rhubarb Archives -

More Rhubarb Options: Strawberry Rhubarb and Blueberry Rhubarb Pies

Blueberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie, Photo by Diane & Doug Russell

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, Photo by Diane & Doug Russell

A celebration of rhubarb continues with Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and Blueberry Rhubarb Pies!

Some people don’t consider it to be summer until they’ve have a rhubarb pie! These are two great ways to enjoy the delight that is rhubarb.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is one of the iconic American pies. While naysayers may scoff at the combination, those in-the-know know this is a great pie!

Blueberry Rhubarb Pie is new combination that I tried for the first time last year. It is elegant and surprising. Even rhubarb doubters found it irresistible.

I will be offering them both this week!

Rhubarb Pie with Recipe

Rhubarb Pie, Photo by Diane and Doug Russell

Rhubarb Pie made with homegrown rhubarb. Sweet, tangy, unmistakably bold flavor that shouts “Spring!”

I really enjoy baking pies made with the rhubarb we grow in our organic urban garden. Last year, I made my traditional Rhubarb Pie, as well as a Rhubarb Custard Pie, Blueberry Rhubarb Pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. This year? Well, we’ll see how far the rhubarb supply goes!

A pie made with rhubarb and sweetened just right is lovely and satisfying. Here’s the extremely simple recipe that transforms rhubarb into a fantastic Rhubarb Pie.

Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups of chopped rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Mix ingredients well in a large bowl.
Fill a pastry shell, then fit top crust.
Seal and pinch around the edge to form crust.

Bake at 400F for about 50-60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb– at last!

This has been a cold, wet, rainy spring in Michigan. We have had several frost or near frosts unexpectedly late in the season. The weather has slowed down the growing season too; I’ve heard estimates of spring being one to three weeks behind. I don’t know if those dates scientifically accurate in any way, but it sure feels about right. We have been wearing sweaters more this May than in the previous Mays that come to mind.

But now finally it’s time for rhubarb.

Rhubarb is an extra special plant that grows well in our climate. It’s big and weird, not quite a fruit, not quite a vegetable, but the green to red stalks are edible and delicious nonetheless. It’s also known as “pie plant”, which seems the nicest name of all.

Rhubarb is also the only “crop” that we grow enough of in our urban garden to offer pies for customers. The demand nearly outweighed the supply last year, so I am prepared to purchase locally grown rhubarb to supplement what I can pick and meet the demand for pies. I’m predicting that ingredients for about a dozen pies will come from our gardens, and that’s very exciting.