It's Pi Day 2011! Get it? 3.14 aka 3/14 aka March 14? Celebrate the transcendental constant π with Hounds in the Kitchen by including your favorite post about pi or pie in the Linky below. Feel free to link to a recipe, homeschool lesson on circles, or geometry related story. It's fine if the post is an older one - we want to read what you think about 3.14159265359...

I want to share how I decorated a very special pie exactly one month ago, on Valentine's Day.

This sour cherry pie was already going to be memorable because Lil, Alex, and I picked the cherries in July from a friend's neighbor's tree. Alex and I hand-pitted the cherries, froze them on sheet trays, sealed with the vacuum sealer and tucked them away in the deep freeze.

Fruits of such provenance, those we had patiently avoided until February 14, demanded an extraordinary preparation.

The cherries were mixed with sugar, flour and nutmeg and a bottom crust rolled out. Then, Lil and I cut dozens of hearts out of the top crust, reserving the cutouts. This process tested every bit of Lil's patience and mine, as she wanted to eat the raw dough and I wanted to crust to be beautiful. There's no re-rolling a crust in this house so we had but a single chance.

The Valentine's day treat was assembled including placing the heart cutouts around the outer edge. Our heart pie cooked, bubbling sweetened juices all over the oven.

Fully baked, it was a lovely centerpiece for our family afternoon tea. It tasted tangy and sweet, with the refreshing flavor of summer in the midst of winter.

What's your Pi Day story?

PS. Pi Day is an annual tradition on our homestead. Read about Pi Day 2010.