A Spectacular Spring Pie

A dear friend of mine grows rhubarb. I probably should grow it myself since I really enjoy the tart deliciousness of it and it grows well here in Sonoma County. Since I don't, I was OK with asking her yesterday if I could have a stalk of it so that I could make Sweetie a pie. She actually had some already prepped in her freezer and insisted that I take that...so I did.

This morning the rhubarb had thawed, the pastry disc was softened from sitting on the counter overnight, and I prepped all the other ingredients. Morning pie is a rare and wonderful thing around here. While Sweetie enjoyed reading the Sunday Press Democrat paper, I first blind baked the pie crust. While that was in the oven I mixed together the filling. The wonderful part of that is that I was making up the filling as I went along! I started with 8 oz. of ricotta cheese, then added two eggs and some vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and a couple of tablespoons of flour. After whisking that together until smooth, I added 1/4 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 and whisked that in. I now had a cheese based custard, so I folded in the rhubarb and berries. It looked perfect.

Once the blind baked crust cooled a bit and I removed the pie weights (which in my case are lentils that I keep just for blind baking purposes), I added the filling, smoothed it out, then sprinkled sanding sugar around the edges and about 2 inches into the middle of the pie, just for fun and a bit of texture. Amazingly, the filling filled the pie perfectly! I guess years of baking paid off.

Once baked the pie still had to cool a while so that I could slice it. Hot custard tends to slump and I wanted nice slices. The photo at the top is one of the first ones I cut...looks great, doesn't it?

The pie was truly wonderful...not too sweet, soft and tender filling with the nice mixture of fruit in every bite, enhanced by the crisp pastry crust. I hope you make this during the spring when the berries and rhubarb are fresh and at their peak. You can make this with all rhubarb if you like, using 4 cups, but if you do, I would increase the sugar by 1/4 cup. You can also make it with only rhubarb and strawberries, using 2 cups of each. I wouldn't recommend making it with only strawberries because they need the tartness of the rhubarb to really shine, but if all you have is strawberries, add up to 1 tablespoon of lemon zest to the sugar before adding the sugar to the custard. Rub the zest into the sugar until it looks like moist beach sand. That way the oils in the lemons zest will be distributed throughout the filling and that zing will complement the strawberries.

Spring Strawberry-Rhubarb-Raspberry Custard Pie
My own recipe - Serves 6-8

For the pie shell:
1 disc pie dough - I use Pillsbury ReadyCrust, but a 1 crust pie dough rolled into a 12-inch circle from your favorite pie dough recipe is even better
parchment paper
pie weights
9-inch pie pan

For the filling:
8 oz. ricotta cheese - I used Kite Hill non-dairy ricotta, but use what you like. If the ricotta has a lot of extra moisture, drain it for at least 1/2 hour in a colander or fine mesh strainer before using
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2 or non-dairy creamer (not milk)
2 cups rhubarb, washed & dried and sliced into 1/2-inch slices
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, green tops removed and sliced, or, if large, diced
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, washed & dried
about 2-3 tablespoons sanding sugar (optional)

Prepare the pie dough by lining the pie pan with it, rolling out first if non 12-inches in diameter. Roll under excess dough at the edges and then flute to secure to the edge of the pie plate. Line with parchment and add pie weights. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes, until very light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Remove parchment and pie weights.

For the filling, while the pie shell bakes, whisk in a large bowl the ricotta, eggs, flour, vanilla and sugar until smooth. Add the 1/2 & 1/2 or creamer and whisk to combine well. Fold in the prepared berries.

When the pie shell has cooled and the oven is preheated to 350 degrees F., place the filling in the pie shell, smooth with a spatula, and, if desired, sprinkle the sanding sugar in a band on top of the filling near the outer edge of the pie.

Bake in the preheated 350 degree F oven for about 45 minutes. Finished pie will have dark golden brown crust and filling will be firm and slightly puffed at the outer edges.

Let cool completely (or cool in the fridge) before cutting. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Spring Pie

We have been getting some of the awesome strawberries from the farm stand on Hwy 12, just past Llano Rd when you are headed to Sebastopol. They grow them there are so they are picked very ripe and sweet smelling. You get heaped pint baskets, too.

For spring what could be better than rhubarb pie with some of those strawberries mixed in? This pie recipe is from a magazine I was reading on the plane...Southern Living I think...but as usual I mixed it up a bit. First of all instead of three cups of fruit, I used three cups of rhubarb and a cup of strawberries. It's a classic combo for a reason. The sweetness of the strawberries offsets and highlights the tang of the rhubarb, especially if you reduce the sugar as I did. The recipe called for a full cup of granulates sugar in the custard, which would have masked the bite of the rhubarb. I reduced it to 1/3 cup. If you were using all rhubarb, perhaps I would use 1/2 cup. You want that rhubarb zing contrasting with the custard softness but not being overpowered with custard oversweetness.

