Bluebarb Pie — What the Garden Gives Back

One week to the seventh anniversary of Marcus's death. Destiny is coming Saturday. We will go to the cemetery Sunday. We will put yellow tulips on his grave, the eighth year of yellow tulips. We will stand there as long as we need to and then we will come home and I will make his favorites and we will eat together and talk about him and cry a little and laugh a little and the evening will close the way these evenings close: with the understanding that loss does not end and also that life continues, that both of these are true, that they have been true for seven years, that they will remain true for as long as I am here to witness them.

The peas are up. I checked the garden Monday and the first small green shoots were visible — two little ovals above the soil, exactly as they appear every March, exactly as they appeared last March and the March before that and back to the first year I planted them when Marcus was dying and I didn't know it yet and put the seeds in anyway because Bernice had always put the seeds in and I didn't know yet that there would be things coming that would require me to hold onto whatever routines I could.

The peas are up. Caleb is coming to visit in April. The fruitcakes are already on the list for December. The curriculum is running. The table is set. James and Dorothy are well. Kezia is becoming whatever she is becoming and it is more than I could have predicted. And in a week, Marcus, seven years. And I am still here. And the kitchen is still the kitchen. And the peas are up. I am going to be all right. I have been all right. I will keep being all right. That is the whole story. That is all of it.

The rhubarb will be ready not long after the peas, and that is the rhythm I have come to rely on — one thing after another, the garden moving forward whether I ask it to or not. When Destiny comes this weekend and we come home from the cemetery on Sunday and I make Marcus’s favorites, I will also make this pie, because it is spring and the garden is doing what the garden does and there is something right about putting that on the table too. Bluebarb Pie — tart rhubarb, sweet blueberries, a crust that takes some patience — feels like exactly the kind of thing you make when you need your hands to be busy and your heart to be held at the same time.

Bluebarb Pie

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (for crust)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 6–8 tablespoons ice water
• 2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (for filling)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar, for topping

Instructions

1. Make the crust. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and salt. Add cold butter cubes and work them in with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, stirring gently, until the dough just comes together. Divide into two discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
2. Prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon. Toss to coat evenly and let sit for 10 minutes while you roll out the dough.
3. Roll the bottom crust. Preheat oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan, pressing gently into the edges. Trim any overhang to about 1 inch.
4. Fill the pie. Pour the fruit filling into the crust, spreading it evenly. The filling will be quite full — that’s right.
5. Add the top crust. Roll the second disc into a 12-inch circle. Lay it over the filling. Trim, fold the edges under, and crimp to seal. Cut 4–5 small vents in the top crust to let steam escape. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
6. Bake. Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake an additional 35 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
7. Cool before slicing. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 2 hours before cutting. The filling will set as it cools.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 415 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 310mg