Strawberry-Rhubarb Greek Yogurt Pie with CinnaCanna(Butter) Graham Cracker Crust

The first recipe! Do you know how hard it was to choose a first recipe? Its summer and now is the time I usually make my Grandma's Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie but since this is the inaugural recipe for Buddha Bites and since its 2020 and everything is messed up and funky I decided to pair the seasonal produce with a lighter-than-custard-or-cream yogurt pie.

I first came across a Greek Yogurt Pie a few years ago when I was living in New York (Upstate! And yes, the official spelling is with a capital "U" whereas downstate NY is with a lowercase "d") and would spend many days of the week making things from Bon Appetit (Sohla El-Waylly & Molly Baz...can we be friends?), but true to form I never made the recipe as they presented. I think the first was with grapefruit (bc why not?) and the second was with coconut, and I lost track after that.

Question: "Where is the pie?" Answer: We're still figuring out how to do all this and the pie really needed to chill before being photographed or consumed so we made pies into parfaits. Less waiting time with the same great taste so if you had the munchies and didn't want to wait you really don't have to. Just layer up in a glass (being neat is optional) and add a cute spoon.

A few notes:

1. Everything with CannaButter can be replaced with regular butter.

2. I used a vegan gelatin but as a non-vegan or vegetarian, I'm biased towards the regular stuff (I think it comes out better). I would LOVE to try this recipe with Irish Moss, but I've never cooked with it...and I couldn't find any for this post. If anyone tries it or has thoughts on using it let me know! I found that the final product, made with the vegan gelatin, didn't last as long as previous ones I've made with regular gelatin (the crust got super mushy after a day). All the others were also made in NYS but I don't think the altitude would impact this recipe.

3. OMG the smell of the crust (cinnamon and cannabis were made for each other and the smell proves it) when you pull it out of the oven. Savor this moment (seriously).

4. It tastes like Noosa Strawberry-Rhubarb yogurt. You're welcome. (Side-note: If you've never had Noosa before I am hanging my head for your tastebuds unless its because of dietary restrictions in which case I am frustrated on behalf of your tastebuds. Side-side note: I think you could use all dairy alternatives with this recipe and it would still come out rather tasty.)

5. I need another note because 4 is an unlucky number in Chinese culture and I can't start my blog post with an unlucky number.

---

To Do:

◎ Gather your ingredients...

Crust:

• 6 Tbsp CannaButter (we used Sour Banana CannaButter for this recipe)

• 1Tbsp Cinnamon

• 1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers

• ⅓ cup sugar

• Dash of salt

Filling:

• 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin OR vegan gelatin substitute

• 2 tablespoons plus ½ cup milk OR milk alternative

• 2 ¾ cup greek yogurt

• ¾ cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Compote:

• 2 Tbsp sugar OR honey

• 2 cup strawberries, sliced

• 2 cup rhubarb, sliced (I like to cut it in different sizes so its a little chunky)

• 1-2 Tbsp water, if needed

◎ Follow along...

First the crust...

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Put graham crackers in a gallon size ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush into a fine dust (like sand). Pour into a medium sized mixing bowl then mix in the cinnamon, sugar & salt; set aside.

3. Melt the CannaButter then add to the graham cracker mixture. Mix it up until it looks similar to wet sand.

4. Pour into a pie pan. Use your hand (or a measuring cup!) to pack the mixture down and up around the sides.

5. Place pie pan in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool.

And now for the filling...

1. Put gelatin and 2 tbsp milk in a bowl (to allow gelatin to soften) for 5-10 minutes.

2. In a small saucepan add remaining milk and warm over medium heat, stirring frequently, until milk begins to heat and steam a little. Remove from heat; add the gelatin mixture and whisk until smooth.

3. Add yogurt, lemon zest, and sugar. Whisk until smooth (if its not smooth its your gelatin!).

4. Pour into cooled pie crust and use a spatula to smooth the top. Place in fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.

Meanwhile...

1. Place cut strawberries and rhubarb in a small pan with sugar and salt; cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the fruit is cooked down. Add a tablespoon of water if needed while its cooking down. (Chunkiness and cooking time are directly correlated, so the longer you cook it the more jammy it will be and the more water it will need)

2. Allow fruit to cool a little before spreading over the chilled pie.

Go ahead, get a little fancy when serving this pie. Take out your microplane (or just use your grinder) and shave a little flower directly over the pie. Have you had strawberries and basil? Wait until you try strawberries, rhubarb AND MARY JANE!

PS Do I have extra CinnaCannaGraham Cracker Crumbles stored in a container in my fridge? Do I use those crumbles to make a parfait in the morning, noon and/or at night? Fuck yea I do.