Worth Repeating

Wow. I had not planned for these last few weeks to slip away from me. I have been overwhelmed and have not had much free time to cook or write – a fact that makes me terribly sad. Last Sunday was Mother’s Day, so I finally got the chance to get back into the kitchen. As a matter of fact, it was more like an obligation. When mom says, “bring something sweet” you do as your told. I’m kind of impressed at how far I’ve come with home cooking. A year ago, I likely would have brought an Entenmann’s pound cake to the family dinner. Actually, I think I did. Yet these days, the farmer’s market and the stove are my favorite places to be. I don’t really know what brought on the change. Perhaps it was moving in with Dave and wanting to create a home - nothing does that better than the smell of something delicious baking in the oven. Anyway, I hope the cooking bug is here to stay. And as far as time is concerned, I’ll just have to make it.

I had been meaning to make something with rhubarb since I saw the first signs of spring sprouting in the beginning of April. But this whole month has been a wash, hasn’t it? Everybody talks about rhubarb in the spring...I suspect there are a lot of people out there who liken it to Paris (and many a Frenchman – and woman – who eat it by the stalk). I had never, ever made anything with rhubarb before, but was inspired by a recent meal at Pies and Thighs that concluded with a perfect slice of strawberry rhubarb pie. Now, I know this isn’t a full-fledged rhubarb endeavor, but I am convinced after seeing all the rhubarb desserts on the Internet that this root is meant to be eaten with strawberries. The sweetness of the berries complements the rhubarb’s tart taste.



I haven’t experimented with pies yet (though I did buy a nice pie pan several months ago, and it would be nice to tell Dave, “see? I DID use it!”) Instead, I opted for a crumble. It’s a lot less fussy than pie, but maintains all of the buttery, crunchy texture of a traditional crust. I got a kick out of sprinkling all the doughy globs of crumble dough onto the berries and rhubarb. They heat up so nicely in the oven, and make a wonderful outer shell to the fruit. The dough had plenty of lemon zest, which added a citrusy zing to the dish. In this way, it was similar to the base of lemon bars - which I love so, so much. I imagine it would be the perfect base for any crumble (I can’t wait to try apple and pear in the Fall), which I suspect I will be making a lot of. Anything this easy and delicious is worth repeating again and again.



Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients for the topping:
1 1/3 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs Sugar in the Raw
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients for the filling:
2 c rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus an extra handful, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 c sugar
4 Tbs cornstarch
Pinch of salt

Heat oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed. Next, prepare the filling: toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in your casserole dish or pie plate. This saves you the trouble of using another mixing bowl. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling underneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8.