Today I made my first rhubarb pie of the summer. It’s not
actually summer—not even a respectable spring, but having a fruit pie in the oven at least makes it smell like summer. That’s a start.
The rhubarb in my
garden has had a rough history. My brother-in-law dug it up out of his yard
(property that has been in the family for generations) and threw it off into
the brush to get rid of it. A year or so later, my husband noticed it growing
there and asked about it. “Take it!” was his (man of few words) brother’s
response to his curiosity, and so he did, transporting it two hundred miles
south, where he unknowingly planted it in the shade and then wondered why it
failed to flourish.
When we got married and I moved into his house, one of my
first missions was to get the overgrown flower beds under control, and I
happened upon the struggling rhubarb plant. After being relocated to a space of
its own in the sunny vegetable garden, it has done what rhubarb plants always
do: grow bigger than you ever guessed it would, and make you wonder what on
earth you’re going to do with all that pie plant. It’s not as red as I would
like, but I love that it’s from my husband’s family property. The idea that his
grandparents ate pie from that same plant makes me happy, for some reason.
This recipe is from the Better Homes & Gardens fruit pie
section—nothing fancy. I’ve jazzed up the crumble with some cinnamon, turmeric,
nutmeg, and ginger, and sprinkled some cinnamon in the sugar/flour/fruit
mixture.
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