Pie Plant

One of the first chapters of Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, "The First Four Years" referred to a pie plant pie that the author forgot to sweeten and having never eaten it growing up, I never knew until much later that pie plant was in fact rhubarb, a harbinger of Spring and best friend of the lovely strawberry.

It was only a matter of time before this half-toxic vegetable earned a favored place in our seasonal rotation since I do so love me a good sweet-tart dessert. It was no wonder I was excited this morning when I spotted the first ruby red stalks peeking out of several stalls at the farmer's market. Given my phobia of homemade pastrymaking, I typically mix sliced rhubarb with strawberries and top it with an oatmeal streusel for a lovely crumble, but local strawberries are a few weeks from their peak so none made it into the basket today. I decided to throw caution to the winds and attempt homemade pastry again with a rustic crostata in mind. You know, it wasn't a terrible experience but I still won't make homemade pie crust a part of the regular rotation. My efforts have yielded two lovely tarts just waiting to be sliced for breakfast tomorrow. Click here for the recipe.