Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 Strawberry Rhubarb Pie <3

What is Rhubarb?

Rhubarb is a thick, fibrous, celery-like stalk that is red on the outside and green on the outside, and very TANGY! 

So why Rhubarb?

#1 Rhubarb and strawberries are in season

#2 The combination of sweet strawberries and tangy rhubarb is heaven in your mouth. Add a flaky pie crust and a dollop of your favorite vanilla ice cream and you can say "Hallelujah!"

#3 Just try it, you'll understand when you do!

The great thing about this pie is that it's SUPER easy! And it takes minor prep work. It's SO good. And part of the reason why this upcoming recipe is delicious is due to a crust recipe I've discovered from author, and pie purist Beth Howard. When I first moved to Ohio, I thought about taking a road trip from Ohio to California, my native state. I was looking for places to stop by on the way on Google search and the American Gothic House popped up. When I checked out the house, the Internet told me that a woman lived there. Beth Howard has a blog and wrote a great book about her life recovering after her husband suddenly passed away.

See book description here

American Gothic House

I rented the book from the library right away and was touched, not only by her love for her husband but her dedication in doing what she loves to do best: baking pies. She quit her very high-paying job  in the corporate world and began working at a bakery in Malibu, California for $8 an hour. Wow, this woman sure knows what she's passionate about in life. I recommend her book and you can find her blog at http://theworldneedsmorepie.blogspot.com/. Now she lives at American Gothic house in Iowa and sells pies in front of her house from the Pitchfork Pie Stand :). What a great story. And even better, she included award winning pie recipes in the back of the book!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie <3

Prep time: 1 hour. not including chill time for pie dough. 

Ingredients

Filling:

2 packs strawberries (or 4 cups chopped)

2 cups chopped rhubarb (2 stalks should do it)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pie Crust:

2 1/2 cups flour (but have at least 3 and 1/2 cups on  hand, as you'll need extra flour to roll dough and to thicken filling)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

Dash of salt

Ice water (fill one cup, but use only enough to moisten dough)

1. Preheat Oven to 375°F
2. Make the pie crust: Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and briefly mix it together. Add the butter and shortening and work them into the flour with your hands until you see marble-sized lumps form. Add the ice water, a little at a time, sort of “fluffing” the flour. When the dough feels moistened enough, do a “squeeze test”: if it holds together, you’re done. (Do not overwork the dough! It takes very little time and you’ll be tempted to keep touching it, but don’t!)
3. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a disk shape. Sprinkle flour under and on top of your dough to keep it from sticking. Chill dough for 30 minutes to an hour (or skip this step if you want pie FAST! chilling it helps the crust be flakier)
4. Prepare the filling: chop up the strawberries and rhubarb into bite-size pieces (2:1 strawberry-rhubarb ratio), combine in bowl, add sugar and cinnamon and lightly mix together. I do 2:1 because I like the pie more sweet than sour. 
5. Roll one disk out flat and thin enough so that the diameter is about 2 inches greater than that of the pie dish. Put the rolled-out crust into the pie dish and trim any excess dough to about 1 inch from the dish edge with scissors. 
6. Put filling onto pie crust, and roll out top crust. Crack one egg in a bowl, mix and brush top pie crust with egg mixture. This will give it a golden, crispy look. Poke holes in top crust with a fork, or you can do a lattice style top crust. 
7. Bake until fruit juices bubbles out of crust, about 40-50 minutes. 

...and I'd like to end this post with my twist on the movie Life of Pi:

I actually took this picture. and yes that is my strawberry rhubarb pie <3



Enjoy <3