My
boyfriend and I were recently at a restaurant that was serving Rhubarb Pie as
the dessert special. When the waitress,
who was in her sixties, named the dessert special she said, “Oh wait, I’m sure
you kids don’t even know what rhubarb is!”
Defensively, I rattled off all of the facts I knew from the few recipes
Grams and I made last summer that had rhubarb in it. For some reason, I felt that I needed to
prove my bakers knowledge, as well as my understanding of Iroquois County
native plants. She looked at me like I
was crazy that asked, “So do you want the pie or not?” We didn’t try the restaurant’s pie, I knew me
and Gram’s homemade rhubarb would be better anyway!
This
year our rhubarb came from “soon to be newlyweds” Jeremy and Chelsea (Robinson)
Wichtner’s yard in Crescent City.
Grandma commented that it would be good because there is always good
rhubarb grown in Crescent. Before
picking the rhubarb, I did have to Google how to harvest the plant (that was
not one of the facts I rambled off to the waitress). I learned that you are not supposed to break
the stem, or else the plant will not grow back the following year. To harvest rhubarb, you have to get a firm
grip near the root, and twist it until the base comes above ground. It seemed like I picked more than enough
rhubarb for my recipes. I bet that I had
around twenty decent size stems. Even
with that many plants, I had just enough for the three cups I needed to make
the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and the four cups for the Rhubarb Crunch. For those of you who are new to rhubarb, it
takes a lot of stems to make the dessert.
Have more than you expect to need, and possibly then you will have
enough!
Grams
and I made our last two rhubarb recipes on the same day while we had the fresh
rhubarb picked and diced. First we did
the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie followed by the Rhubarb Crunch. Overall, the recipes are very similar. The crunch even has a bottom crust, making it
seem more like a pie than a crisp.
Obvious by the name, the main difference in the recipes is that one also
contains diced strawberries. Grandma
Ahlden said that she remembers making a rhubarb jam and a type of rhubarb bread
with her mom when she was a little girl.
Rhubarb is surprisingly sweet, even before baking.
Today wasn’t a great day for Grams. When I picked her up, I noticed that she had
a pan soaking in warm water and dish soap.
I asked her about it, and she told me that she was making something with
meat and it burned. Now I shouldn’t
judge because my cooking skills are under par, and I often burn things. That being said, it does make me wonder if
Grams had forgotten that she was cooking while the burner was on. Whatever was in that pan was no longer
identifiable. My suspicion about this
was confirmed by the second part of this story.
When Grams and I pulled into my driveway a few minutes later, she
confessed that she wasn’t sure if she had turned off the stove before we
left. This was about three o’clock in
the afternoon, so if her stove was still on from lunch, it would have probably
became a bigger problem by now. Still, I
told her that we weren’t in a rush, so we would go back to her house to check
the burner. We drove the short time it
takes to get down the block in Danforth.
About a two minute drive later, we go into Grams house, and she asks me
what we came back to get. Grams had
completely forgotten that we went back to check on the burner. I looked, and the stove was turned off.
It
seems that Grams does better making the recipes in our family cookbook that
were contributed by her. The Strawberry
Rhubarb Pie is a recipe submitted by Aunt Diane and the Rhubarb Crunch is a
Grams recipe. I think that the recipes
she made often in the past come back to her memory through the routine of the
next step of the recipe. Many times she
will question what recipe we are making or whose recipe it is, even when it is
her own, but it seems she still vaguely remembers the next step if she doesn’t
over think it too much.
Since
I am biased as the baker which rhubarb recipe is better, I left it up to my dad
to make the decision. He concluded that
if you enjoy the taste of rhubarb, and are looking for a dessert that
highlights that, then the Rhubarb Crunch is the way to go. The pie was good,
but the strawberries did overpower the taste of the rhubarb. Of course, that is just one dad’s
opinion. Try both recipes and decide for
yourself. If you have a differing
opinion, feel free to challenge Mr. Kevin Johnson.
Rhubarb Strawberry Pie—Diana Ahlden Recipe
9” pastry shell
Filling:
Mix together 3
cups chopped fresh rhubarb (1” pieces), ¾ cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1 ¼ cup or
10 oz. package of frozen strawberries, thawed and undrained.
Topping:
Mix together ¾ cup
flour, ½ cup sugar, and ¼ cup butter.
Sprinkle evenly over filling.
Bake at 425 for
45 to 40 minutes until mixture is bubbly in center. Serve warm or cool.
Note from Diana: Both rhubarb recipes are Ronnie’s favorite as
he just loves anything with rhubarb!
Rhubarb Crunch--- Lorraine Ahlden (Grams)
Recipe
1 cup flour ¾ cup quick
cooking oatmeal
½ cup melted
butter 1 cup brown sugar,
packed
4 cups diced
rhubarb 1 cup sugar
2 T. corn starch 1 cup water
1 t. vanilla
Mix flour,
oatmeal, brown sugar, melted butter until crumbly.
Press half of
mixture into ungreased 9 inch square pan.
Cook sugar, corn
starch, water until mixture becomes clear.
Place diced
rhubarb over crumbled mixture. Pour thickened
mixture over rhubarb. Top with remaining
crunch mixture.
Bake 1 hour at
about 350.
Note from Lorraine: This is a very old recipe which I made often
when my family was growing up. I double
this recipe and put it in a 9 x 13 pan.
Both recipes are great with ice cream!!!
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