Rhubarb

This past week end was the family Memorial Day picnic.  My in-laws host a huge family picnic for Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.  Everyone brings a dish or two to share.  The first time I attended my rhubarb looked amazing so I brought a rhubarb pie.  It became sort of a tradition.  And although I'm told you can bring any thing to the picnic one year I didn't bring the pie.  I'll never do that again.

My rhubarb looks awful.  It is spindly and in need of some TLC and an enriched soil.  I put in a new bed loaded with compost and will be moving the rhubarb.  This way the rhubarb can thrive and I have room to work on the old bed.

My mom scored some rhubarb for me.  Our old neighbor's daughter's ex-husband said my parents could harvest his.  {My Dad has the gift of gab.  He could talk to the door post and make friends}  And score they did.  I need 4 cups of chopped rhubarb to make a pie.  That was two stalks.  I had to slice the stalks in half lengthwise before I could start chopping.

 I made two pies.  One to take with us and one for us.  I also made bread.  I then chopped the rest of the rhubarb and put it in freezer bags in four cup allotments.  It really makes it easy the next time I make a pie.  I had enough for 6 bundles.

And I make rhubarb pie; not strawberry rhubarb pie.  The thought grosses me out.  I had a bad experience with strawberry as a kid.  It wasn't the poor berries fault but it's something that sticks with you for life.

Crumb Top Rhubarb Pie

Crust:  1 cup flour
            Pinch of salt
            1/3 cup shortening
            3 to 4 Tbsp. cold water

Filling: 1 ¼ Cups sugar
           3 Tbsp. corn starch
           ½ tsp. cinnamon
           ¼ tsp. nutmeg
           4 cups sliced rhubarb
          2/3 cup chopped pecans

Topping: 1 cup flour
              2/3 cup sugar
             ½ cup butter

Heat oven to 400º.

In a large bowl combine flour, salt and shortening until crumbly. Mix in water one tablespoon at a time until moist and you can form a ball. Roll out dough and put in a pie plate. Crimp edges.

Stir all filling ingredients together. Pour into pie shell.

Mix toppings together until crumbly. Cover the filling. Put foil on the exposed crust. Bake 50 to 60 minutes. Remove foil during the last 10 minutes.

Rhubarb Nut Bread

1 ½ cups brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
2 ½ cups flour
½ cup nuts, chopped
1 ½ cups rhubarb, diced

½ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. butter


Beat together brown sugar, oil and egg. Add baking soda, salt vanilla and milk. Mix. Add flour. Mix. Add rhubarb and nuts. Mix well. Pour into two greased loaf pans.

Mix sugar and butter. Sprinkle over bread. Bake at 350º for one hour or toothpick comes out clean.