Rhubarb

Yes, it is May and my two lovely rhubarb plants are bursting forth. One is a smallish, red one that lives in the flower border in the back yard. It is truly beautiful. The other rhubarb plant is out in a corner of the yard near the kitty cat cemetary. That one is huge; you could float a baby down the river on one of its huge leaves. I always fantasize about doing that but there are no babies around here, not to mention no river.

On Saturday, I had picked enough rhubarb to make two pies. I used my antique "New England Flaky Crust--Mother's Only Rival" pans with the holes in the bottom. Apparently, at one time you could buy pies which came in these tins. The holes were there for...well, I am not sure but maybe to keep the crust from being soggy? I can tell you it didn't work for the rhubarb but rhubarb is very juicy stuff.

Two eight inch pies; not huge, just right for a small household like ours. I gave one of the pies to my neighbor up the street, who really likes rhubarb. Charlie lives alone now because his wife Barbara has Alzheimer's and is in a nursing home. I feel sad for them. He had only been retired a for few years before she began to show the symptoms. She is not very old--in her late 60s. They have children and grandchildren. Charlie says that most of the time, Barbara is in very good spirits but doesn't remember things (or sometimes, her own family) from moment to moment. So the pie is one little thing I can do for him. I make a rhubarb pie for Charlie every Spring.