Fresh Rhubarb Pie

Spring is right around the corner. Which means soon we can enjoy fresh, local fruit and veggies again. Here's a recipe using one of Spring's first offerings - Rhubarb. Rhubarb is full of vitamins, protein and antioxidants. It can be pretty tart, which is why this recipe (from allrecipes.com) uses a good amount of sugar. If you can find a natural sweetener, you could substitute the sugar with that (but again - avoid products with aspartame!). Enjoy!

Fresh Rhubarb Pie

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1 1/3 cups white sugar
• 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 -1 tbsp butter
• 1 - 9 inch double crust pie pastry (use my Pate Brisee recipe for a wonderful crust!)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of the mixture over the bottom pastry in pie plate. Top with chopped rhubarb, then sprinkle remaining flour/sugar over top. Finally, dollop with a little butter and cover with top crust.

3. Place pie on lower rack in preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn oven temp down to 350 degrees. Bake for an additional 40 minutes (cover edges of crust if starting to brown too much).

4. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing. ENJOY!