If you're anything like me, you over-stock the refrigerator when entertaining on the holidays, which means that at the moment, you have more strawberries, cherries and blueberries than you know what to do with. My solution is to lengthen the festivites just a little bit by using the leftovers to make more tasty and fun treats, like pie! To make a berry-licious pie and use up a lot of fruit, follow this vegan pie dough recipe and fit the dough into a pie plate. Then, place about 6 cups of fruit in a medium-sized saucepan with sugar to taste and about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of cold water. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture is thickened, pour it into the prepared pie crust, toss some granola on top and bake it at about 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Easy as pie!

Here are a few other dairy-free recipe solutions for leftover berries:

• Chocolate Cherry Roulade
• Fresh Fruit & Lemon Custard Tartlets
• Vegan Cherry Cobbler
• Zucchini Pasta

Photo © 2008 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.

Granola is one of those multi-purpose foods that I always have in my pantry, and I like to stock up on my supply for long holiday weekends like the Fourth of July as it easily fits into a variety of dishes and meals. Enjoyed with almond milk as a cereal, with soy yogurt and fruit in a parfait glass, sprinkled over berries with honey and baked in the oven, or taken on a hike and enjoyed straight out of a bag, granola is a healthy, energy-rich treat that satisfies a sweet craving without that feeling of over-indulgence. Many store-bought granolas use butter, but luckily for dairy-freers like myself, there are plenty of granolas that stick to using healthy oils like canola oil and olive oil, and granola is so easy to make at home! For special weekends or "just because," I like to make my own homemade granola, which comes out beautiful and smells wonderful as it bakes.

This blueberry granola recipe is one of my dairy-free favorites, and, served with dairy-free vanilla soy yogurt mixed with a little bit of honey and strawberries, it's perfect for the Fourth of July weekend!

Photo © 2008 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.