Spoonerism Leads to Dessert Sensation

by Chewy

     Growing up in northern Minnesota (unintelligible) years ago, we were not privileged to have the same growing season that the southern climes enjoyed . Add to that fact, the grocery stores, at the time, were confined to seasonal fruits within a limited geographic area. While we could procure fruits that held up well under travel (apples, oranges, bananas), more perishable varieties (berries, melons, plums, etc) arrived only in the summer. And, of course, our summers were much shorter as well. We use to joke that when summer arrived we hoped it landed on a weekend.

     One item that we could grow in spades was rhubarb. And I am proud to say that my grandfather introduced a strawberry variety that could withstand the colder weather. He was a city farmer, meaning he lived in the city but had acreage, that he had personally built a log cabin on, and cultivated with raspberries, plums, strawberries, rhubarb, tomatoes and potatoes. As a child, roaming through those strawberry fields was intoxicating. Many a contest occurred to find the biggest most perfect berry. Winner got to eat the other’s offerings. This determination could be subjective and many an older child took advantage of a younger’s naiveté  and literally enjoyed the fruits of another’s labor!

     With the available ingredients aplenty, it became obvious that a classic combination was possible; strawberry rhubarb pie. I wish I could say that my family invented strawberry rhubarb pie, but if I did, you could probably pull out an old family recipe to prove me a liar. Not the first to create it, we did rename it. One family gathering, my Aunt Eulalie produced her rendition of this confection. Quite the baker, she was always in charge of desserts and proffered them up with much aplomb and fanfare. Parading her latest creation to the table she proudly announced her “Strawbarb Rhuberry Pie”. Now, I’m not sure if this was an innocent spoonerism or Grandpa’s homemade plum wine had an influence. All I know is that from that day forward any previous nomenclature had been replaced and I could never call it anything else.

photo by enrika79

     I wish I could say that the following recipe is my aunt’s original but, sadly, it’s nowhere to be found and Aunt Eulalie is no longer around to advise. Lesson: ALWAYS document family recipes and make sure they include ALL the ingredients. So in memory of my aunt, I offer you the Strawbarb Rhuberry Pie.