An photo from our collaboration with ModCloth & Idée Geniale. Photography by Kate Sims.
One of my favorite things about fashion editorials is imagining what happened behind the scenes, and getting to see how it all came together. Oftentimes, the process is just as interesting, if not more, than the results. So let me show you a tiny piece of the behind the scenes from our Beach Betty Lookbook: The prop pie! Scroll down to get the recipe too.
I went to the store to get groceries for dinner and saw rhubarb, which is in season, and thought - I should make a pie! So I bought some and got to work.
I decided to make strawberry rhubarb pie (my favorite!), and took out my vintage pie dish, appropriately decorated with painted strawberries and a recipe.
I used organic flour and cultured butter for a yummy crust - no Crisco for me!
The fruit wasn't cooked beforehand, making it an easy recipe.
The hard part is making the lattice top... I haven't quite mastered the task, so if you look quite closely, it's not really over-under-over-under... but I think that's makes it look homemade, all the little imperfections.
And here's Mel, adorably dressed in the Beauty on a Bicycle Dress which we accessorized with my vintage tricycle and, of course, pie! The pie was consumed by all non-vegans around us after the shoot. Yum!
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE
For Crust (adapted from Williams-Sonoma)
2 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
6 tablespoons very cold water
For Filling (adapted from Epicurious)
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, and salt. Use your fingers to pinch the butter into the flour until all the butter has been incorporated and the mix looks like coarse sand. Add the water and mix with a spoon just until the dough pulls together.
Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.
Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter flass pie dish. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.
Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.
Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Eat!
