Opposites Do Tastefully Attract

When you think about it, the possibility of something so sweet mixed with something so tart tasting so very good seems impossible. But it happens most every year about this time when I make strawberry-rhubarb pies using my grandmother's recipe. I don't know how it happens but the unlikely combination of the two makes for one very delicious experience.

I live in northern New York where fresh rhubarb abounds. From a friend's amazing rhubarb patch to Amish stands stocked with just picked rhubarb for sale, the rhubarb I use is the freshest available. The strawberries are just as fresh, picked from Amish strawberry patches, and sold at those roadside stands. After you've cleaned and sliced those two main ingredients, all you have to do is add a little flour, some sugar and a "sprinkle of salt" as my grandmother would say, and you are ready to add your ingredients to the bottom pie crust in your pie plate; then cover them with the top pie crust and bake at 350 degrees. It won't be long before your kitchen is filled with a sweet aroma coming from two opposites baking as one in the oven.

Since baking strawberry rhubarb pies, I've come across some people and a few family members who have told me they can't stand eating strawberries and others who can't stand the mouth puckering taste of rhubarb. But once I finally convince them to try just a taste, most have fallen in love with strawberry rhubarb pies. 

I am not a scientist. I don't know what happens when such a pie is baking in the oven. I just think the best of the rhubarb-its tartness-and the best of the strawberries-their sweetness-come together in the baking process, combining them as one heavenly tasting, pie. Add a glass of milk or a cup of coffee and life is good, and so very delicious.