Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Pie

This recipe doesn't mention anything about where it came from, but it is on a 3x5 card in Mom's handwriting.

Crust:
1 1/2 c. gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 26)
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter

Combine crumbs and sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press evenly into a 9" pie-pan. Bake 375 degrees 8-10 mins.

Filling:
3 c. rhubarb
1 c. strawberries
3/4 c. + 2 T. sugar
3 slices gingeroot
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/3 c. cold water
3 egg whites
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 t. vanilla

Combine rhubarb, strawberries, 1/2 c. sugar & gingeroot. Cook over medium heat till cooked, about 15 min. Remove from heat. Remove gingeroot.

Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Let stand 5 minutes to soften. Add to hot rhubarb mixture, stirring well. Blend in blender just until smooth. Pour into bowl. Place bowl in bowl of ice water. Chill until partially set (mounding). Remove from ice and set aside. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add 1/4 c. sugar, beating to stiff peaks. Beat cream, 2 T. sugar & vanilla til stiff. Fold both into fruit mixture. Pour into crust. Refrig. 1-2 hrs/ Garnish w/ whip. cream.

Last week, I bought some rhubarb at the farmer's market in order to work on several rhubarb recipes I have in my collection. I was originally going to make a different recipe, but then strawberries were also on sale at Wal-Mart, so I bought some to use in this recipe. If I would have known beforehand, I probably wouldn't have made it because of the raw egg whites that I'm not supposed to eat and it was more labor intensive than I wanted.

I was also going to just make it for us to eat, but Ben talked me into saving it a day and taking it over to Mom and Dad's when we went for Memorial Day weekend. But, we did pre-snack on some of the filling that didn't fit into the pie crust. The few bites I had were delicious.

Everyone who had some said it was good. Dad even said he would give it 5 stars (I think he ended up eating 3 pieces of the pie...) I thought it had a very gel-ly consistency and would have preferred a more creamy texture. When I pulled the crust out of the oven, there were some wet spots where the butter pooled up (possibly because the recipe called for too much?). I also used some old dried gingeroot that we have in our spice collection. It didn't give very much ginger flavor to the filling. Finally, eat it after 1-2 hours like the recipe says. I think making it so far in advance made the crust funny.

Don't let my complaints turn you away from this recipe. It really was delicious.