Rhubarb Pie
Back in July, my cousin Emma made a trip to visit the family farm in North Dakota. Shortly after returning to Texas, she and her husband AJ arrived at our place with a neatly wrapped package full of fresh rhubarb! I knew I couldn't risk this precious produce on just any old recipe, so I had to make my favorite rhubarb pie. Even though rhubarb season is pretty much over, make sure to save this excellent recipe for next summer!
Technically this recipe is not from one of my church cookbooks, but since it was given to me by my mother-in-law who got it from her friend Naomi, I believe it evokes the spirit of those same recipes passed among friends and family. Besides, when you stumble on a combination of ingredients this good, you just gotta share it.
Rhubarb Pie
4 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups white sugar
4 tbsp. flour
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 eggs
2 2/3 tbsp. milk
Fill your prepared pie shell and cover with top crust. Bake at 400° for 1 hour.
For the crust, I followed the basic pie crust recipe from Joy of Cooking using lard and butter. I prefer lard over shortening because 1 - it typically elicits a funny look from the cashier and 2 - I like the consistency it gives the dough. After assembling the pie, I usually sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on the top before popping it in the oven. If you want to create an awkwardly bold and totally intentional cinnamon stripe like I have, make sure to load your sieve with cinnamon directly over the pie.
Final Rating: 5/5 obviously. Doesn't get any better than this.
Keep checking back this month as I try out some new church cookbook recipes, including one that I recently learned is very specific to North Dakotan Germans from Russia.