Looking Berry Good

Sparky just turned 62 years young. When I inquired what kind of pie he wanted for his birthday he responded with “any kind except mincemeat”. He is not a fan of raisins. As I probed to discover his heart’s desire he finally announced that he’d like rhubarb or cherry. As I prepared to make his special pie I discovered that I had only 1 and a quarter cup of rhubarb in the freezer! I thawed a package of tart cherries (one and a quarter cup after draining off a cup of juice) that we had squirreled away from the cherry harvest this last spring. That was only 2.5 cups of fruit. So I rummaged around in the freezer and came up with a quart baggie of red raspberries and another half bag of blackberries. I ended up with 5 cups of fruit. BINGO! I was in business. So here is my recipe for my Rhuberry Pie complete with my secret ingredients:

1.25 cups sliced rhubarb
1.25 cups cherries
1.5 cups raspberries
1 cup blackberries
1.25 cups sugar
0.25 cups granulated tapioca
1.5 t. cinnamon
0.25 (one fourth) t. cardamom
0.125 (one eighth) t. freshly ground nutmeg
a pinch salt

Mix all ingredients and turn into an unbaked pie crust distributing the filling evenly in the crust. Top with a second crust and crimp the edges to seal. Cut vents in the top crust. Bake 1 hour until top is golden.