I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m a summer addict. I love the heat, humidity, sun, sand, all of it. Naturally, one of the best parts about summer is the food. I get so excited to see the seasonal produce arrive in all its multi-coloured glory; I relish my first peach, strawberry, tomato, basil leaf, and zucchini. I also look forward to the first sighting of the summer produce, the best clue as to the wonderful things to come!
A few days ago, my sister-in-law told me the rhubarb in her garden was ready for harvesting. (We have an understanding that I can have as much of it as I want as long as I share the goodies with her.) Yay! Rhubarb means summer is almost here! In a few short weeks, we will begin our crawl down the hill to shorter days and then to cooler temperatures. I feel that’s why rhubarb has such an alarming taste…it’s a wake-up call telling us that the good weather is here so get out and enjoy it because it’s gone all too quickly again (at least for those of us up in Northern Ontario).
And what’s the easiest way to enjoy summer? With a slice of pie, of course! After collecting my pie’s worth of rhubarb, I bought some lovely fresh strawberries and settled on this recipe. Anna is a girl after my own heart with her passion for sweets and baking so I knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed. After trying a bite, Husband declared it the best pie he’d ever eaten: a strong comment from a man whose favourite dessert is pie! Of course, I made a few changes to veganize the recipe and I felt the crumble topping would benefit from the use of whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour so I made that change, as well. Having devoured two slices last night, I can assure you that Husband’s assessment was not wrong; this pie is perfect. My veganized version is below:
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie
Crust:
-1.25 cups flour
-pinch salt
-1/4 cup each cold, cubed vegan margarine and vegan non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (I use Earth Balance)
-2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
-1/4 cup cold water
Filling:
-4 cups chopped rhubarb
-2 cups hulled and sliced strawberries
-1 cup sugar
-3 tablespoons cornstarch
-3/4 tsp. cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Crumble:
-2/3 cup whole wheat flour
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
-pinch salt
-1/4 cup vegan margarine, melted
To make the pastry, combine flour with salt. Cut in the margarine and shortening with a pastry blender or two forks until it is the consistency of pebble-sized crumbs. Add the vinegar and water and blend till it just comes together. Shape it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 1/4″ thick circle, large enough to fit into a 9″ pie plate. Trim and cinch the edges.
Toss the fruit with the remaining filling ingredients. Scoop it carefully into the pie shell.
Stir together all the crumble ingredients and sprinkle the mixture over the fruit. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes more, or until the filling bubbles.
Let cool completely before slicing.
Wonderful choice for welcoming of summer.
it’s the summer-iest of all flavour combos, i think!