Strawberry and (Stolen) Rhubarb Pie

Mmmmm strawberry rhubarb pie. This one was born when we had some ill-gotten rhubarb, a frozen pie crust and some frozen strawberries. I may have been drunk the first time making this because when I read a recipe for rhubarb sour cream pie I decided to sub strawberries for sour cream and it would all turn out well...which it did.
I tinkered with it a few times after to come up with the following.

I,of course would never advocate stealing of rhubarb...but I swear it makes the pie taste better.



4 cups rhubarb (acquired by nefarious means) - cut into 1" pieces
2 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen) - sliced
3 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 9" pie crust

Preheat oven to 425.

In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, cook everything but crust (obviously). Stir often (pay close attention if you are also intoxicated), cooking until mixture thickens.

Pour mixture into pie crust and bake 10 minutes. Remove from ove, and lower temp to 350. Bake another 30-35 minutes, until pie is set. Chill on wire rack.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Rhubarb Chutney

Did you know that if you harvest rhubarb the plant will regrow (and more than once, I get three growths off my plants - though the stalks get thinner with each) In addition to my plants one of my across the alley neighbors (who has the bigggest rhubarb patch I've ever seen) had offered me free range to harvest her rhubarb. The plot in question is 4 or 5 massive plants that take up a space about 4 foot by 5 foot. Now imagine that regenerating twice over. At least one other neighbor also harvests from her and there's still tons growing back there.

Now I hate to see perfectly good plants go to waste but how much more rhubarb could I deal with? I've already made three types of jam with rhubarb, one pie, and have rhubarb for three more pies frozen in the deep freeze. Chutney came to mind as the perfect solution and I started searching online. I've made this recipe up after looking at three or four different options and verifying the solid to vinegar and sugar ration would be accurate and was off.


Danielle's Rhubarb Chutney

4 cups diced rhubarb
3 cups brown sugar
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups chopped onion (I sliced mine in 1/8" sliced and then cut the sliced into third, short slices really)
1 1/4 cups currants
1 tbsp salt (I use kosher)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4ish tsp cayenne pepper (mine was a generous 1/4 tsp)


Toss all the ingredients into a non reactive pot (stainless steel or enameled cast iron) and don't freak out when it looks like you'll have no stirring room, the mixtures smooshes down pretty quickly once it heats up.

Give the pot a good stir to mix everything together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 30ish minutes stirring often.

Pour hot chutney into hot jars. Add lids and screw bands (fingertip tight) and process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes (Calgary altitude).

Makes 3 pints.

**Canning instructions here are not fully detailed, if not an experienced canner, refer to general canning safety rules regarding processing times, etc.

Jam Day 1 - 2010

About a month back it was time for the rhubarb to burst forth and both my yard and my neighborhood are blessed with large quantities. The houses in my area are predominately 50-60 years old (though there are a couple of blocks of homes that date back to the 1910's) or new infills. These older homes often have huge rhubarb plants growing in the alleyways where no one harvests them and they simply go to waste. Not being a fan of waste (especially of something as awesome as rhubarb) I set out on a walking tours of the community, picking stalks as I went. I skipped any houses with backyard gardens as well as any plants that appeared to be tended by the home owners. Coming home it was time to wash, dice, and jam. I made Strawberry Rhubarb jam and Bluebarb jam (from The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) as well as Rhubarb vanilla Jam from Food in Jars. Most of the Bluebarb was put away in the basement by the time I took this picture.