Filling:
1 ½ Rhubarb…remove strings, cut into small pieces…1/4 to ½ inch
1 quart strawberries, hulled, washed and cut in half
1 ½ cups sugar
3 tablespoons regular flour
2 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, if possible freshly grated
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Sift together sugar and flour in bowl; combine with rhubarb and strawberries, add butter and spices, mix together well with hands. Or if you prefer, a large spoon
Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour…
1 tablespoon sugar (optional, only if you want slightly sweet crust)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (one stick) cold butter
1/3 cup solid, cold vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water
Combine flour, sugar and salt (sugar also if using) in food processor and mix by pulsing on and off. Add butter and shortening and pulse on and off until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Keep machine running and slowly add 5 tablespoons ice water through feed tube, just until dough comes together. If dough seems dry, which is not likely, add up to l tablespoon more ice water.
Remove dough from machine, shape into one bowl, and then divide in half Flatten each half with palm of your hand, cover in pls5itc wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour. (If I make a sudden decision to do a pie, I place the two portions of dough into a plastic bag and place it in the freezer for l0 minutes. Remove one piece of dough between two sheets of waxed paper to form circle about 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches larger than the pie plate. I suggest you do this between two pieces of wax paper. Remove top sheet of wax paper carefully and place in pie plate..peal off the other wax paper and fit into pie place. Add filling and roll out second pie crust, hich should be a little larger, and place over the filling…peel off wax paper…
This pie crust business is not as easy as this sounds. For years, I had patchwork quilt pie crusts…tasty but not good looking…I tried all methods…counter covered with flour, cold marble slap, pastry cloth, and finally went back to the old fashioned method of placing the dough ball between two pieces of wax paper.
You are on your own….whatever works and pie crusts will bedevil you. Once you have placed the top crust on, work on sealing the edges..press with your between hour thumbs….indent as you go along or just use a kitchen fork to press it together..the fork tine marks look sort of traditional.