Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie a birthday classic

(Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie is my husband’s favorite birthday treat)

Rhubarb is always ready to harvest for my husband, Michael’s, birthday, which is this week.
I never appreciated rhubarb until I met him so many years ago and found out his favorite pie is strawberry-rhubarb.

Who needs a birthday cake when you can have a birthday pie that comes in season when your very own birthday arrives.

(Discard the leaves from the rhubarb plants as they are poisonous)

So every year, I head out to the garden to find those first shoots of fresh rhubarb.

Of course, this year, my rhubarb plants are less than stellar, so I called my wonderful neighbor, who is a gardening goddess, and asked if I could raid her patch for a pie.

(The stalks of rhubarb are a beautiful shade of red; there is also a green variety, below)

If you don’t have a garden, or a great neighbor who gardens, you can find rhubarb in many supermarkets now and at farmers markets soon.
The mix of tart rhubarb and fresh, sweet strawberries is a perfect taste, sort of like the yin-yang of pie flavors.

(Look for fresh strawberries that are a bright red)

Here’s how to put it all together:

For the crust:

2 cups of flour (I use a 1/4 cup of whole wheat and the rest white)
14 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter
Dash of salt
Pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup of ice water (you might need a little more)

Mix the dry ingredients together in the bowl of a food processor.
Cut the butter in pieces and add; pulse until the mixture gets crumbly.
While the processor is running, add the ice water until the mixture comes together in a ball.
Remove and divide into two pieces; set them aside, wrapped in plastic, to rest in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.

(Let the filling mixture sit a spell before filling the pie crust)

For the filling:

2 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries, cleaned and halved
2 1/2 cups of fresh rhubarb, cleaned and sliced
1 cup sugar
2-3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I wanted to use Amaretto liqueur, but I was all out!)
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange or lemon rind
A couple tablespoons of orange juice or cranberry juice

Mix everything together and let sit for about 15 minutes.

(Dot the fruit with butter before covering with lattice or regular crust)

Pour into the uncooked pie shell; dot with butter.

(Weaving a lattice crust reminds me of the potholders I used to make as a kid)

Cover with a lattice crust or a regular whole crust.

(Flute the edges of the crust together; crust guards, below, work well to keep it from browning too quickly)

Flute the edges of the crust together.
Brush the crust with a little milk; sprinkle with a little sugar or cinnamon-sugar mixture.

(If you’re using crust guards, remove them during the last 10 minutes of cooking)

Bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and cook for another 45 minutes or so, until the fruit is bubbly and the crust is a golden brown.
Let the pie cool on a rack before slicing (try to control yourself!); serve with vanilla ice cream.