You may have heard about the dump of snow that befell the Northeast this past week. It appears as though spring might be staging a comeback this weekend and I needed to help it along with a fruit pie. I wanted to make a Strawberry Rhubarb pie and in my search for a good, interesting recipe, I stumbled upon a great one at one of my favorite foodblaaahgs (that’s me saying blog in an Upstate NY accent). I had never made a Strawberry Rhubarb pie and it seemed right to make this recipe as it was her first attempt as well. Good choice all around!

Barbara of Tigers & Strawberries has given me inspiration many times, helping me to recognize great fresh beans at the farmer’s market and her food runs the gamut from Appalachian Hillbilly (her words) to expert Chinese, Thai, and Indian dishes.

Her interpretation of a Strawberry Rhubarb pie includes a skillet crust, ginger, cardamom, and rosewater. I have to admit that I had no rosewater, so I left it out. The pie is still yummy. I also altered the crust just a bit by using a mixture of light brown sugar and regular sugar (she uses raw cane sugar). I thought the light brown sugar would help to add that extra bit of flavor that raw cane sugar would have.

The cardamom scent surrounds the pie and ginger is something I also always add to blueberry crisp, so I was happy to add it here. Yummy! I should also mention that I’m glad to have found this skillet crust recipe. It’s like a shortbread, super-easy, and is probably my new go-to crust for fruit pies.