Slice of the Week - Memorial Day Edition

Summer in New York means a couple of things: hoards of slow-moving tourists, long lines and high prices at the beer gardens, and street fairs. $5 pashminas! Cheap sunglasses! Zeppoles! Luckily, I was met with only the latter of the three this Memorial Day just around the corner from my apartment.

This being an Astorain street fair, the food choices slanted toward the more Mediterranean of cuisine, and I was delighted to see that Omonia Cafe had set up a booth serving up Greek pastries.

Otherwise known as spanakopita, a Greek spinach pie is made with spinach, onions, and feta cheese amongst layers of phyllo dough, and is an utterly delicious treat that I had never heard of, let alone craved until I moved to Astoria.

I won't go too critical on this slice of the week - it's street fair food, and it's Memorial Day after all. I hope everyone is having a day full of sun, fun, good food, and even better friends.

Strawberry Rhubarb Waffles

This morning I woke up, started the coffee pot, and realized I was out of both milk AND cereal. I stared longingly at the empty space in the cupboard and started to reach for the bag of pretzels (insert any disparaging comments about my morning eating habits here) when I remembered the box of Eggo Waffles in the freezer.

And then I remembered that I had saved the leftover strawberry rhubarb mix I made for my pie the other day.

And then I got really excited for breakfast.

blueberry Eggo waffles with strawberry rhubarb topping

a hot breakfast for a rainy day

Rustic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

After unsuccessfully searching for fresh rhubarb at both Trader Joe's and the Union Square green market last week, I thought I had missed my window of opportunity. Luckily, the subletter-du-mois told me she had spotted some at the Key Foods. A quick trip after work and I had the makings of this season's most sought-after dessert.

Ingredients
8 oz. rhubarb, diced
1 lb. fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup corn starch
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
Pie crust recipe, doubled. Do not halve into top and bottom crusts.

How to
Wash and cut the rhubarb into 1/2" cubes. Make sure to remove any green leaves; use only the reddish stalk of the rhubarb.

Rhubarb stalks

Sliced rhubarb

1/2" rhubarb cubes

Wash and thinly slice the strawberries.

Fresh strawberries

Single strawberry. It was really photogenic.

Sliced strawberries

In a large bowl, mix together the rhubarb, strawberries, corn starch, sugar and vanilla. Stir gently until everything is evenly coated.

Strawberry-rhubarb mixture

Roll out the dough into as close of a circle as you can (I'm still working on my rolling techniques). Transfer the dough to a large cookie sheet, then add the fruit mixture in the center of the dough. Make sure to place the dough on the cookie sheet BEFORE you add the fruit!

Cookie sheet with dough and mixture

Fold the dough over and onto the center of the fruit, making sure to leave a hole right in the center. Work clockwise and wet the edges of each fold to help the dough stick together. Sprinkle with a healthy amount of sugar and refrigerate or freeze for about 30 minutes.

Folded edges over mixture

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.

Rustic strawberry rhubarb pie

Rustic strawberry rhubarb pie

Single slice

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Mini Rhubarb and Raspberry Galletes recipe, found in this book.