Strawberry Rhubarb pie

Rhubarb reminds me of my Grandma and the arrival of spring. My Grandma had a huge patch of Rhubarb in her backyard which we would pick from. I remember her taking a few bites of raw rhubarb, puckering her lips, and declaring it good. I now put rhubarb in scones, muffins, pies, crisps, cakes, and sauces. A strawberry rhubarb pie is usually my first pie of the spring/summer pie baking season. Fresh Ontario rhubarb showed up in the market on Thursday so I bought a huge bag full and made a pie on Sunday! Sadly, the strawberries are from California. This year my friend Maria asked if I could teach her how to make a pie. I gave commands and she produced a beautifully tasty pie. Well done Maria!
However, we had a bit too much wine and forgot to take pictures until the end. Oops!
Pie crust
2 1/2 C flour
3/4 C to almost 1 cup of oil
~1/2 C water
Mix in large bowl first with spatula and then with hands. Do not over mix. Dough will be a little oily but it shouldn't be drenched in oil. Separate dough into two balls. Roll each ball of dough between plastic wrap to prevent sticking. I made a lattice top, but you could make a normal crust for the top.

Strawberry rhubarb pie filling
3.5 C chopped fresh rhubarb
3 C sliced strawberries
3/4 C sugar
1/3 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Add rhubarb and strawberries, gently mix until coated. Pour mixture into pastry line pie pan. Place strips of dough across the pie, folding back every other one. Lay a couple strips perpendicular to the ones you just laid on the pie. Unfold the strips over the perpendicular strips. Repeat on other half of the pie. Brush top crust with milk and sprinkle a little sugar on it. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven. To prevent over browning I often place tin foil along the pie edges for the first 20 min of baking. In my old oven, the pie needs to bake for 45 min or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbly.

This is my favorite pie. I hope you all enjoy baking your pies this month as much as I did!