Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

A sweet, simple summer pie made with Teff and Almond flours

If you follow my instagram (@amberstpeter), you probably already know that my boyfreind, Alex, works at a farm. For those of you who don't, He works at Sheepcot General at Uncas Farms in Whitefield, Maine. Its a fully working, organic farm and small store with an attached cafe. They offer tons of great, Maine-made products and yummy snacks, plus fresh from the farm produce and meats. Alex is in charge of the kitchen, making fresh soups, loaves of bread, and made-to-order sammies in the cafe. They offer two vegan friendly sandwiches, green salads, and the soup of the day is vegan about 5 days of the week. Its awesome and I spend way too much time there scamming the free wi-fi. You should check it out if you're in town.

Anyway, being as awesome as they are, Uncas Farms offered the only organic u-pick strawberry fields in the whole state of Maine this year. Quite an accomplishment! And the strawberries were damn good. So different from the California strawberries we had become accustomed to, these smaller, much sweeter little berries are almost too sweet not to enjoy all on their own. They're the best. And since I know a guy, I got to pick just about as many as I could devour, plus 8 more quarts.
And I made pie.

Sweet, tangy strawberry rhubarb pie. 
My Dads garden includes a large patch of rhubarb, and I think we did the plants a favor thinning 'em out for the pie. They were a little crowded in there.
We sliced the tops off the strawberries, rinsed them, and put our processed berries into a large bowl. We ate far too many before the job was complete, and afterward fed the strawberry tops to the piggies, who ate them ravenously but graciously.
We kept the crust gluten-free because its easier on my tummy, meaning I can eat far larger portions (because I want to, okay?) and because I know my readers have allergies and sensitivities too. That being said, if you have a wheat-based crust you're great at making, use that and enjoy it.
We have been partial to experimenting with teff flour lately, and love the fine grain texture it has. We always love almond flour, and the earthy taste they provide plus the almond's touch of fatty sweetness made the two a lovely pair.

For the Crust:
Ingredients:
2 cups teff flour
1 cup almond flour
1 1/4 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) vegan shortening or coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons cold water

Instructions:
Sift together teff and almond flours in a large mixing bowl.
Add in baking powder and salt, and mix well. Slice the 8 tablespoons into 1 tablespoon chunks and using two knives or a fork, cut the cold butter (or not-melted coconut oil) into the dry mixture until small crumbs form. Once the mixture is uniform, stir in the maple syrup and vanilla. Add the water slowly, mixing with your hands until a dough forms, about 20-30 seconds. Roll the newly formed dough into a ball, cover in floured parchment paper, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
After the dough has been through the refrigeration process, remove from the parchment paper. On a clean surface sprinkled with flour (I used more teff flour), roll out the dough slightly with a rolling pin or your hands. Press about half of the dough into the bottom of the pie plate, being sure to cover the edges of the plate as well. 
To make a star shaped (or any cookie cutter shape you have) design, roll out the remaining dough and using a cookie cutter, cut enough shapes to cover at least most of the top of the pie. Alternatively, you can also roll out the remaining crust and just place a flat, round pie crust on top. We cut enough shapes to use the rest of the dough, and aimed for them to be about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.
Set cookie cutter shapes aside, and move onto the filling.

For the Filling:
Ingredients:
3 cups strawberries, tops removed and berries halved
2 cups rhubarb, leaves removed and stalks chopped
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions:
Wash and slice strawberries into halves or quarters. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.
Remove the leaves from the rhubarb, if it has leaves. Usually when store-bought, they are already gone. The leaves are poisonous to eat- so don't! Wash the stalks and chop them into about 1/2 inch chunks. Add them to the mixing bowl.
Pour in the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and give it a good stir, so all the fruit gets coated. Add in the corn starch, stir again.
Add the maple syrup and stir one last time, to make sure everything has been evenly coated. 
Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared crust. Top with a layer of cookie cutter shaped crust, like we did, or simply roll out the remaining crust and gently put it on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until crust is golden at the edges and the filling is bubbly. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving or you'll have some sloppy pie.
Refrigerate, covered, for up to a week.
Enjoy!

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