Pie Crust:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Start by making the pie crust.
• In a food processor, add flour and salt, pulse to mix.
• Next, add coconut oil and lemon juice, pulsing until the mixture resembles crumbs.
• Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture sticks together when pressed. If the dough gets too wet, harden in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
• Roll out the dough between two layers of cling wrap.  
• Carefully peel off one layer of cling wrap, flip into an 9-inch ungreased pie tin.  Be sure the dough reaches the pie tin’s edges (to prevent it from sliding down the sides).  Pinch the edges if desired and prick the dough with a fork.  
• Add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of the pie tin (on top of the dough) and add pie weights or baking beans to keep it from puffing while baking.  
• Bake pie crust at 350F for 30 minutes with pie weights and parchment paper.  Remove pie weights and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Let the pie crust cool.  

Next, make the strawberry sauce:

• In a blender, add 1 quart fresh strawberries, juice of one lime, and blend until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a medium-size saucepan.  Add sugar, vanilla bean paste, salt, and bring to a simmer.  Let simmer for 4 minutes.  
• Make a slurry with corn starch and water.  Corn starch tends to settle to the bottom very quickly, so stir right before adding to the strawberry mixture.  Stir the strawberry mixture while adding the slurry to prevent it from lumping.  Simmer for two more minutes.  Set aside to cool.  

Assembling the pie:

• In a large bowl, add 2 quarts of fresh strawberries.  Pour in the cooled strawberry sauce and stir to combine.  
• Next, spoon the fresh strawberry mixture into the cooled pie crust. Garnish with vegan whipped topping if desired.  (For the whipped topping, we used Rich’s Whip Topping Base, a non-dairy topping. Silk whipping cream is another good option).