Last summer I discovered Demetria Provatas and the pies she sells at the Lopez Island Farmer’s Market on Instagram. I vowed that if I was ever in the area, I’d stop by on a market day and buy one of her beautiful $32 pies. Because seriously, if someone can live on a island and sell pies for $32 summer after summer, you know they’ve got to be good, right?
Well, a year went by and not once was I anywhere near the San Juan Islands. So yesterday, after a few emails back and forth to Demetria, The Girl and I left the house at 5:30 am and drove the 3 hours to the Anacortes ferry dock.
After a 40 minute ferry ride and a 25 minute drive from one end of the island to the other, we arrived at Demetria’s little cabin in the woods. And she made us a pie.
What a work of art. And the crust. It was Ah-mazing!
While our wild blackberry pie was baking in the oven, we all walked down to the beach and threw sticks into the water for her dog Penelope to fetch. We talked about east coast vs west coast {she’s from Vermont} and all the differences, blogging and photography.
When the little timer she brought along went off, we walked back to check on the pie. The juices were bubbling and the pie was ready to come out of the oven. 10 minutes later The Girl and I were back in the car and headed down to the ferry dock for the ride home.
It was quite the journey, leaving at 5:30 am and pulling into the driveway around 7pm. 13 1/2 hours for 2 pies. $64. And let me tell you, they were worth every penny. 😉
You just can’t beat a homemade pie.
~Mavis
P.S. If you ever find yourself on Lopez Island, look up Demetria. You can find her blog HERE.
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Tejas Prairie Hen says
Whoa! I have never paid more than 7 bucks for a pie, and that, only once, with incredible guilt! I know how cheap they are to make…
Nan says
Ain’t that the truth LOL? No way would I even pay more than $10.
Mary Ann says
What a wonderful day trip! I need to make time for more of these kinds of days in my life!
deborah says
What a beautiful journey and even wonderful looking pie. Beautiful. Yummy!
Teresa Jo says
Oh my. Those are works of art. So lovely, what is the speckled ingredient in the crust? If it tastes 1/2 as good as it looks I would pay 32.00 for a special occasion. I would feel guilty cutting into the beauty (but, not too guilty!)
Nan says
I am thinking fresh vanilla with seeds. I’ve had that look before when I scraped a vanilla pod.
Jennifer says
No photos of the finished berry pie? It looks like a very low berry to pastry ratio. What did you think?
And what kind is the other pie?
Mavis Butterfield says
I’ll post it in Monday in my grocery post. Lemon lavender buttermilk. The bottom crust was insanely thin and flaky.
Jennifer says
Hmm, I notice you’re not answering the question….
Mavis Butterfield says
They were very good. My husband tried both and wouldn’t stop talking about the buttermilk pie. I was surprised at how I was able to hold it in my hand with such a thin crust. I had a slice of berry pie for breakfast and it too, was really good. I wish I would have asked what was in the crust. Totally worth the trip. I was thinking of you quite a bit yesterday actually and thinking how you should be selling your cakes and pies at your Saturday market.
Jennifer says
I was looking at her website and am quite taken by the pumpkin pies with the artsy swirls of buttermilk. I need to figure out how she did that.
Mavis Butterfield says
Here you go! It’s easier than you think. http://bojongourmet.com/2014/11/kabocha-pumpkin-buttermilk-pie-with/ Also, I think you need to have another open call pie party. This time though, instead of you making all of them… Have admission to the party be a pie. I’d come.
Jennifer says
Oh! That’s easy enough…!
Tracy T says
Pics please of the berry pie when finished and what is 2nd pie? It looks so good.
Mavis Butterfield says
I will on Monday. Along with another one that I think is kinda of sweet.
Tonya says
What a beautiful handmade pie and add wild blueberries. Yum!!
Alice says
Did the two pies cost $64 together or did that amount include ferry fees?
Mavis Butterfield says
$32 a pie. 🙂 I was actually proud of her for charging that much too and told her so. I LOVE that she can earn an income this way. Her pies are very unique. She lives on an island so the prices for her supplies are a little higher than someone on the mainland would pay. She’s a one person show, buys or picks the fruit locally and she is getting paid a good wage doing something she loves and is obviously very talented at.
Nancy says
love them
Alice says
Thanks, Mavis
Sharon says
Does she ship them across the country?
Mavis Butterfield says
I didn’t ask. But I highly doubt it.
Randi says
love this, love her blog what beautiful photos! The lemon lavender buttermilk pie looks divine!
what a beautiful escape a pie apprenticeship would be!
Mavis Butterfield says
Totally. I would love that gig!