Another change I made was to substitute a small amount of orange marmalade for the orange zest, mostly because I didn't have an orange to use, but also because using the marmalade to paint the bottom of the pie shell helps prevent the custard from making the shell soggy. You still get the orange flavor.

About the only other change was when I mixed the custard I whisked the sugar and flour into the eggs before adding any liquid...that allowed me to make sure that the dry ingredients were fulling incorporated with the eggs and kept the custard from having lumps.

My experience was that this cooked a bit faster than expected, but ovens vary...just keep an eye on this and don't overcook the filling. Using a thermometer to check the internal temperature is a wise more.

Enjoy this taste of spring! I know that Sweetie did. He said it reminded him of rhubarb pies that his mom used to make in the spring. That's the bonus of baking...it can bring sweet memories, too.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Custard Pie

 1 pie crust circle, raw (I used half of a refrigerated ReadyCrust Pie crust)
 2 large eggs
 1 cup half and half or soy creamer
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/3 cup granulated sugar
 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
 3 tablespoons orange marmalade

3-4 cups sliced (1/2-inch- thick) fresh rhubarb, mixed, if desired, with fresh sliced strawberries
(I cut all my fruit into small cubes or chunks)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll pie crust dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch circle. Fit crust inside a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides of plate. fold or roll crust edges under; crimp as desired. Place in freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and line with parchment paper, then add pie weights or dried beans. Bake 15 minutes in preheated oven, watching to make sure that the edges don't over brown. Remove pie plate from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and its contents. Return the pie plate to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes until pastry is light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

 While pastry cools, prepare the fruit, then mix together the filling:

Whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla, almond extract and salt. Add the 1/3 cup granulated sugar (or more if you like a sweet, sweet filling), and 3 tablespoons flour in a large bowl.

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the marmalade in the bottom of the cooled pie shell and spread all over the bottom with a pastry brush.

 Place the fruit in another bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon flour. Pour coated fruit into the marmalade coated pie shell. Level the fruit, then pour on the egg mixture. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar. Wrap edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil to protect them from over-baking.

 Place filled pie on a baking sheet, then place sheet in the preheated oven and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Pie is done when the center of the filling registers 175 degrees F when a thermometer is inserted in the center.

 Transfer pie to a wire rack and cool completely, about 2 hours. Remove foil shields once out of the oven. Chill pie if desired, or serve at room temperature.

More Rhubarb

We have been having some rain and cool weather for most of this month so it has been enjoyable to bake things. The cooler weather has also allowed my tulips to stay around much longer than usual, so I have been able to enjoy first some yellow and lavendar ones, then pink and red ones and now the later yellow ones while still having the pink ones looking good.

The only downside is that the ground has stayed cool, too. I did plant out some zucchini squash plants that had gotten too big to stay indoors. They seem to be OK but I don't expect much growth from them for a while until it warms up some. I have dozens and dozens of tomato seedlings so I hope it warms up soon so they can get planted, too.

  My recently planted rhubarb plant looks pathetic but a friend has been generous with stalks of her gorgeous rhubarb so I've been enjoying this plant that always reminds me of spring.


Although rhubarb cut up and cooked with a little sugar is a fine thing all by itself, it also lends itself to a very Irish dish, the rhubarb crumble. I suspect that this is also a very British dish and who knows how many places enjoy it for 'pud'. The lovely thing about it is that it is quick and simple and delicious, too.

Rhubarb Crumble for 4-6

3-4 stalks fresh rhubarb, cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar or to taste
4 tablespoons all-purpose or whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter

Place the rhubarb and water, plus sugar as needed, into a shallow, wide ovenproof pan...I use our cast iron skillet. Cover and cook the rhubarb for 20 minutes at medium heat. While rhubarb is cooking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

When the rhubarb has cooked for about 10 minutes, make the crumble: In a medium bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt and nutmeg. Work in the cold butter with your fingertips or use a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture is crumbly and clumpy.

Uncover the pan and crumble that mixture evenly over the hot fruit. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown. Serve while still warm. Good with a garnish of whipped cream.

