This spring, I enjoyed a “Pielanthropy Picnic” in Fleming Woods Park with Michele Stucky who is the Executive Director of the Warren County Community Foundation. We have had several pie picnics here over the last few years, but this year we are celebrating Michele and her ability to turn a gift of woodlands into a place for the community to enjoy the outdoors while learning about nature, arts, and music.
People: Michele Stucky. Michele is an amazing woman who has an unusual talent for encouraging service and philanthropy in others, and for leveraging gifts given to the foundation that multiply their original value. What she has done with the park is just one of many examples of how Michele and the Warren County Community Foundation make a difference in the lives of the people in this community.
Places: Fleming Woods Park, where recreation, education and imagination intersect. It is also a great place to enjoy a piece of pie! After receiving 30 acres of woodlands that belonged to the Boy Scouts and was transferred to the county to create a park, Michele and her husband mapped out 3 trails of various lengths throughout the park. Along with Warren County Community Foundation Volunteers and Youth Council members who donated 250 volunteer hours, they next placed fallen logs to mark the boundaries for the trails. With funds from Lilly GIFT VII, Michele was able to install a shelter, picnic tables, grills, bridges, signage, and benches all purchased from local merchants. The Young Explorers’ students created the content for the tree identification signs and AccuBurn made the signs. 
The Wabash Heartland Innovation Network’s Capstone Grant was used to purchase 9 chainsaw carvings that add interest and surprise along the trails. 
When a Seeger High School student wanted to learn how to fill out a grant application, Michele mentored her to apply for funding from the nearby Subaru Plant to create an “orchestra pit” of musical instruments for the park. (Subaru did not know a student had submitted the grant until the award presentation!)
Currently, students in the AP Literature class at Seeger are creating informational content to place along the trails and students in the Photography Class made 4 photos of the park that will be used as a collage to promote the park.
Pies: Mushroom Pie. As a nod to the mushrooms that have now begun to spring up in the park, I made a mushroom pie for this picnic. While Michele and I did our best to hunt for the desired morel mushrooms on farm property where they are known to exist, we came up empty. Later, though, Michele did find a few morels in Fleming Woods but by that time I had given up and bought Chestnut mushrooms at a farmers market to use in the pie. Maybe next year we can have morels!
- For the crust:
- • Use the basic crust recipe from http://www.artofthepie.com
- • 2-4 Tablespoons fresh-grated Parmesan cheese for rolling out the top and bottom crusts
- For the filling:
- • 2 tablespoons butter
- • 1 cup ramps (or chives)
- • 2 lbs. of morel mushrooms (or similar)
- • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- • ½ teaspoon black pepper
- • 2 large eggs
- • ½ cup heavy cream
- • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- • 1 tablespoon fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, and/or sage)
- • ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Prepare the mushrooms:
- • Rinse the mushrooms in cold water, removing as much dirt as possible
- • Slice the mushrooms lengthwise
- • Place the sliced mushrooms in a shallow bowl with salted (about 2 Tbsps.) water; refrigerate overnight; rinse before using
- For the crust:
- Follow directions at http://artofthepie.com for basic crust. When rolling out the dough, add 1-2 Tbsp. of grated Parmesan cheese to the flour and roll the crust on both sides to incorporate the Parmesan cheese. Transfer the bottom crust to a deep dish pie plate.
- For the filling:
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Rough chop the stems and leaves of the ramps or chives and sauté in the butter until soft and wilted. Chop the mushrooms into large pieces and to the skillet and cook until browned, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, and flour. Add the mushroom mixture, herbs, and cheese and stir to combine. Pour the filling into the bottom pie crust. Roll out the top crust on both sides in the Parmesan cheese and flour mixture and place on top of the pie. Pinch the two crusts together and tuck into the dish to seal. Cut slits into the crust to vent. Brush top crust with egg wash.
- Bake at 350 degrees F until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 60-75 minutes. Let the pie cool to room temperature before serving to let the filling thicken.
- Keep any leftover pie in the refrigerator. If serving again, reheat the pie at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
