Tweetle Dee Design Co.: April 2017

Friday

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

What grows almost anywhere and is a vegetable, but tastes like a fruit? If you guessed rhubarb you are right! Rhubarb is this healthy little plant that gives us gorgeous red stems that taste tart and sweet like a granny smith apple. You can bake with it, make jam with it, and even cook it in stews, but my favorite way to eat rhubarb is in a Berry & Barb or Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

My grandmother loved her rhubarb. It was a family treasure for her and many stories were told of how her great grandparents planted rhubarb on the prairies of Nebraska as their only source of fruit. Grandma tended those plants like they were something of great value and from her harvest she made the best jams, pies and puddings. Rhubarb grows from the beginning of spring through fall and you can find rhubarb plants in most of our local garden shops ready to go. If you harvest it as soon as the stems are about a foot high, you can get several harvests in one year. Trust me, if I can grow it in Woodland Hills you can grow it anywhere!
The easiest way to preserve rhubarb is to freeze it. It will last up to a year in a freezer and will stay good in your refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks wrapped in a paper towel. I chop mine up and freeze them for whenever I am craving a Berry and Barb Pie or Grandma Abbie's Rhubarb Pudding. If you don't have a garden you can pick up frozen rhubarb at your local grocery store in the freezer section and it will be just as good!

Berry & Barb Pie a.k.a. Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
3 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb 2 cups berries 1 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 Tablespoons Arrowroot 2 Teaspoons Allspice Pinch of salt Dash of lemon
Two uncooked pie crusts 9" Pie plate
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Roll out bottom crust into a 9" pie plate.
3. Wash and chop rhubarb into small 1/4" pieces. Place into medium size bowl.
4. Wash berry of choice. We love our strawberries sliced in half, but you can use blackberries, cherries or any other berry you like. Add to bowl.
5. Add dry ingredients and lemon juice and toss together.
6. Pour mixture into pie plate.
7. Roll out top pie pastry and decorate in strips or with cookie press shapes. Pinch edges around and brush with a egg white wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 90 minutes until crust is golden brown.
9. Let cool and enjoy with fresh cream.
Abby's All Butter Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 cup of cold unsalted butter, sliced into chunks 1 cup ice water 1/4 cider vinegar
Sift the flour, salt, and sugar together in a food processor. Add the butter pieces pulsing to break up the chunks into the dry ingredients. The consistency should be of pea sized crumbles. Be careful not to over blend.
Combine the water and vinegar together and slowly sprinkle it into the mixture while pulsing your processor until it is incorporated together. Divide the dough into two balls and shape the dough into round discs. Place between wax paper sheets and place in the fridge for one hour. Once it has rested a bit in the cold it is ready to roll out and use!
I hope you enjoy this pie as much as we do. For me it reminds me of home and tastes like a whole lot of love! I will be sharing Grandma Abbie's Rhubarb Pudding recipe on Sunday. It is so easy to make and a treat you'll love.

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Wednesday

Floral Barn Quilts

Sometimes you dream of an idea and hope that it works out the way you imagine and when it does you just want to jump with excitement! Many of you know I have a line of vintage poster signs that I wholesale to Sundance. I love the technique of taking old images and transferring the ink to paint.

As much as I love painting barn quilts, I also love the patterns and textures of fabric. One night while I was trying to sleep, the cross over idea came to me to use the same technique I use for the poster signs for my barn quilts, using our favorite fabrics. I also am using vintage wall paper because I just love them!
The finished product looks like it a painted floral that has been there for years. No, these are not decoupaged on and it is quite a tricky process. No two are ever the same...but I kind of like that.
We have several different styles and patterns in process and we will be adding them to the shop for a big Pre-Mother's Day Sale next week when we return from teaching in Oklahoma. I am so excited about these beauties and I hope you are too!

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Tuesday

Oklahoma Quiltworks

Next week April 21st and 22nd we will be in Oklahoma teaching our barn quilt class at the fabulous Oklahoma Quiltworks in Oklahoma City! There are three class times offered over the two days we are there...so if you are in the Oklahoma area and have wanted to take one of our classes you can sign up here.

We will be covering the history of barn quilts and barn stars, how to build, paint, finish and use these pieces of American folk art. There are still a few spots available so contact them, sign up and come by to say hi to us!