Tea Time Rhubarb Cream Scones

It's been quit a while since I've made scones. In the meantime Sweetie has eaten scones at bakeries and restaurants and made much of them. They were fine but truly not as good as the ones I make. One thing that was usually true of those other scones was that they were heavy, dense and/or cake like. My ideal scone is more like a biscuit in texture but lighter while still being rich due to the use of both heavy cream and butter.


Thanks to the generosity of some friends this past week I was the recipient of a couple stalks of fresh gorgeous rhubarb. Rhubarb is one of the harbingers of spring and it's fresh tangy flavor is a tonic to the winter weary spirits, just like Meyer lemon. Usually I make a strawberry-rhubarb pie when I have rhubarb but this time I decided to find out how well rhubarb goes with cream scones by adding chopped rhubarb and pecans to the basic recipe.

One of the tricks to making light, moist and delicious scones is to barely handle the dough once the liquid ingredients have been added to the dry mixture. I used a fork to mix and had the dough about 3/4 combined when I sprinkled on the rhubarb and nuts. That way they were folded in during the last few strokes of mixing. Once the dough was turned out onto the floured board, I barely kneaded it...just enough to work in the last crumbly bits. To shape it I was again careful to use a light touch and the least amount of handling possible.

The result was a nice tray of light and delicate scones that almost melted in your mouth. The rhubarb's sharpness was the perfect contrast to the sweet richness of the dough. Because the scones already had butter and heavy cream in them, no additional butter or clotted cream was necessary. If I'd had some lemon curd I might have added a smidgen but they didn't really need anything extra to be the perfect companion to a nice hot cup of afternoon tea. Cheers!


Rhubarb Oat Cream Scones
makes 12

1 large egg
2/3 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup oat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1/3 cup chopped fresh rhubarb
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Stir the egg and cream together. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, cake flour, oat flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is from pea-size pieces to pieces the size of oatmeal flakes.

Pour the egg and cream over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until the dough, which will be wet and sticky, comes together. Gently fold in the rhubarb and pecans. Don't overdo it. Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand a few turns (or knead briefly when you turn it out on the floured board).

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Divide it in half. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into a rough circle that's about 5 inches in diameter, cut it into 6 wedges and place it on the baking sheet. (at this point, the scones can be frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight. Don't defrost before baking - just add about 2 minutes to the baking time.)

Bake the scones for 20 -22 minutes, or until their tops are golden. Tops may also be slightly cracked...that's OK.

Transfer them to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving, or wait for them to cool to room temperature.

Strawberry Variations

One of the fun things about baking is that once you learn about proportions and how acids like buttermilk react with bases like baking soda and similar 'chemistry' you can enjoy experimentation.

Sometimes I mull over ideas for days before coming up with something that seems likely to work and to make good use of the seasonal ingredient I have on hand or the flavor I've been longing to taste. This time I had both fresh rhubarb and juicy strawberries ready to be combined (don't you just love that flavor combo?) and I wanted to capture the copious juice they would make when heated. I considered a compote and a fruit fool, but wanted something warm. Eventually it seemed that if I combined a layer of cake to act as a sponge and soak up those juices, plus a topping over the fruit that it would be just what I wanted.

For a lark I took the brown sugar buttermilk cake recipe I had used for shortcake and changed it a bit, used the cake as a base for a mixture of cooked rhubarb and strawberries and then used part of the batter to create a crisp topping. It was a fab experiment!

Sweetie and Straight Shooter razzed me before dinner about the buttermilk sitting on top of the microwave. They were convinced it would spoil. When they tasted the cake-fruit-crisp combo with some whipped cream on top they knew that the buttermilk was just fine and had helped with moistness and tang in the cake. The juices of the rhubarb-strawberry mixture seeped into the cake below which gave it a great flavor, too. The crispy topping was a great textural contrast. They decided that second helpings were in order.

Keeping track of time for baking is essential with this recipe. The cake bakes part of the way without any topping for just 10 minutes to allow the cake structure to develop...along with it's ability to be a sponge for the juices. After topping with the hot fruit and with the oatmeal laced topping it baked another 15 minutes, allowing the cake part to finish baking and for the topping part to get nice and crisp. I added pieces of the soft topping mixture with my fingers for irregular islands of topping on the sea of fruit, but you could also use a spoon to scoop on tablespoon sized pieces.

The same layered technique would work well for other stewed fruits or juicy fruits like stone fruits or other berries, too. Cake-blackberries and peaches-crisp will be the perfect combo around the beginning of July.

