Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I made this pie today just because I felt like my husband deserved a treat of one of his favorite desserts! I did make a version of this recipe last October for his birthday and it turned out wonderfully--even though I failed to drain the defrosted rhubarb and strawberries--yikes liquid-ness! I had never before worked with rhubarb and was kind of at a loss for what to do or how to do it or if I was doing it right. But let me tell you there is no need to fret! Rhubarb is somewhat like an extraordinarily tart celery look alike. You can strip the strings off of each "branch" (or whatever the technical term would be) if you like. Simply cut the rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces and either use immediately or freeze for later use (in which case, drain off the excess defrosting liquid!)

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 cups 1/2 inch pieces rhubarb

3 cups sliced strawberries

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tablespoon butter, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Make pastry (halving this recipe for Never-Fail Pie Crust).

In large bowl, mix sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in rhubarb and strawberries. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle over rhubarb. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it (or is latticed); seal and flute. Cover edge with 2 to 3 inch strips of foil to prevent excess browning. Remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

Bake about 55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool on wire rack at least 2 hours.