Easy as pie

Holidays are great, don't get me wrong, but they frequently require herculian measures: cooking a monster meal, spiffing up the house, hosting visitors, travelling, or so forth.

In short, a truckload of effort. And it's tempting to go overboard.

Before you find yourself over your head, take a breath. Do you really need to go all-out Martha?

Seriously, sometimes it pays to scale back. To simplify. To take the easier route.

If your Thanksgiving (or other holiday) celebration screams for a special dessert — or if you just plain come down with a craving — but aren't looking forward to upping your workload, here's a quick fix: a No-bake Berry Pie.

It's easy and healthy.

No-bake Berry Pie

Crusty stuff:

• 1 cup nuts (walnuts, almonds, macadamia, pecans, etc.)

• 1/4 cup oats

• 3/4 cup coconut (shredded, unsweetened)

• 1/4 cup dried fruit (figs, dates, apricots, raisins, etc.)

• 2 tsp honey

• pinch of cayenne pepper

• pinch of salt 
• 
  
• 1. Grind all ingredients in food processor
• 2. Press firmly into greased pie plate (back of a large spoon works well)

• 
  
• 2 cups berries (if frozen, thaw and drain)

• 1 banana

• 2 tsp lemon juice

• brown sugar to taste
• 
  
• 3. Pour filling onto pie crust
• 4. Refrigerate for 1 hour

Feel free to make modifications here, but beware of going too dry. Aim for a mixture that resembles a grainy pastry-dough, one with just enough stickiness — from dried fruit, honey, etc. — to hold it together.

To do:

Filling stuff

Again, modifications are encouraged, but best to keep the filling thick.

More To do:

If you really wish to go the extra mile, decorate with a few whole berries and serve with whipped cream, etc.

And that's it.

To reward yourself for time and energy saved, pour a nice glass of wine, put your feet up and look forward to enjoying your guests. And your pie.