strawberry rhubarb pie fail

I hinted earlier that there might be some good things in store for our bumper crop of strawberries, possibly involving rhubarb.

Oh, how I love rhubarb. I came to like it later in life because I was turned off as a child by the way my grandmother served it: stewed and runny, on it's own in a bowl like an unappetizing soup.

A pie was in order and quick- before the strawberry and rhubarb seasons were over. Well, I'm sorry to report that I squandered the last of our strawberries and rhubarb on an unsuccessful pie. Do not use this recipe! I stand by the Martha Stewart crust I always use, but this pie was a sludgy mess. I think where it goes wrong is the flour-based thickener and the fact that it said to sprinkle the dry stuff on top of the filling rather than mix it with the fruit prior to filling the pie plate. Some of the other recipes out there call for tapioca or corn starch for thickening, so next time I will go that route. Alas, there is no more rhubarb to be had and the strawberries are being trucked in from God-knows-where.

The pie project wasn't a total waste, though. My girl finds it great fun to weave the lattice top.

We spent a pleasant mother-daughter afternoon putting the pie together.

It wasn't a bad looking pie, even if a little overdone. We did still serve it to our guests with Woodside Farm Creamery vanilla ice cream *swoon* on the side. Everyone was polite about it, but I consider it a fail. Once the first piece was cut, the whole filling just oozed back together into a milky, sludgy soup.

Hopefully next year I will have better luck! I am open to suggestions...