I have found the one thing Minnesotans like more than hockey…farmers’ markets.

No, that’s a lie.

They love hockey the most. Then Chipotle (which they also pronounce CHIP-OLE-TEE or CHIP-O-TELL).

THEN they love farmers’ markets.

Chipotle and farmers’ markets are two Minnesotan loves I will gladly partake in. Not so keen on the hockey.

We’ve been hitting up the farmers’ markets on the weekends which has stirred up my deep hidden desire to get really good at baking rhubarb pies. I remembered I have a rhubarb pie recipe in the family cookbook Davey and I were gifted for our wedding.

{side note: for our wedding, my dad’s cousin collected recipes from my great-grandma, grandma (on both sides), great-aunt and mom and craftily (is that a word?) made a cookbook with the stories behind each recipe. AWESOME, right?! Most thoughtful wedding gift in the world? That’s what I think, too. We have already made close to half the recipes in the cookbook and have loved them all so far! Knowing that someone like my great-grandma has memories tied to the recipes makes them even more special. Which leads me to share with you my love of food and that fact that I think eating should be an experience rather than just a time to stop for nourishment. That’s another blog post for another time. End side note that turned into small novel}

So I bought two stalks of rhubarb, then realized that I didn’t even know how to go about preparing it. I turned to my trusted friend, Google, and these are the fun facts I found out about rhubarb:

It’s a vegetable. (Yeah, this was shocking to me) However, a New York court decided it can be counted as a fruit in 1947 so that there was a reduction on imported rhubarb tariffs since tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits. I would have loved to be in on that court case.

It’s best harvested in mid-late spring.

Rhubarb leaves contain toxic levels of oxalic acid. Gotta cut those bad boys off before cooking/baking!

It is one of the least calorie vegetables. (This make rhubarb pie healthy, right?)

Rhubarb contains dietary fiber, poly-phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins. (Again, this makes rhubarb pie healthy, right?)

So onward I went, cutting off the toxic leaves, washing the stalks, and dicing the rhubarb into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces per Google recommendations.

I combined the 6 cups of rhubarb with 3 cups sugar, 6 tablespoons of flour and 6 beaten eggs. I poured into unbaked pie crust and covered with another unbaked pie crust.

I put this in the oven which was preheated to 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Then I reduced the heat to 350 and baked for 45 more minutes.

When I took it out of the oven, I put a little bit of melted butter on top and sprinkled with sugar.

It’s not the prettiest looking–I have to improve my art of making food look pretty. BUT it IS tasty.