Friday is Pieday!

Hello friends..it's Pieday! So happy to have you all back. I really love reading all your kind pie comments. It was 82 degrees and super sunny in Virginia today, so in honor of this gorgeous spring day, I decided to bake an old fashioned Strawberry- Rhubarb pie. You know...the kind your grandmother used to bake. And ..yes,we will be needing vanilla ice cream...;-)

For our Strawberry-Rhubarb pie we will need the following:

1.  4 cups sliced fresh rhubarb

2.  3 cups sliced fresh strawberries-God Bless Costco..they had a 4lb box for $5.00!!

3. 1 1/2 cups sugar or Splenda ( both work great)

4. 1/4 cup quick cooking tapioca(in the pudding aisle)

5.  2 TBL good orange juice

6.  2 Tbl butter

7. recipe for pie crust-see side bar to left

So this is what rhubarb looks like...red celery! If you bite into it raw...very sour and bitter. No need to peel..just wash and trim ends off.

As tart as the rhubarb is..when you pair it up with sweet strawberries and sugar....Magic happens!

I always thought the leaf part of the stalk looked like webbed duck feet..too funny...;-)

This is such an old fashioned pie, I think we really need to keep it authentic and make our homemade pie crust..you don't mind..do you? Oh..stop your whining! Ok..if you have to use frozen crust, I'll look away while you get them out of the freezer.

In a large bowl mix the rhubarb, berries, sugar, tapioca and orange juice.

Roll the bottom crust into your pie pan and trim. Pile your berries into your crust and dot with butter. Roll your top crust over the filling. Trim the top crust and tuck under and crimp in any pretty technique. If you need help with this part, refer to some of my older pie posts. Brush the top of your pie with some beaten egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar to make it sparkle! Make a few slits with a sharp knife for steam release. Or your pie will explode!!! Just kidding..;-)

All ready for the oven! Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Cover crust edge with pie rings or aluminum to prevent over browning. 

Perfect! Crust is golden, juices are bubbling up through the slits and my kitchen smells wonderful. Ok...somebody get the vanilla ice cream! I have found that if you cut into this pie while still warm, the fruit will be juicier and the longer the pie cools the more set the filling becomes. The great flavor is the same whether warm and juicy or cooled and firmer...it's all good.

This is how my pie set up nicely by the next morning.....I ate this one too...;-)   Hey, I made mine with Splenda..so it was sugar free and that's not bad..all fruit!

I hope you will treat your family to this old time favorite whenever you see rhubarb in season. You will have to excuse me now...I have an appointment with a piece of pie.

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.