Favorite Things Friday, the Finale

Eek, it's Friday night!  I say that not that it's a bad thing, but because I've been meaning to do a Favourite Things Friday post, probably the last Favourite Things Friday post ever, because our fabulous hostess Shay at Quilting in My Pajamas has declared it to be so, in that she's been doing the Friday linky for two and a half years and has decided it's time to put her baby to bed, which I totally understand, and this is hands down the longest run-on sentence in the history of this blog, I guarantee!

Whew.

So while Norm is out gathering necessities for the weekend, i.e. good coffee and chocolate at our neighborhood Walgreens, I am going to try and do a post real quick.  Because when he gets back, we've got some Netflixin' to do.  No, that is not code for something, we're going to watch a movie!

So I had some things in the freezer—namely, last year's rhubarb—to do something with before it's rhubarb time all over again in six weeks or so (emphasis on the "so").

I love rhubarb, but because you need to sweeten it to make it palatable, and I have been trying to avoid sugar (and kinda failing at it lately), well, let's just say the rhubarb has been pretty safe in the freezer for almost a year.

But then last weekend a friend (cleaning out his own freezer, I suspect), gave me several packages of strawberries from his garden last year.  And raspberries.

I also had a frozen gluten-free pie crust in there left over from holiday baking.  Pretty much all the main ingredients for a rhubarb-strawberry pie.  Look out sugar, here we come!

But you know what?  Turns out you don't really need all that much sugar for this pie.  I admit I like a tart pie, and my taste buds have adapted to eating less sweets, so factor that in.  Most recipes call for about 1-1/2 cups of sugar in a pie of this sort, but I cut it down to 1/3 cup...and then added in another tablespoon or so as insurance an afterthought.  So essentially I used a scant 1/2 cup sugar total, and it was just fine.  So fine and so yummy that I am declaring it my favorite thing!

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie 
(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Lower Sugar)

2-1/2 cups chopped rhubarb (½-inch pieces)

2-1/2 cups strawberries (sliced into halves or quarters is probably best;mine were whole frozen so I didn't bother)

Zest of half a lemon, freshly grated (I pare off a thin part of the lemon rind and chop it very fine)

½ t. cinnamon

3 T. arrowroot and/or tapioca starch flour

1/3 cup + 2 T. sugar (or around a scant ½ cup)

Mix everything together thoroughly in a bowl and spoon mixture into prepared crust* in a pie plate.  (Fits nicely in a regular/shallow Pyrex pie plate).  I didn’t want a top crust, but if you want one, feel free to pop another crust on top and crimp the edges/cut slits.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then decrease to 375 for 40-50 minutes, or until it's bubbling nicely and the rhubarb is soft. You may need to cover the edge of the crust with foil if it’s browning too much. Cool at least one hour before serving (or longer, if you can stand it).  Enjoy!

*I use this gluten-free pie crust recipe but substitute either cold ghee or coconut oil for the butter.  Ghee is clarified butter, but the casein and lactose are removed in making it, which works for casein-intolerant folks like me.