Everybody Eats: A friendship and rhubarb pie to remember

During my recent cleaning spree, I discovered a box of stationary in the basement storage area. I'm not just talking about a small box of blank cards or a shoe box full of pretty paper, but an actual tote stuffed with stationary, greeting cards, postcards and stickers.

Most of the stationary dates back to the early college years. Email was still relatively new, so if I wanted to stay in touch with my friends at other schools, I either had to skip meals to pay my phone bill or rely on snail mail.

The days before cellphones, social media were such a simple time.

Not every greeting card in the tote was purchased in the late 1990s. There was one I bought in May after a whirlwind road trip to the Twin Cities to attend a concert with my best friend. It was 20 hours of very little sleep and tons of laughter - exactly what I needed. I bought the card to let her know how much it meant to me, but then got distracted by the end of the school year and it was banished to the bin.

I've decided to bring back the art of writing letters, beginning with my friend's card. I mailed it last week after filling the pristine white space with the babbling she is used to after 35 years of friendship. I also included this recipe for rhubarb pie to make up for the one she deleted from her phone during the concert. She needed the memory space so she could take pictures of our favorite boy band.

We know our priorities.

PERFECT RHUBARB PIE RECIPE

Makes 8 servings

4 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed

4 cups boiling water

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon quick-cooking tapioca

1 egg

2 teaspoons cold water

Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)

1 tablespoon butter

Place rhubarb in colander; pour boiling water over rhubarb and allow to drain. In large bowl, mix sugar, flour and tapioca. Add drained rhubarb; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes. In small bowl, whisk egg and cold water; stir into rhubarb mixture.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll one half pastry dough to a 1/8-inch thick circle; transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim. Add filling; dot with butter. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-inch thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Bake 15 minutes.

Reduce oven setting to 350 degrees. Bake 40 to 50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack.

Note: If using frozen rhubarb, measure rhubarb while still frozen, and then thaw completely. Drain in a colander, but do not press liquid out.

Source:

www.tasteofhome.com