Now THAT is one pretty pie.

This photo was sent to me by reader Daniel, who picked a mess of wineberries on a recent camping trip and transformed them into this lovely custard pie. Daniel tells me he grew up baking and worked as a mess boy, and later a steward, on an oil tanker. Sounds like he knows a thing or two about baking a good pie.

Daniel says he grew up eating fruit custard pies with everything from peaches or apples to cherries or blueberries. He runs into folks all the time who have never had a custard pie, and I’m racking my brain to remember if I’ve had a custard pie before myself. With all the pies my grandmother used to make, I find it kind of hard to believe I have never had some form of a custard pie — besides pumpkin, of course.

At any rate, Daniel shared his recipe for a custard pie, which looks too incredibly easy to pass up. A word on wineberries: They are a wild, raspberry-like berry that can be found in these parts during the summertime. My predecessor on the food beat, Beth Macy, did a column about wineberries once.

I don’t have much experience with them. My wild berry-picking experience is limited to huckleberries, wild blackberries and tea berries, which are really only good for eating right then and there, in my opinion.

Below, you’ll find Daniel’s custard pie recipe. And if we’re all very lucky, maybe Win will decide to share her recipe for rhubarb custard pie (hint, hint). Enjoy!

Update: I forgot to note that Daniel says if he makes a peach or apple custard pie, he sprinkles cinnamon over the top before baking.

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Anybody who has read Barbara Kingsolver’s novel “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” probably remembers that asparagus is the first vegetable of spring.

When those little shoots reach high for the sky, it’s a sure sign that strawberries and blueberries and cucumbers are just around the corner.

Not only is asparagus an early riser, but according to one of my favorite books, “Nature’s Pharmacy,” it is high in vitamins A and C as well as glutathione, which keeps eyes healthy by interfering with the formation of cataracts.

In addition, asparagus is high in potassium and folates, so if you’re thinking of getting pregnant or you’re newly pregnant, eat up!

Of course, all of these benefits are well and good if you love asparagus, which I do. But there are a significant number of people out there (my sister and mother included) who absolutely hate asparagus.

I don’t know how I could be related to them.

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Well, what do you know? I had just finished up a cup of oatmeal with flax seed this morning (darned resolutions) when I found out that January is oatmeal month!

Quite appropriate, isn’t it, considering how cold and blustery it was outside this morning?

Some folks just can’t bring themselves to eat oatmeal for breakfast, but I’ve always loved it. Of course, additions like brown sugar, maple syrup, apples, raisins and cinnamon don’t hurt the taste one bit!

Here are a few new ideas, courtesy of eDiets.com, for sprucing up your morning bowl while still maintaining the health benefits:

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