Early this fall we returned to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, to visit family and eat pie (Diane) and clam chowder (Dick). Immediately after landing in Portland, we drove to our favorite bakery at Blue Raeven Farmstead and ordered an “Oregonberry” pie, a medley of blueberries, boysenberries, raspberries, strawberries and marionberries. This bakery had its beginnings as a marionberry farm and continues to grow marionberries and other fruits, which they freeze at the peak of freshness so they can bake delicious pies all year long. Their motto is “pie fixes everything,” so we made sure that we had a daily “fix” during our driving tour in the valleys and national forests, and along the northern coast of Oregon and into Washington.
As we continued our drive we saw trees laden with apples, dropping the excess on the road; berries growing wild on jogging trails, ready for foraging; and baskets of nectarines, grapes, and pears at farmers’ markets begging to be made into pies. In lieu of making a pie, we bought a huckleberry pie and another marionberry pie at the Astoria, Oregon farmers’ market. 
Most restaurants along the way featured a pie for dessert, so we also had three versions of a peanut butter pie (seems to be popular at restaurants), and four apple pies (after all, the apples were abundant right now!), and we thus ended up having a pie fix every day! (The chowders were good, too, but best of all were the Penn Cove mussels, fresh from nearby Whidbey Island, Washington).
People to meet:
• The pie chefs at Blue Raeven Farmstand.
• Kelsey, our niece, who has enjoyed pie-making since she was a young girl. 
Places to visit:
• Willamette Valley, Oregon. This is the finest wine country (my opinion) in the United States. It is known for its pinot noir, pinot gris, and blanc de pinot noir wines.
• Oregon Coast. On this trip we drove the coast from Lincoln City to Astoria, which is at the mouth of the Columbia River and known for sheltering the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the winter of 1805–06 at Fort Clatsop. The site is now an historical park.
Places to stay:
• Holiday Inn Express in Astoria, Oregon. We like this “inn” because it overlooks the port and has a tourist tram that follows the river to downtown Astoria and has a stop near a sardine factory.
• The Allison Inn and Spa in Newberg, Oregon is a lovely resort in the heart of the Willamette Valley. The Inn has a restaurant that features local foods, cheeses, and wines.
• Shalishan Spa and Golf Resort, Gleneden Beach, Oregon. This rustic resort overlooks the Oregon Coast in Gleneden Beach, Oregon.
Places to eat:
• Blue Raeven Farmstand https://www.blueraevenfarmstand.com/ . This is more than a farm stand; it is a bakery, sandwich shop, and market with tables and chairs for eating pie on the spot. They, of course, sell ready to eat pies, but also sell frozen pies to take home and bake yourself.
• Bridgewater Bistro in Astoria, Oregon. The bistro overlooks the port and has wonderful clams and mussels. We had a cherry pie for dessert here. bridgewaterbistro.com/
• Blackfish Café in Lincoln,Oregon. The pie du jour was a ski slope of peanut butter in an Oreo crust topped with whipped cream. blackfishcafe.com/
• Sidedoor Café in Gleneden, Oregon. Here we had a blackberry cobbler (and a huge steak!). www.sidedoorcafe.com
Pie: Marionberry
Oregon is known for its marionberries. The berry is a cultivar of the blackberry and grows on easy- to- pick vines. When baked in a pie, the berries turn purple and have an earthy sweetness. On this trip we had a double-crust marionberry pie and several pies with a crumble top. One day we had a roadside picnic with the pie we purchased at the Astoria farmers’ market….it deserved a white tablecloth (aka napkin). 
Our niece, Kelsey, made a marionberry pie last spring, right after she had picked a basket of fresh marionberries. We took her a bottle of our favorite Pinot Noir from Cherry Hill Winery in Rickreall, Oregon to serve when she makes her pie again. And for cat lovers like Kelsey, I must show you her marionberry cobbler. She uses the recipes from Joy of Cooking….they work for me, too.
- 1 recipe for a double- crust pie for a 9 inch pie pan
- 5 cups fresh (or frozen) marionberries
- ¾ sugar or to taste
- 3 Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
- 1Tbsp fresh lemon juice, strained
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 to 3 Tbps butter cut in small pieces, to dot fruit
- Egg white mixed with a bit of cold water, for egg wash
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or 425 depending on oven)
- Mix fruit, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and salt
- Line pie with bottom crust and pour fruit mixture into crust
- Dot with butter pieces
- Cover with top crust, crimp edges, and make slits for steam vents
- Brush top with egg wash
- Place the pie on a rimmed cookie sheet; bake on lowest oven rack at 450 (or 425) degrees for 20 to 30 minutes; lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 30 minutes more until the pie crust is light brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool to set the filling.
