Strawberry Rhubarb pie

As strawberry season is coming to and end, I can't help but reminisce about when I was a kid and how every summer my grandma would take my brothers and me to a local farm to pick strawberries.  We always ended up with red stained fingers from eating more than a few while picking.  This last weekend we went on our third outing to get more berries. 
I'm so glad I get to do this with my girls now.  Squishy just sat in the wagon and chewed on whatever she could get her hands on, but Munchkin was stomping around the field, picking and eating the delicious red berries.  I wish I had gotten a picture, but her face was stained red to the point she looked like a vampire who fed on ripe strawberries.  She also kept stealing berries Hubby and I had already picked, so it seemed to take us a little longer to fill up the flat we had...something I'm sure my grandma went through with us as well.  :)

Matilda the pig and Munchkin at the farm

After we got home, we talked about what to do with all the berries we had.  I decided on a pie since I had also picked up some rhubarb at the farm.  This was something else my grandma used to make every year, along with rhubarb bread, which might be my next endeavor.

I read a couple of recipes, along with the comments and decided that most pies were turning out too runny for people, so I tried to think of a way to thicken the filling (without cooking, because that's just more work for me to do).  At the store, I found some minute tapioca that could be used in fruit pies and decided to give that a shot, plus I think that's what my grandma used in her pies. 

I made the pie dough from scratch, but forgot to take pictures (sorry, I'm still getting used to this whole blogging thing).  Hubby found a simple butter dough recipe and just told me what to do, so I don't have a link, but I'll put the recipe up later.

As for the pie, here we go:

Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, zest and juice of orange, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix in a large bowl and pour out into crust.

You can't see it, but I used my grandma's pie dish, I thought
it was fitting :)

Dot the top of the filling with the butter. (forgot a picture of this step, but it's pretty self explanitory) Brush edges of pie crust with egg white wash. Roll out the other piece of dough and place over filling. Crimp to seal edges. Brush with egg white wash and garnish with sugar.  Cut 4 slits in the top, to allow the steam to escape while baking.

Cover the outer edge with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling starts bubbling and the crust is golden brown.  I also removed the foil for the last 10 min to make sure it got cooked all the way through.

Ta-da!  I think Grandma would be proud! :)

 We haven't tried the pie yet, so I can't say how good it taste, but I'll update later once we try it.  I think we'll have some after dinner tonight.


Here's the actual recipe:

2 1/2 cups chopped red rhubarb, fresh

2 1/2 cups washed and cut strawberries (in larger pieces)

3/4 cups sugar

4 tablespoons minute tapioca

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon orange juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons butter, cubed small

For the top of the crust:

1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water

 sugar (for sprinkling)

While I was making this pie, Hubby was keeping Squishy entertained (Munchkin was in bed already) and I said that I needed to take pictures so I could blog it and he said he wanted me to blog him too (his words, not mine) since he was helping with the baby...so, here you go, hunny...

Hubby and Squshy  (this is why I usually can't bake without
someone to watch the baby)