Instructions

1. For the glaze:
   In your 1 quart saucepan, thoroughly combine the sugar, cornstarch and gelatin using your wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
   (A side note: 3 tablespoons of gelatin is exactly 1/2 a package, so stash the rest in a labeled plastic bag for your next pie!)
   Add 1/2 cup of the water and stir until the dry stuff is completely mixed into the water. Make sure you get ALL the dry ingredients from the bottom and corners of the pan mixed with the water. Add the rest of the water and stir until it's all totally combined and smooth. It's perfectly normal for the mixture to be cloudy at this point.

   (If you don't mix the dry ingredients thoroughly before adding the water, the cornstarch tends to clump up and be kinda sludgy when you try to stir it. And if you put the water in all at once, the dry ingredients don't combine as well as they do if you add the water in stages.)

   Cook the glaze mixture over medium heat, stirring all the time, until it begins to boil. You'll notice that the glaze will thicken up and go from cloudy to clear as it starts to boil. Boil it for 1 minute, then take the pan off the heat and let the glaze cool while you prepare the fruit. Be very careful with this stuff because it's lava hot right now.

   

2. For the pie:
   Carefully raise up the rim of the aluminum pie pan so you can remove the plastic liner. Remove the paper label from the plastic and set the liner aside. You'll need it again later.

   Carefully wash your fruit. If you're using strawberries, remove the leaves, stems and core with your paring knife. Cut the strawberries into medium-sized chunks and put them in the crust. If you're using peaches, remove the fuzzy peel and the pit in the middle of the fruit. Cut the peaches into slices and put them in the crust. One pint of strawberries (the smaller boxes at the grocery store) or 5 peaches should be enough to fill the crust.

   When the crust is full, slowly pour the glaze you made earlier over the fruit. Be very careful because the glaze may still be pretty warm. Pouring the glaze slowly lets it get into all the nooks and crannies between the pieces of fruit. This should be the right amount of glaze for a normal-sized pie crust full of fruit, but don't be alarmed if you don't use it all. Just use enough to cover the fruit and fill the crust until it reaches just below the top edge.

   Remember that plastic liner from earlier? Flip it over and now it's a dome! Spiffy! Put the dome over the pie and carefully crimp down the edges of the aluminum pie pan over the rim of the dome so it's all sealed up. Refrigerate the pie for at least 4 hours so the glaze has plenty of time to set up. Once it's set, cut the pie into slices, top with whipped cream and enjoy!