Recipe of the the, uh, Week; STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB PIE

Who wants pie? It was a question I heard religiously on Sundays growing up, asked by my chubby Grandma who baked enough pies on the weekends to feed Congress. Well, the Republicans, anyway. Grandma loved Ronald Regan.

Anyway... late spring is good time for harvesting rhubarb, as I'm certain everyone out there grows a stalk to two. What? You DON'T grow rhubarb? You don't even know what it looks like? That's okay, my husband never heard of it before meeting me. It's an eastern thang, I believe.

Rhubarb is tart, a little stringy, and resembles celery, only it's reddish in color. Definitely not something you'd want to pull from your garden, wash off, and bite into. But cooked, sweetened with a little sugar, it's the ultimate in homemade pies. It's especially scrumptious when mixed with strawberries!

So, to answer Grandma's question- me! I want pie! And if Mr. Regan could be here to taste her pie, I'm certain he would insist that Jelly Belly create a Rhubarb Pie flavored jelly bean in her honor!

INGREDIENTS

1 egg

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 pound rhubarb rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces OR sliced frozen rhubarb, about 3 cups

1 pint fresh strawberries, halved

1 unbaked pie shell (9 inches)

TOPPING

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

In a large bowl, beat egg. Beat in the sugar, flour and vanilla until well blended. Gently stir in rhubarb and strawberries. Pour into pastry shell.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and oats; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350, bake for 35 minutes or longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.