Berry Good-Bye

I made this pie for the farewell party my knitting group is throwing in my honor. Sweet endings are always the easiest. Madison knitters, I will miss you.

Strawberry Pie with a Hint of Rhubarb (filling for 10" pie)
1.5 c. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2" thick slices
32 oz. strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered depending on size
1/2 c. brown sugar, heaped
1/2 c. white sugar
4 T. arrowroot starch
1 t. ground cinnamon (I used Penzey's)

Mix all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Line your 10" pie dish with the bottom crust. Pour and heap filling mix into crust. Set upper crust on top. Trim edges and seal (I use a fork to crimp the edges). Cut a vent into the top crust. Bake at 400 F for 20 min, then reduce oven temperature to 350 F and bake for an additional 40-45 min. When magenta goo erupts from the crust vent (or other cracks in the crust), the pie is generally done. Serve warm.

Current Pie Tally: 57

And Dad's Birthday Pie Was...

Rhubarb Strawberry! It was too hot and time was too precious to invest in making the fresh peach and rhubarb pie, so I ended up baking the one from the freezer. I cooked it at 425F for 25 min and then another hour at 350 this time. I think it came out much better than the last one reincarnated from the freezer depths. My husband said it set up particularly well, and I was satisfied with the doneness of the crust. Dad kept all of the leftovers and told my husband he married well, so I guess he thought it was OK too. The recipe is the same as the one from this post.

Despite the success of this one, I did have a price to pay when I returned home. All of the peaches I had bought for the possibility of the fresh pie had rotted by the time I returned home from the trip to see Dad. From rock hard to festering mess in one stinking day. What a disappointment. Oh well, the rhubarb is still keeping firm in the fridge at least.

Current Pie Tally: 25

Post-Baby Pie Update

And then there were three pie-loving mouths to feed. My son Caleb Richmond was born on May 23rd, so pie time is precious time these days. However, I have managed a few. First off, the chicken pot pie that I froze was excellent. Freezing definitely "cured" the crust to perfection. Very flaky, flavorful, and filling. Just what we needed after a long delivery. Here is a recap of how to cook a frozen pot pie: DO NOT THAW IT. Put it directly in a 425 F oven for 20 minutes. Then, turn the heat down to 350 F and cook it for about another 50 min. It's done when the crust around the center looks dry and cooked.

Second, the day before Cal was born, my nesting instincts (which manifested mostly in obsessive gardening) inspired me to pick a bunch of our rhubarb and make a strawberry rhubarb pie for the freezer. It's still there, waiting to be called into service.

Lastly, there's the story behind this post's photo. My boy is less than two weeks old and I made a pie today. From scratch. With filling ingredients solely from my garden and a neighbor's garden. It's a rhubarb strawberry pie, made the same way as the strawberry rhubarbs I've made, except that the fruit proportions are skewed in favor of the strawberries. I maybe used 1.5 - 2 quarts of strawberries and 1 c. less of the rhubarb.

Current Pie Tally: 19