In a one-quart saucepan, mix the following ingredients.

• 1 ½ cups of raisins
• 1 cup of hot water
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of butter

In a little bowl, mix, before adding to the pot

• ½ cup of brown sugar with
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch

Mixing prevents the cornstarch from clumping when added to the other ingredients.

On medium heat, bring the above ingredients to a boil, cooking and stirring until the raisin filling thickens.

Pour the raisin filling into an unbaked pie shell and cover with the streusel topping.

Bake the pie in the lower third of the oven at 425°F for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375°F and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes.

There are many recipes for streusel toppings, but for this pie, I prefer the following mixture. Don’t feel you must use all of your prepared crumbs; keep the remainder in a glass jar in the fridge.  Sprinkle leftover streusel over baked apples or crisp toast. Decades ago, it was customary to make large jars of streusel to have on hand for sprinkling on top of muffins, cakes, or pies before baking.

Streusel Topping:

• 2/3 of a cup of flour
• 6 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons of butter
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon of allspice

Using a pastry cutter or two forks, blend this mixture into crumbs. Sprinkle a layer of crumbs over the top of the raisin filling and bake.