Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie

Thanks to my dear friend Mrs. S, I finally got my hands on some rhubarb. I am probably one of the few people in this great state that don't have it growing in my back yard. For this, I am sad...

I spotted it at the farmers market a few weeks ago but balked at the idea of paying $5 for a small bunch. My friend told me that she was sure she'd seen some in a ditch closer to her boys' daycare so we headed over that way. Turns out it wasn't rhubarb, but this pesky plant. Good thing I didn't chop it up for my pie! Also, good thing there weren't a ton of neighbors around - us crazy girls parked on the side of the road foraging through the underbrush...the things we go through for cooking!

Inspired by this post, I decided to make a crumble pie - I had a leftover pie crust in the freezer and berries were on sale 2 for 1, so I really couldn't go wrong.

I wish I'd shared a picture. I really do. But my camera battery was dead after taking 700+ photos at a wedding only days before and it was gone in less than 12 hours! My husband, who claimed the crumble too sweet, ate a second piece after I'd gone to bed and a 3rd the next morning. When I was brushing my teeth the next morning my 3 and 1 yr old pushed a chair up to the counter and ate the remainder of it straight out of the pie dish.

(side note - I didn't think the topping was too sweet at all - I think the cheap ice cream he bought to go with it was too sweet...but hey, he's the critic, right? Oh wait...no...that's not right...)

I'm going to make another one. I have leftover rhubarb and strawberries are on sale again this week.

I promise I will. And I'll take pictures. For real. And I might even post them.

UPDATE! I remade the pie and took a picture before it was all gone! Woohoo!

For now, you'll just have to live with the recipe:

1 pre-made uncooked pie crust (I used pillsbury - feel free to make your own - it's something I haven't attempted to master yet and I certainly wasn't going to take any chances using the little rhubarb I had)

Filling:
3 cups rhubarb, diced
2 cups strawberries, sliced
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch

mix it all up in a bowl and let it sit while you make the crumble

Struesel/Crumble/Sweet crunchy goodness:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (you can leave this out but I think it really adds something...)

1/2 cup butter, REALLY cold, cut up in teeny pieces

Mix all ingredients except butter - cut butter into flour/sugar/oat mixture until it forms crumbly goodness.

Dump the filling into the pie crust
Dump the crumbly goodness on top of that
Dump the pie (ok, don't dump) - GENTLY place the pie in a 400 degree oven for 10 mn. Without opening the oven, lower the temp to 350 and bake another 35 minutes.

Let it cool for a while. Warm pie is good. Hot pie with hot sugar that burns your mouth is NOT good.
Trust me on this one...

Good with ice cream or fresh whipping cream! It's the beginning of the fresh season and I love it!