My Grandma's Rhubarb Pie

Grandma's Rhubarb Pie

I know I'm not the only one who thinks that her grandma made the best pies in the world.  But mine really did.  Even people from outside the family said so!  My second cousin opened a restaurant in the area several years ago and she told me all the pies she served were made by her mother, who learned how to make pies from my grandma.  People raved about those pies and would go there to eat just for the pleasure of finishing the meal with one of their homemade pies.  My grandma passed away over 20 years ago and although I don't always make the right choices at the right time, thank God I had the good sense to spend some time with her in the kitchen before it was too late.  My grandma showed me how she made her delicious, flaky pie crusts in just a fraction of the time it took other folks.  She didn't bother rolling the dough out.  She mixed flour, a  little cold milk, a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt, and some vegetable oil together in a mixing bowl and then dumped it into a pie plate.

Pie dough dumped in a pie plate

Then she would pat the dough down into the plate until she had a beautifully formed pie crust.

This method takes about five minutes, start to finish, and the crust always turns out flaky and delicious.  Whenever I'm making fruit pies, I always hold out some of the dough clumps to crumble on the top of the pie before baking.

I loved all my grandma's pies, but my favorite was her rhubarb.  It's taken me a while to be willing to share her recipe, but good food should be shared with family and friends and perhaps, in this case, maybe even a few strangers.  In the tradition of most grandma's, she never measured things out and I've had to guess and adjust the amount of ingredients.  Although my pies are very good, they don't taste quite like Grandma's.  I don't know if it's because I'm missing that emotional element that made eating my grandma's food so pleasurable, but I've resigned myself to the possibility that my pies might never be quite as good as hers.  If you give this a try, do let me know how it turns out for you!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c (more or less) chopped rhubarb (about 1 inch or smaller pieces)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/3 c unsalted butter, melted
1/4 t salt
dash of cinnamon
2 c sugar (I don't like my pie real sweet so I use a bit less)
1/4 (scant) c flour
1 c half and half
1 9 inch pie crust

Method:
1.  Mix all the ingredients, except crust, in a large bowl.  Do this in the order listed, mixing after each addition (salt, cinnamon, and sugar can be added all at once) so that the ingredients blend correctly and adhere nicely to the fruit.

2.  Pour filling into pie crust (sprinkle crumbs on top if you saved any out, dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.)

3.  Bake at 350 for one hour.  (Check to make sure it doesn't get too brown.  If the crust is browning too quiclkly cover lightly with tin foil.)

A slice of rhubarb pie with homemade ginger ice cream

What to do with lemon balm

Last week, I got a bag of lemon balm from Country Gardens.  I have been wanting to try this chicken salad recipe for several years and now I finally had the chance!  It's a beautiful salad, tasty, and made with healthy fruits and veggies.  You can pretty much figure out how to make it just by looking at the picture.  It has avocado, red beets, papaya, watercress, chicken, and walnuts.  (I took the picture before I sprinkled on the walnuts!)  The chicken and the dressing are really the only things that need explaining.

For the chicken, preheat the oven to 350.  Place two whole chicken breasts (with skin and bones) in a lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle with s & p and drizzle with about 1 T of fresh lemon juice.  Cover tightly with foil and bake until done (anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes depending on the size of the breasts).  Be careful not to let them overcook or the meat will be dry and chewy.

When the chicken is done, let it cool, remove the skin and tear it from the bone in large shreds.

Mix together:
  1/4 cup olive oil
  1/4 cup dry white wine
  2 T finely chopped lemon balm
  2 T finely chopped onion

Pour the above over the chicken and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

For the dressing, combine in a blender or food processor and process until well blended:
  2 shallots, chopped
  2 T honey
  3 T chopped lemon balm
  2 T dry white wine
  2 T fresh lemon juice
 1 T Dijon mustard
 2/3 cup olive oil

To assemble the salad, place salad greens of your choice on a plate and artfully arrange all the remaining salad ingredients on top of the greens.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and drizzle with the dressing.

After making the salad, I still had enough lemon balm left to make a loaf of Rhubarb Lemon Balm Tea Bread.  My son, who believes he doesn't like rhubarb, loved this bread and couldn't stop eating it!

Preheat the over to 350.  Grease a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan.  Line the bottom and sides with wax paper.

In a large bowl, combine:

  1 1/2 cup brown sugar

  2/3 cup canola oil

In a small bowl, beat together

  1 cup buttermilk

  1 egg

  1 t vanilla

Combine the brown sugar mixture and the buttermilk mixture.  Blend thoroughly.

In another bowl, combine:

  1 t baking soda

  1 t salt

  2 1/2 cups flour

Stir the above into the brown sugar mixture and fold in

  1 1/2 cup chopped, uncooked rhubarb

Pour the batter into the prepared pan

Combine and then sprinkle over the top of the loaf:

  1/4 cup sugar

  1/3 cup finely chopped lemon balm

  1 t lemon zest

  1 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the top comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.  Remove the wax paper after the loaf is cool.

You have to be careful when handling this loaf.  It's fragile!  Be gentle when you slice it.