A Traditional Farm Life - Honeyed Rhubarb Pie

A Traditional Farm Life

By Shasta Hamilton

Greetings from soggy Enterprise, dear friends!  The Lord has blessed us with abundant rain this week—so much so that our pepper and tomato transplants are still sitting on the porch, patiently waiting to put down roots in our waterlogged garden.

As wet as it is now, my second son’s comment on the way home one stormy night earlier this week seems like ancient history:  “I love storms.  I think it’s because the rain brings hope.”

I heartily agreed at the time, and still do. We will take every drop of rain we can get, even if our best-laid garden plans are thwarted a bit.

Despite the rain, the boys were able to get in a row of cucumber transplants this week, and they are looking green and perky with all this moisture.  The area they were planting had already been mulched with straw, so they were able to stand on the mulch without sinking too far down when planting.

The garlic in the girl’s garden continues to grow at a feverish pace.  The girls were able to get three tomato transplants in their small garden before the rains came, and they are doing very well, too.

In our little herb garden, the two comfrey plants that survived a late season transplanting when we moved last fall are showing significant growth with all the moisture this week has brought.  The chive transplants we were given last week are now blooming.  Those purple pom-poms are so much fun!

Gardens continue to grow, and we continue to grow older as well.  I turned another year older this week.  As middle age sets in, so does an increase in the inevitable decrease of youthful energy and vigor.  (Hmm.  Could that be a touch of arthritis in my fingers?)

As I look back over the last year, there is much to be thankful for.  Despite a late-spring achy, feverish flu bug, our overall health is good, and we have been blessed with the opportunity to meet many new people at our restaurant, The Buggy Stop.  Take this encounter with new customers this week.  It went a little something like this:

After visiting with this couple, I handed Mr. Customer one of our informational sheets with our menu on one side and an invitation to read this very column on the other.

“You’re the lady who writes this column?” asks Mr. Customer.  “I read it every week.”

Smiling--a little smugly, perhaps--I reply, “Why, yes I am.”

A slight pause and a moment of recognition . . .

“So you’re that crazy lady!”

“They’ve been calling me a ‘crazy lady’ for years!” I replied with a smile and a chuckle. 

Oh, how we love our customers!  

Another Try at Rhubarb Pie

I was inspired this week by a customer’s quest to relive the memory of a double-crusted rhubarb pie from days gone by, and decided take another go at it this week. 

The double-crusted version I made last week relied on a large percentage of all-purpose flour along with the sugar to thicken the rhubarb juices.  The result was gritty and almost gravy-like with the unwelcome taste of flour. 

This week I tried a different recipe.  It still uses flour as a thickener, but at a reduced amount.  Honey was added in addition to the sugar, and this time the filling was much less cloudy with great sweet/tart rhubarb flavor.  The orange peel adds a surprisingly welcome note of citrus.  If you have vanilla ice cream in the freezer, try the warm pie alamode.  Perhaps it’s time to sample another slice . . .  

Honeyed Rhubarb Pie

Pastry for a 2-crust pie, (8”)

4 cups rhubarb (1/2” pieces)

            thaw if frozen, reserving juice

1-1/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons butter

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  In medium bowl, thoroughly mix rhubarb (with juices), sugar, flour, salt and orange peel.  Blend in honey.  Let stand several minutes while preparing the bottom crust.

3.  Spoon rhubarb mixture into pastry-lined pan; dot with butter.  Adjust top crust and flute edges; cut vents to release steam.  For a sparkling top, moisten top with water (a spray bottle works great for this) and sprinkle on an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, as desired.

4.  Place pie on baking sheet and bake on the bottom oven shelf until filling is bubbly and top golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes.  Cover crust edges with foil if browning too quickly. 

4.  Remove from oven, leaving pie on baking sheet.  When filling has stopped bubbling, remove pie pan from baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton

Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in Enterprise, Kansas.  She and her husband own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled children.  You can reach The Buggy Stop by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.

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