memory making memorial day pie

My father was a fan of rhubarb pie, my husband is a huge fan of rhubarb pie (in truth he is a PURIST, preferring rhubarb only) and as it is, my both my sons are fans of my rhubarb pie. This recipe and blog is for all the great men in my life...my dear "Daddy" (who is missed), my sweet husband (John) and for my amazing son's... Brandon and Devin. 

Memorial Day equates baking the first rhubarb pie of the season.  This tradition dates back to my childhood days and my granny.  Granny was an amazing gardener, and I have memories of helping her and working with her in her garden in Portland, Oregon.  Granny grew amazing flowers along with  lettuce, tomatoes, beets,  strawberries, rhubarb and much more.  She also had a humongous Rainier Cherry tree in her back yard, which was not only fantastic for climbing, but it was bar none, the best ever for picking and eating as many cherries as one could possibly consume.  To this day cherries remain one of my favorite summer snacks!  In fact, I anxiously await the first Oregon/Washington cherries to arrive in the market.

Looking back at my childhood, I can safely say that my granny and my parents laid the foundation for my love of gardening (both flowers and edibles as well).   Gardening can prove problematic here in the high desert climate of Central Oregon, but it is safe to say that I can and do grow great rhubarb.  So to honor my long standing tradition for this holiday weekend, I harvested the first of our rhubarb on Saturday (our crop is bountiful this season) with Sunday morning set aside for pie creation and baking.  This year, I added a bit of a twist, which turned out tasty and will be repeated.  Rhubarb pie recipe as follows:

Spelt Pie Crust (makes a two crust 9 inch pie):

2 cups spelt flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 (chilled) Tablespoons butter                  

5+ Tablespoons chilled fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon of nonfat plain yogurt

To make the crust, measure flour and sugar into mixing bowl.  Cut in shortening thoroughly, so it has the appearance of coarse corn meal.  Start mixing in chilled water/ juice slowly until flour is moist, add in yogurt at that time, blending until the dough does not stick to side of mixing bowl.  Remove dough from mixer.  At this point you can roll it out immediately OR chill it for several hours.  Note, it is important to not allow the dough to warm too much as it will not be as flaky.  If you choose to refrigerate it, wrap it in wax paper (refrigerate for at least 30 minutes).  When you are ready to roll out the dough/crust, remove it and allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes before working with it.

Filling:

5 cups garden fresh rhubarb, chopped

1 cup organic turbinado sugar

1/4 cup spelt flour

1 Tablespoon lemon zest

1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger

Toss the above ingredients into a mixing bowl coating well.  Set aside.

To build the pie:

Roll out the bottom crust, approximately two inches larger than pie dish (I use an Emile Henry pie pan). Fold pastry in quarters and place gently in pie dish.  Add rhubarb mixture and set aside, in order to roll out top crust.  Cover with crust, slit the crust, seal and flute. 

I like to decorate the top with the leftover crust (cookie cutter shapes work or you can do free-hand).  It is best to moisten the cutouts first before decorating (can use lemon juice, milk, dairy or soy product) as the cutouts will adhere better.  Sprinkle the top with a sugar and cinnamon blend.  Bake at 425 degrees for 40 – 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice is bubbling through slits in the crust. 

Great with ice cream (of course) or yogurt for the calory conscious.

Note - IF you want to add strawberries - my suggestion is to slice them and layer them on top of the above filling.  They berry flavor will "droozle" down into the pie and for the rhubarb purist, won't "taint" it terribly.

And last but not least - as Julia would say ..."Bon Appetit!"