Strawberry rhubarb pie and Nona Mac’s southern pastry, vegan style

My plan was to write about rhubarb and share a healthy rhubarb pie recipe. That’s because rhubarb is low in calories and has an assortment of vitamins and minerals that are good for us. And, it’s in season.

Trouble is, most rhubarb recipes are loaded with sugar to cut its strong tart flavor. I asked several friends if they had a rhubarb pie recipe I could use and they all told me they don’t eat rhubarb anymore because they’re trying to avoid sugar.

Connie McCabe: “I don’t have any rhubarb recipes, sorry. I generally stew it with lots of sugar! But I’m off sugar these days, so don’t know what I’ll do!”

Instead, she offered up her great grandmother’s pie crust recipe. Mary Gertrude McCurdy Case was her name. Connie’s mother’s grandmother — known as Nona Mac. That’s her on the far right in an old family photo.

An interesting bit of trivia that Connie discovered only a couple of years ago is that the McCurdys were from Maine (Connie was raised in NYC). There is even a famous landmark bearing the McCurdy name. “The next time you go to Lubec,” she says, “notice the McCurdy Smokehouse, which is now a museum.The smokehouse is definitely connected to my family. It may be cousins or uncles or generations apart or whatever, but the  McCurdys (my McCurdys) were in the fishing/herring business in Eastport and Lubec.”

Back to that pie crust recipe. It’s called Southern pastry and includes a cup of butter. Connie happens to be an avowed vegan, so she substitutes Earth Balance, a non-dairy spread for the butter. “My great-grandmother would be rolling over in her grave!”

Nona Mac’s Southern Pastry, vegan style

Courtesy Connie McCabe

Ingredients

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter (or substitute non-dairy spread for vegan option)
• 6-8 tbsp ICE water

Instructions

1. Mix flour and salt
2. Cut shortening in until fine consistency, like very small peas (I use the food processor, works well if you keep an eye on it)
3. Add water 1 tbsp at a time until dough is workable
4. Exceedingly rich, handle deftly

Thorough chilling makes pastry easier to handle — mom’s advice, which I follow, refrigerating dough for an hour or so)

Connie McCabe

Makes two 9-inch shells

Still determined to find a rhubarb pie recipe that might be a slightly healthier choice, I finally came across one on care2.com. Take note: It isn’t sugar-free because honey is sugar. And the original recipe says vegan, but honey is not vegan.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients

• 1 double pie shell
• 4 cups fresh rhubarb, sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup honey (or try agave nectar for a vegan option)
• 6 tablespoons arrowroot
• 2 cups thickly sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour

Instructions

1. Fit bottom crust into a 10-inch pie plate. Refrigerate the dough and rolled-out crust.
2.  Put sliced rhubarb into a colander with a bowl underneath. Pour honey over rhubarb and allow to drain 1 hour. In a saucepan, mix arrowroot with half of the drained honey. Heat until thickened over low heat, then add the rest of the honey
3.  Preheat oven to 350°.
4. Mix rhubarb and strawberries together in bowl. Add honey mixture along with cinnamon and flour. Gently toss to mix.
5.  Pour into prepared pie shell. Roll out top crust and place on top. Join crusts, fluting edges. Slash top so steam can escape.
6.  Bake one hour in preheated oven. Allow to cool, then refrigerate a few hours to set (if you can stand to wait that long).

Serves 8 to 10

Where to pick strawberries in Maine

If you decide to make a pie using these recipes, let me know how it turned out. Delicious, I hope! And feel free to share some of your own healthy recipes.

Thank you, Connie, for Nona Mac’s Southern Pastry, vegan style. I’m sure she forgives you under the circumstances.

Check out the Catching Health list of where to pick strawberries in Maine. If you’re aware of farms that grow organic strawberries, please let me know. Use the comment form below or send me an email. Thanks!