who cares if it is a fruit or a vegetable - it is delicious!

for some reason, i got the idea that i needed to make a rhubarb pie. i just had to. i haven't had one in years. we would eat rhubarb crisp all the time at home, but rarely pie. i think my mom has a thing against making pies...

anyway, i wanted to do a straight rhubarb pie - something very tart and delicious (i do have a thing for lemons and limes too... what is it with the tart business?). well, the pound of rhubarb i ordered in my produce box was a little sparse, disappointingly sparse. so i decided on strawberry-rhubarb since i picked up some berries on a random whole foods run (hey, don't look at me like that - they were 2 for $5).

all in all, the pie was a success. i looked at a few different recipes online and ended up doing what i usually do - improvise my own :) and of course i photographed the entire process for you all to see!

first you make the crust. i seriously love my pastry cutter.
[don't over mix and use cold ingredients, roll in a ball, and let it chill in the fridge for a bit.]

here's the strawberries mixed with rhubarb. my roommate thought i was cutting up discolored celery. silly boy. he had never had rhubarb before...

time to roll out the crust.

place crust in pie plate.

insert filling (of course you add sugar and stuff to the berries and barb) with bits of butter on top.

this pie called for a lattice top crust, and i just wasn't in the mood. so instead, i used some tiny cookie cutters to embellish the top crust. then i crimped the edge for a nice rippled look.

after an egg wash, sprinkling of raw sugar, and 60 minutes in the oven, this is what resulted. ain't she gorgeous?

recipe:
[generated through recipes on the rhubarb pies website]

crust
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 stick of butter
1 stick of margarine
dash of salt
4-6 tablespoons of water

filling
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
dash of salt
2 cups of chopped fresh rhubarb
3 cups of fresh strawberries sliced

combine dry ingredients for the crust with butter using a pastry cutter until crumbly – add water as needed. without handling excessively, form into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. roll out one disc on a dry surface coated with flour and transfer to pie plate. in a separate bowl, mix the all the ingredients for the filling. pour into the crust and dot with butter. roll out top crust and make decorative cuts to vent; place crust on top and crimp the edge. bake at 425 f. for ten minutes then reduce to 350 f. and bake 40 to 50 minutes. cool thoroughly before cutting.