Pie is one of my reasons for living. You all know this.  I have been so spoiled by my Dad’s homemade pie my whole life that I will almost never eat pie that isn’t homemade.  I’ll occasionally eat a piece of pie from Snohomish Pie Company, which is a wonderful little local bakery here, but that’s about it. (If you live in the Seattle area, drive immediately there and try a piece of Apple Berry Crumble pie or Huckleberry Cream Pie.) I never pick up a pie from the grocery store bakery, because pie is not pie without homemade pie crust. I’ll take it a step further- if you don’t like pie, I don’t trust your judgement. 🙂  I could go on and on about how strongly I feel about this.

Strawberry Rhubarb is one of my very favorite pies in the entire world, but I almost never make it because rhubarb is such a pain in the ass.  Strawberries are coming back in season, and I have been craving a strawberry rhubarb pie lately, and as luck would have it, I happened to see frozen peeled and cut rhubarb at my grocery store.

I may or may not have bought a lot of bags.

Anyway, yesterday was pi day, and I had some strawberries in my fridge so I made this pie on a whim.  This pie is super easy to make, with classic, simple ingredients.  I did a lattice crust on mine (instructions here) but you can also do a classic double crust.

The cornstarch thickens it very nicely, and if you cool your pie completely and follow the instructions, you shouldn’t have a big mess when you cut into it (although you will have a little if you cut into the pie while still warm- which is worth the mess) but it’s your call.

Top this with some vanilla ice cream (or not) and enjoy!

Ingredients:

One Double Pie Crust- here is my favorite recipe.

Filling:
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons butter, cubed small
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
large granule sugar

Directions:
Mix your filling ingredients together into a large bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425°.  Make your pie crust and place one crust into the bottom of your pie pan.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the filling into the crust, leaving the excess liquid in the bowl (too much liquid will result in a very messy pie)  Dot the top of the filling with butter cubes.

Place the top crust (either lattice or regular) over the top of the pie. If you are not doing a lattice crust, use a knife to cut a few slits in the top of the crust for air to escape.  Brush top crust with your egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Place either a pie crust shield or tin foil around the edges of your pie crust and place pie in the oven for 15 minutes.  Decrease temperature to 375°, remove pie crust shield or foil, and bake an additional 40 minutes, or until pie filling starts bubbling over.  Very smart to line the bottom of your oven with foil for this one.

Remove from oven and cool at least a while before serving.  Enjoy.