(In case you were wondering, the bathroom project is about half done and my 'vacation' is about 2/3 done, but it's going to be beautiful...light and airy and a huge shower! If you just are dying to see photos of Sweetie using a drill or me with a runaway belt sander send me an e-mail and I can send you some photos. Most just look like fairly generic construction photos, but a few give a hint of what the end results will look like.)

If you do make this recipe, even with fruit variations, do let me know. I've never seen one like it exactly and would love to know if it works in your kitchen, too.

Three Layer Fruit Crisp with Rhubarb and Strawberries
Serves 6 – 8

1 deep 9" cake pan or, preferably, a deep skillet
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, packed, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup diced fresh rhubarb
2 pints fresh strawberries, hulls removed, then sliced
½ cup rolled oats (old-fashioned are best)

Butter a 9 inch round baking pan or skillet with deep sides.You will be baking this on a baking sheet to catch any juice drips. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together 1 ¼ cup of the flour, the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add ½ cup of the brown sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until sugar is completely blended into the butter.

Add one egg and beat for one minute. Scrape sides of bowl and beater. Add the second egg and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the buttermilk in two (begin and end with dry ingredients). Mix only until each addition is barely blended in to the batter. Scrape down the bowl and take a few turns with the spatula to finish mixing the batter quickly.

Put the batter in the prepared pan reserving ½ cup of the batter in the mixing bowl . (I put all the batter in the pan, then removed ½ cup and put it back into the mixing bowl, then used a spatula to gently level the batter in the pan.) Place on a baking sheet and put into the preheated oven.

Bake for 10 minutes.

While the cake is baking, stew the fruit. Combine the rhubarb and strawberries in a saucepan. Cover. Place over medium heat and cook about 10 minutes or until the strawberries release their juice and are soft.

While the fruit is cooking, combine the remaining ½ cup cake batter, and additional ½ cup brown sugar and ½ cup rolled oats to make the crisp topping. Batter will be soft.

Once cake has baked for 10 minutes, remove from the oven, top with the hot fruit, and scatter pieces of the topping fairly evenly over the hot fruit. The topping will not completely cover the fruit…there will be lots of fruit showing but the batter will spread out some as it bakes.

Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes because fruit is very hot and could burn you.

To serve, scoop large spoonfuls of the dessert into bowls, making sure to include cake, fruit and topping. Garnish with heavy cream, vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. Serve while warm.

Daring Baker Pud in the Land of St. Honore'

The dark haired lad had noticed the red haired girl hanging around the school entrance, but he was observant by nature, plus she was pretty.

She had noticed him in the shop one day when a group of boys came over from the school to buy treats. He had been the quiet one and easy on the eye, too.

Her mum was puzzled when she came back from the green grocers a week later with rhubarb as well as the strawberries she had been sent to buy. “I used my own money” she explained so her mum let it go and turned back to the till to make change.

That afternoon she was alone in the kitchen and she went to work with a will, cutting the washed rhubarb into chunks and hulling, then slicing the berries. She prepared the pudding bowl by rubbing it with a thin layer of butter. The berries, rhubarb, sugar and almond extract smelled wonderful as they gently cooked on the stove top while she mixed together the sponge.


The berry mixture went in the bottom of the bowl, then she carefully placed sliced almonds higher up the bowl sides, smiling as they stuck to the butter. After putting in the sponge mixture and evening the top as best she could…there was a lot of fruit juice that wanted to seep through the batter…

she secured parchment and foil over the bowl with twine,

then set it all in a pot partially filled with simmering water.

While the pudding steamed, she helped her mum stock the shelves and sweep the floor. She even washed the front windows of the shop so she could try and see if the students were still in class.
Soon after the pudding was done and looking wonderful on its flowered plate the bell on the front door started ringing repeatedly…the lads were back!

She looked for the dark haired boy and soon saw him quietly observing the slight mayhem of his mates choosing their weekly sweets, some giggling like six year olds, some with their voice changing and looking all knees and elbows with adolescence. When she noticed that the one she was sweet on was alone she made her move. Coming to stand next to him she said, “I noticed that you don’t buy any sweets…don’t you like them?” He shrugged and replied that he was short of funds. She tugged on his sleeve and said, “Come try my pudding then” so he followed her to the back and couldn’t refuse a serving of the warm and fragrant pudding.

It was better than any pudding he’d ever had and he told her that. Her smile was even better. Then he heard everyone leaving the shop. “Have to go” he said. “Wait” she said, “I don’t even know your name.” Turning back he gave her a heartwarming smile and said “Bond, James Bond. What’s yours?”

