Very Berry Pie
- Marilyn Pearson, founder of Marilyn’s Bakery

1C strawberries
1C blueberries
½C red raspberries
½C cup blackberries
1C sugar
1/3C flour
½ tsp salt
2T lemon juice

Pie dough
4C flour (regular or wheat)
1 3/4C shortening (or can use butter or palm oil)
1T sugar
2tsp salt

1T vinegar
1 egg
1/2C water

With fork, mix together flour, salt, sugar. Cut in shortening until it resembles corn meal. Whip egg, add water and vinegar separately. Stir into flour mixture until moistened. Mold dough into ball – chill in fridge. Makes two 9 inch crusts and 1 shell.

The crust is not prebaked. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then about 1 hour
at 350.

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