Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

I have a hard time eating pie. Not that I don't love pie. I do! But I've been spoiled my entire life eating the best pies imaginable, baked by my grandma and my mom. Any other pie just won't do ... including my own. I rarely attempt to make them. (I think it's because the crust scares me.) So unless my mom or grandma has made the pie, I usually pass on eating it.

I've had my grandma on my mind a lot lately. And when I think about Grandma, I think about pies. Grandma passed away a few weeks ago. For those of you who've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember that my Grandpa died in December. They had been married for 68 years! They were truly the best of the best. The kind of grandparents you wish everyone could have. Weren't they gorgeous?!

Ever since Grandma's funeral, I've been wanting to make a pie, and when rhubarb (something my Grandpa always had in his garden) came in my CSA bag this week, I figured I better stop making excuses and get to baking. Grandma would have wanted it that way.

This recipe is just plain delicious. For those of you who are as scared of pie crust as I am, the beauty of this recipe is that you only have to do a single crust. You can even use MSPI-friendly store-bought pie dough. (If that isn't possible because you're completely avoiding soy oil and lecithin, you can make pie dough from scratch using  lard instead of shortening. LARD? Don't knock it 'til you try it. Lard makes the best pie dough!) The eggs in the filling make a beautiful creamy custard. No need for ice cream here!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Source: Slightly adapted from Relish magazine

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 eggs, well beaten
3 cups diced rhubarb
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 (9-inch) MSPI-friendly pie crust
2 tbsp. turbinado sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine sugar, nutmeg and flour. Stir in oil. Add eggs and beat with a whisk until smooth. Place rhubarb and strawberries in pie crust. Pour egg mixture over top.

Bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 30 minutes. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top while still warm.

Rhubarb Pie