As we leave the Land of St. Honore' you may want to know what it is that the young James Bond was enjoying. It was a steamed pudding, and it was a spring-time steamed pudding with spring fruits and none of the strong spices of winter to be seen. Often the charming Dharm at this blog also does a Daring Baker's post about James Bond.

The sponge is light and buttery with a hint of almond and the sliced almonds were added as a nice garnish, plus a bit of added texture.

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet. We really enjoyed this pudding and I want to thank Esther for getting the Daring Bakers to try the traditional British dessert of steamed pudding. I was hoping to make some with suet but my butcher only gets partially dressed meat with no suet to be seen. I think this version with butter is delightful with the fruit. If I ever find a place with suet I'll be sure to try some of the other recipes.


Rhubarb-Strawberry Steamed Pudding

Ingredients:
• 175g fresh rhubarb , cut into 4cm lengths
• 175 g fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters
• 200g caster sugar, divided
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 125g unsalted butter
• few drops natural vanilla extract
• 2 medium eggs , beaten
• 175g self-raising flour
• 50 g sliced almonds (optional)

Method:
1. Cook the rhubarb and strawberries with 75g/2¾oz of the sugar and the almond extract over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes until just starting to soften. Remove from heat.
2. Butter a 900ml pudding basin. Put butter and remaining sugar in a bowl and cream together. Stir in vanilla extract, then beat in eggs, a little at a time. Sift in flour and carefully fold into the mixture.
3. Spoon rhubarb- strawberry into the bottom of the basin. If using, place individual sliced almonds around the sides of the basin above the fruit mixture, using the butter to help them adhere to the sides. Spoon the sponge mixture on top of the fruit mixture and level off surface.
4. Butter a piece of greaseproof paper slightly bigger than the top of the pudding basin. Make a pleat in the centre and secure over the top of basin. Repeat with a piece of foil, then secure the whole thing with string. Place in a pan half filled with simmering water. Cover and cook for 1½ hrs, checking regularly that the pan does not boil dry. Remove cover, invert the pudding onto a plate, then carefully lift off the pudding basin. Serve with crème fraîche, single cream, ice cream, or garnish with fresh strawberries.

Serves 6
Recipe: BBC Good Food: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3157/rhubarb-steamed-pudding

Esther from The Lilac Kitchen : http://lilackitchen.blogspot.com/

Spring Tonic the Sweet Way

There is a tradition that in the spring you take a tonic to give yourself a boost after winter deprivation. Since we now have oodles of things in the market all winter, there really is no deprivation. Still, a blast of tonic of some sort is great. One old fashioned one is rhubarb. It certainly has a robust taste, but if you cook it, it becomes more civilized.

Rhubarb looks a lot like red celery stalks when you buy it at the market. They have usually trimmed off the chard-like leaves, which is good because you shouldn't eat the leaves. The perfect companion for rhubarb is strawberries, another spring favorite.

I already had some strawberries when I saw the rhubarb at the store. When I got home I couldn't decide how to use them together. Jam is always wonderful. Strawberry-rhubarb pie is a favorite of mine, but I was feeling more like muffins or cake.

In The Fannie Farmer Baking Book by Marion Cunningham I found Buttemilk Lemon Pound Cake.

That provided the perfect base for a lovely Strawberry Rhubarb Pound Cake. It is light but rich, with a golden crust and sweet-tart tang from the buttermilk as well as the rhubarb and strawberries. A slice is the perfect thing with a cup of tea on a spring afternoon.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pound Cake

4 eggs at room temperature

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup strawberried, diced in roughly 1/2 inch dice (about 1/2 pint)

1 cup rhubarb, diced in roughly 1/2 inch dice (about 2 stalks)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans.

Combine 3 cups of the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; sift them together onto a large piece of waxed paper. Reserve the last 1/4 cup of flour for the berries and rhubarb.

Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until it is smooth and creamy. Slowly add the sugar, beating constantly. Continue beating until smooth and well blended. Add the eggs all at once, and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Combine the berries, diced, and the rhubarb, diced, in a bowl. Sprinkle with the flour and toss to coat. Add the lemon zest and toss to distribute the zest. Set aside.

Sprinkle the butter and egg mixture with about half of the flour-leavening-salt combination and beat until well blended. Stir the lemon extract into the buttermilk. Beat half the buttermilk mixture into the batter. Add the remaining flour and buttermilk mixtures and beat until the batter is smooth and well blended. Fold in the strawberry-rhubarb-zest mixture gently but thoroughly to distribute the fruit throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes, or until they test done. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto the rack, turn them right side up and allow to cool completely on the rack before serving. Makes two loaves.