Two of my friends have posted comments to a recent entry, and I find that my response is so long that I might as well make a couple of entries on the subjects.
The first was a continuation of the subject of strawberry-rhubarb pie. My mother used to make it, and I suppose that was where I learned to eat rhubarb. Now, we’re just as likely to stew the rhubarb with sugar, and eat it for breakfast. You have to understand that as Elegante Mother has aged, her sweet tooth has taken over her life.
It seems to me that Americans use sugar differently than Europeans. I don’t have a terrible sweet tooth; I tend to prefer salty, crunchy things if I’m going to ruin my diet. But, when I’ve tasted pastries from German bake shops, or other European confections, it seems as though they are not as sweet as American desserts.
Last night I served sliced strawberries with our dinner. My mother prefers them sugared, so I sprinkled a little sugar over them. (Adele, I doubt you would do that. Actually, I like mine plain, or dipped in dark chocolate!)) My 11-year-old nephew was gobbling them up, and paused to ask if they had sugar on them. I nodded, and he said, “THAT’S why they taste so good! So, our younger generation has been trained to like sweeter tasting things.
Adele, I would NEVER have thought to mix orange with rhubarb. I’ll have to share that concept with EM. I think it would be too tart for most Americans. I like black tea with a touch of orange added to it, or dark chocolate with orange, but rhubarb with orange seems a stretch for my tastebuds.
I surfed for a strawberry rhubarb pie recipe and found a compendium of rhubarb-something pies that I want to share with you. Adele, you’ll be pleased to note that there are TWO pies that have orange in them! Of course, there’s also a Zucchini-rhubarb pie. Ahem.
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
Buffy, like your mother mine also prefers sugar on her strawberries and I grew up doing that. But when I was in my teens I realised that they were aweet enough not to need sugar so I stopped – my mother took this as the first steps in teenage rebellion(!).
Strangely only last Saturday was the first time I’ve ever dipped strawberries in chocolate. Both John and I loved them. They were much sweeter than normal though, even though I used a good quality plain chocolate, so the chocolate was slightly bittersweet.
I love rhubarb and obviously it needs sugar to make it palatable. Adding orange gives it a bit of a zest but doesn’t make it too sharp at all.
Some of those pies look interesting. I’ll have to experiment. Thanks.
I LOVE chocolate dipped strawberries! They seem to me to be the height of decadence! *G* And, they are so easy to do, I don’t know why we don’t do them often.
Adele, do you add orange zest, or the fruit of the orange to your rhubarb? I noticed two more recipes further down the list of pies that had orange in them, so there were at least four pies to support your suggestion of adding orange.
The pie I made last night turned out runny. Both the rhubarb and the strawberries were fully ripe, so there was a lot of liquid. Nobody minded! *G* I served the pie warm, in bowls, with vanilla ice cream. We had an unexpected dinner guest. My second sister stopped by in time for dinner, so I was glad to have the pie to finish off the meal.
We had spaghetti with red sauce and bites of Italian sausage, saut
I must admit that I really enjoyed the dipped strawberries we had o Saturday. It was the first time I’d done them. They were very filling though perhaps because I used chocolate with a high (72%) amount of cocoa solids.
You can use either orange juice or zest with rhubab, depending on taste and the recipe. I Googled Rhubarb Orange and came up with over 1/2 million hits, so you’ve plenty of examples to look at.
Rhubarb can vary in the amount of juice it produces can’t it. So I’m not surprised that sometimes you come up with a pie full of juice. No problem, I’m sure it was delicious anyway.
The meal sounds really nice. It’s hot at the moment and so we are having a lot of salads which are both refreshing and filling, especially with lots of avocado. I LOVE avocado.
I’m not sure I like cooked strawberries very much. I certainly prefer them raw when their texture is firm. Surely in a pie you just lose that quality. But then I’ve never tasted your pie. I’m sure it’s delicious.
Unlike some (Elder Brother and Hunky Husband, for two), I do not enjoy things that are too sweet (they tell me that there is no such thing as “too sweet”!) However, I’ve noticed that the strawberries out of our patch have a more intense flavor if they are lightly sugared. The orange/rhubarb combination sounds delicious.
Adele, my sister is going to be here for five days, taking care of the household so that I can sit with my leg elevated. One of the meals we are going to have is Cobb Salad. I bet it would suit you, it has avocado as one of the ingredients.
Go to the link on my blog for “Simply Recipes,” and do a search for Cobb Salad. There’s a picture of a beautiful composed salad at the top of the entry, as well as the step-by-step instructions for the salad. I think you might enjoy it.
Generally, I prefer my strawberries uncooked, too, but this pie is a bit of heaven. You may prefer to cut back on the sugar in most recipes, but don’t cut back too far.
Half a million hits for “Rhubarb Orange,” huh? I can see that I’ve missed out on something. I’ll have to give it a try!
Cop Car, I fall about midway between you and HH in my taste for sweets. Now and then I need a piece of chocolate, or a scoop of ice cream. There’s something about the scent of my mother’s brownie recipe cooking that will push me into a sweet tooth attack. Otherwise, give me something salty!
Adele–The reason that I prefer straight rhubarb pie to strawberry-rhubarb pie, is that I also prefer uncooked strawberries. Over here, we make strawberry pies (no rhubarb) that are uncooked. One uses a pre-baked pie shell, fills it to heaping with fresh strawberries, and drizzles a sweet glaze over it. (I can just taste an orange-flavored glaze! Must try it.) Then, one tops the whole thing with as much sweetened whipped cream as one dare. I first met this type of pie while working in Los Angeles–where we could see fields of strawberries under harvest as we drove the freeways. Huge, huge, berries. (Smaller berries taste better to me, but are not as showy.)
Cop Car, Dear Husband likes the type of uncooked strawberry pie that you’ve described. And, yes….orange in the glaze would be tasty, wouldn’t it?
Cobb Salad – the type of salad we are eating at the moment is very similar to the recipe for Cobb Salad on that Simply Recipes site, without the egg (John hates eggs). Oh, and the dressing we make is similar to that recipe also only with balsamic vinegar. Minds thinking alike.
Cop Car – Yes, we have such strawberry “pies” over here too, only with unsweetened cream, and I do love them especially for a special occasion.
Another real favouite of mine is scones smothered with clotted cream (or thick whipped cream, if you prefer) topped with strawberries. Delicious!
OK, Adele–you didn’t need to torture me that way. The scones/cream/berries combination sounds delightful!
Oh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! That sounds SO yummy! I seond the scones/cream/berries combination.