Even if rhubarb grew as fast and prolifically as zucchini, it would still be utterly impossible to have a sufficient supply always at the ready to make most, let alone all, of the rhubarb custard pies now at our beck and call.
Frankly, neither Camano Island reader Caroline Oberg nor I could possibly have imagined the awesome input/response her simple request for a rhubarb custard pie recipe would generate…
In actual, factual fact, 44 Forum cooks, at last count, have fired off 47 of their favorite variations on this theme. Impressive.
Equally amazing, though, and like the happening with the African chow mein project we broke the ice on earlier this week, this particular subject has sparked an assortment of letters as delicious as the finished dessert, telling recipe-related stories, reminiscing, offering up interesting bits of background and history, and reliving treasured memories.
Some are funny, and won’t fail to put a smile on your face. Others are warm with sentiment. Touching. A tug at your heartstrings, even.
We’ll begin, then, with this cherished, handed-down-in-the-family recipe shared with us by Marysville pie baker Alisa Roebke.
“I’ve made so many wonderful recipes from the Forum,” she writes, “that when I read the SOS for a rhubarb custard pie, I had to share mine.
“When I was in high school, I wanted to bake a rhubarb pie and Mom suggested I call Nannie and get her recipe for a rhubarb custard pie. I thought the custard part sounded odd, but Nannie made wonderful pies, so I gave her a call.
“She said, ‘Well, you fill the crust with rhubarb and then make a custard to go over it.’ Well, I made that first pie going on these directions, and it was a hit.”
NANNIE’S (IDA STONE’S) ORIGINAL STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE
Pastry for 9-inch, single-crust pie
Fresh rhubarb, chopped up
2eggs
Little bit of cream
1cup sugar
Fresh strawberries
Fill crust with rhubarb. For the custard, combine eggs, cream and sugar; pour over the rhubarb and then slice the strawberries over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
Continuing, Alisa tells us, “I have made this pie many times now and have altered the recipe since then to suit me. Every time I make it, I get positive feedback, and I proudly answer it’s my Nannie’s recipe.
“Nannie, my late maternal grandmother Ida Stone, passed away exactly four years ago. In her hospital room, my uncle asked if anyone had copied down her rhubarb pie recipe. He relaxed when I told him I had. And, several days later, I baked five pies for her memorial service. (I saved one just for Uncle Gerry.)
The following recipe is what I typed, copied and set out beside the pies I prepared for her service.
“Nannie was a precious lady, and I would be honored if you included ‘our’ recipe in the Forum.”
Indeed, the Forum is privileged to be given this opportunity to print both recipes. Here is the second:
NANNIE’S (IDA STONE’S) STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE (adapted by Alisa Roebke)
Pastry for 9- or 10-inch, double-crust pie
4-5cups fresh rhubarb, chopped up
3/4cup sliced fresh strawberries
2eggs
1/4cup cream or half-and-half
1cup sugar
1teaspoon vanilla
1tablespoon tapioca
Roll out bottom crust and fit in pie pan. Fill pan first with the rhubarb, then top with the strawberries.
In a small mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, cream or half-and-half, sugar, vanilla and tapioca. Pour custard mixture over the rhubarb-strawberry mixture.
Cover with top crust or lattice top and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.
Makes one 9- or 10-inch pie.
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