Candice says
Oh dear Mavis, take a day off from rug hooking and settle down and bake a pie. Maybe Mrs. Hillbilly can give you a hand. I bet she has made many and does it without a recipe. Especially berry pie. Even if you bought berries at your farmers market it wouldn’t cost that much. A pie crust takes 5 minutes to get together and if you want fancy make extra and go for it. I fill my berry pie with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries and it has at least 6 cups of berries in each pie. Homegrown berries. You can do it Mavis. I have faith in you.
Mrs. C. says
Mavis is an experienced pie baker. She has a lot of recipes here.
Ellen in Clackamas says
Love that she is able to get paid a fair amount for those works of art—definately more than “just a pie”! Sounds like a wonderful day trip–with a bonus at the end. I haven’t taken the ferry out to the San Juans in many years but remember what a beautiful drive it was. Can’t wait to see more pictures
Sue says
Awesome! That is what I would call “living a little”!!!! What a fun day!!
Kristine Farley says
Beautiful pie and worth $32. It’s a work of art.
What a delight it was to see you, Mrs. Hillbilly and her Mom at
The Grey House.
Thank you for all the good resources. And I love your bakery tour.
We’re checking some of them out.
Blessings,
Kristine
Mavis Butterfield says
Hey! Thanks for leaving a comment, I forgot to ask you your name in all the excitement. I hope you liked the tea. They Grey House is my new favorite spot!!
Torry says
I love to bake and have made fancy cakes for my family and friends for years. I also make a lot of pies. Every once in a while, someone will ask me to make something for them and when I give them a price, they are horrified at what it costs. Yes, but those cakes have to be baked, cooled, decorated. My time is worth something and my level of expertise is worth something. Same thing with pies. Yes, I know you can go to the Fred Meyers store and get a cake for much less. But you are the one saying how much better my cakes are and you are the one asking me to do it for you.
I pretty much say no now. It is easier to say no than to have “you” insult me. (General “you.”)
So, she has a price, and you get to decide whether or not to pay the price. When someone is frugal with their money, but sometimes indulges in a splurge, it makes it easier, in my opinion, to go back to being frugal.
Thanks for sharing each of your bakery finds!
Mavis Butterfield says
I couldn’t agree more.
Wendy Steele says
I 100% agree. You are paying for her artistry, time and talent. You are not paying for the cost of the ingredients.
It’s like my hairdresser-I know exactly what the cost of bleach and a few pieces of foil are. However, her skill at putting the blonde highlights in my hair is what I am paying for.
SandyF says
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing this experience. You must also visit Kate McDermott in Port Townsend from “The Art of the Pie” she holds classes and has written a nice book. http://artofthepie.com
Also-King Arthur Flours new campus in Skagit Valley, Washington State
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/baking-school/
Susan says
We were in The San Juans just 2 weeks ago visiting our daughter for a week. She is on Orcas. All the Islands are
beautiful! Love going there.
Mavis Butterfield says
I spent practically ever summer of my childhood up in the San Juans… I love it up there. You’re daughter is so lucky to live there. Soooo peaceful. 🙂
Angela D. says
I would totally splurge on an artistic $32 pie–putting it on my bucket list. And until I can get out that way (I live in the midwest), I will use your experience and beautiful photos as inspiration to try my hand at imitating those pies.
Bren says
We have a pie shop a couple of towns over called Emporium pies…they do amazingly well and charge $30 or $40 a pie…fabulous stuff definitely worth the indulgence every now and again especially when you consider Market Street charges $15 a pie.
The pies you picked up look heavenly!
Carla Edwards says
Try Pie Goddess at 1100 Griffin Ave, Enumclaw, WA 98022. Petite, quaint cafe with a few sidewalk tables & menu of sweet & savory specialty pies.
We ate dinner there one evening on our recent vacation to Washington. Wow. The savory pie was excellent and the berry pies were to die for. The custard pies, not so much. We had the chicken pot pie for dinner and then slices of blackberry pie and raspberry pie for dessert. All were delicious. And we got the whole dinner, one regular sized savory pie, and 4 slices of the dessert pies, for $30. What a steal.
Kristen says
Demetria has to be the most adorable person on the planet! What a beautiful blog, thank you for introducing her to all of us! Her dog is super sweet as well 🙂
Angela says
The Lopez Island farmers market is the best I’ve ever been to. Next time you go, make sure to grab some beef or pork from Midnight’s Farm, some sausages from Horse Drawn Farm, and bread from Barn Owl Bakery.
They also have a winter farmers market 2 Saturdays a month 🙂