1. It’s raining. But it’s April so everything is as it should be.
2. My mom and dad stopped by this morning. They are buying ten acres two miles from our house and came down (up, whatever) to get the survey done. In the rain.
3. A friend and her three wee ones paid us a visit.
The four-week-old baby was the hit of the show. My oldest son laid on the sofa, the babe asleep on his chest, and would’ve stayed there the whole time if I’d-a let him. But I was hungering for my baby fix so I up and booted him from the room.
4. Another friend and her granddaughter are coming to visit this afternoon. I need to rid the house of 273 flies before they get here.
5. The kids and I are doing a little skit at church this evening. The Baby Nickel has a dual role: first a servant boy and then a rooster. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
6. Rhubarb’s up.
This is my standard rhubarb dessert. It’s a perfect way to star the tart stalks. Half of the crumbs make up a crunchy bottom crust and the other half makes a crunchy topping, thus the name Rhubarb Crunch. It could not be more appropriately named.
This last time I used half sour cherries and half rhubarb—it made for a right pretty (and delicious) crunch.
Rhubarb Crunch
3/4 cup flour
1 cup oats, either rolled or quick
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup water (or fruit juice)
½ teaspoon vanilla
4 cups diced rhubarb
Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers to make crumbs. Press half of the crumbs in the bottom of a greased 9 x 9 glass pan. Reserve the remaining crumbs for the topping.
In a small kettle, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the water (or fruit juice) and vanilla. Bring it to a boil, stirring steadily, till thick and smooth. Remove the kettle from the heat and add the rhubarb, stirring to coat. Pour the saucy fruit on the crust and top the fruit with the remaining crumbs. Bake the crunch at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the juices are bubbly and the crumbs—both top and bottom—are golden brown.
Serve warm, with milk or vanilla ice cream.
This same time, years previous: bacon-wrapped jalapenos, honey-baked chicken
9 Comments
Anonymous
I was blessed with some rhubarb plants this year and a whole bag of rhubarb to cook with from a friend of mine. I made a rhubarb crisp with strawberries and red raspberries (from the freezer). So yummy. Similar to this crunch. I also made a rhubarb ice cream (no churning required). Hubby and I love it . . .too bad for the kids taste buds! I have some in the fridge yet to make one more recipe. I am thinking of the rhubarb tart, since I found a pie crust recipe for GF today on a FB referral to a blog. So happy!
L in Elkton
elizabeth
Great!
Jennifer Jo
Elizabeth, YES.
elizabeth
Does this work with frozen rhubarb?
Marie M.
Roaster, rooster. Now I'd love to see your son do his roaster interpretation. Question: Why do you have such a fly problem? OK, I live in San Francisco and seldom see a fly, much less multiple flies, so I'm puzzled. The only time I remember lots of flies was when I was very young and we went to a farm to buy homemade sour cream and freshly butchered rabbits (sob, sob). The place was swarming with flies. Ewwww. p.s. I've eaten rabbit as an adult but still . . . thoughts of sweet, furry, hippity-hoppity . . . hey, Happy Easter Day.
Second Sister
I just planted some rhubarb. I'm eager to join the rhubarb growing and eating club!
Margo
oooh, I saved the juice from my sour cherries in the freezer with no earthly idea of what to do with it, but just loving sour cherries so much (Don't remind me of your gorgeous loot a few weeks back, ok?).
Now I will make this rhubarb crunch as soon as our rhubarb hits market. Can't wait!
Jennifer Jo
Oh my word, Zoe, did I really SAY that? I DID!!! I hope that's not a bad omen. Perhaps this here narrator better worry about her own lines…
Zoë
One of my favorite rhubarb recipes.
And how does one act like a roaster? 🙂