Rhubarb

Background: When she was up here, Lu and I were talking about the old days, and I mentioned the abundant asparagus and rhubarb that our old neighbor, Mr. Dupee, used to bring over every spring on Palms Road. I related a story about how I wanted some rhubarb for something last Spring (strawberry rhubarb pie? Compote? I dunno...) and that the only place I could find it was Joe's produce. And, that was a short pale pink version of what I grew up with.

I since have learned that if it is pale pink, it was grown in a hot house. The vibrant red of my youth (and Mr. Dupee) is grown outside in the ground... Anyway, she brought me a bundle of the bright red stuff she'd picked up on her last overnight trip.

So, I emailed my brother Carl and asked if he remembered how Mom used it. He replied that he remembered her making:

1. Rhubarb Pie (Open crust with lots of rhubarb and sugar, etc)
2. I think she made a Crisp (with Bisquick, like apple crisp)
3. Stewed it (like the pie filling) but ate out of a bowl
4. Strawberry/Rhubarb jelly

Now, all I remember was the Stewed Rhubarb in a bowl in the fridge. I used to help myself to a bowl and loved that sweet/tart taste.

So I checked like a hundred recipes online. None of them sounded like I remembered, but I found one that was close. So, first I weighed Lu's rhubarb (two pounds) and adjusted the recipe as needed. I'll give you the recipe for one pound and you can extrapolate from there.

I trimmed the rhubarb and cut each stalk into half inch pieces. I put that into my Dutch oven (a medium saucepan would have worked with just one pound). You add one tablespoon water and 3/4 cup of sugar. I heated that up until the juice began to bubble around the edge. Then you would mix two tablespoons of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of sugar (are all you diabetics trembling?). I stirred in some of the hot rhubarb juice and made a paste. I added that into the rhubarb and boiled it for another minute, stirring constantly. Then I shut off the burner.

I got out two deep dish pie shells. One I turned upside down on some parchment paper and let them both thaw for 10 minutes or so.

Besides the Stewed Rhubarb, I want to make a Strawberry-Rhubarb pie, but couldn't find a recipe where you mixed one with the other. So, I made it up. I took a big container of strawberries and sliced enough to make a layer in the pie shell. Then I added a ladle full of the stewed rhubarb. I repeated that over and over until I reached the top of the pie shell.

I peeled the other pie crust out of the tin and put it on top. I crimped it and cut three slits in the top. I put it on a cookie sheet (Thank God!) and stuck it in a 350 degrees F. and set the timer for an hour.

When the timer went off, I pulled it out to cool. Not sure why (maybe I overfilled it or didn't cut enough slits) but the filling blew out one side. Fortunately, the cookie sheet caught it and saved my oven.

I put the rest of the Stewed Rhubarb in a bowl and in the fridge to savor the taste (and the memories) later.