Cooking is something that I do a lot more in the summer than at other times. I like to cook and (this part isn't humble) I'm decent at it, but I also (pick all that apply) 1) love to eat in restaurants, 2) am often pressed for time, and 3) hate to clean. I prefer to make complicated things when I cook, ones that take a lot of time and make a lot of dishes. I wash as I go so it isn't an enormous job at the end, but still it is a task I can't stand.

Last night I wanted to make beer batter (never made it before). We didn't have any beer (I prefer wine and Bob prefers martinis), so on his way home, Bob picked up one of those big single cans. He didn't buy a lot of items, and he said it was awkward. Who buys big single cans of Budweiser? He decided only two types of people. A homeless person would not very often be wearing a suit and tie (at least not clean ones). The other alternative is an alcoholic, who can't wait to get home to have a drink, and plans to slug this one down in the car on the way!

This is the pie I made for dessert:

It's a Strawberry Chobani Pie!

This recipe is very easy. I made the crust by rolling 2 cups vanilla Oreos into crumbs (they are on sale 2 for $5 at Rite Aid this week). Mix with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Press in 9" pie pan. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Spoon in 32 ounces of Strawberry Chobani yogurt. Freeze at least 1 hour. Cut up 1 quart fresh strawberries. Mix with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cover top of pie and serve.

It has a flaw. I am going to have to play around a little to fix it. A couple of weeks ago, I froze a small cup of Chobani solid to see what would happen. I already knew it froze and defrosted OK, that wasn't the point. I wanted to see if it would be palatable frozen, as an ice cream alternative. But I found that when it is fully frozen, it is hard as a rock, and it is just about impossible to eat until it is almost completely thawed.

So in this recipe, after an hour, the yogurt is not really frozen. Unfortunately, it is too soft to stay in a perfect pie shape when cut, and that's unacceptable to me. Bob felt the pie was delicious and didn't see this as a big deal. And it does present beautifully as a whole pie. I am not sure what is the exact time to freeze it for it to be not too soft, not too hard - I will have to experiment. I don't want to add another ingredient to the filling (such as Cool Whip....ewwww) unless I absolutely can't achieve it otherwise.