Rhubarb-Berry Crisp

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you are all enjoying beer-soaked bratwursts and remembering all the people who existed and sad things that happened to them so that you could enjoy those bratwursts. Thank a soldier while you're at it.

If you haven't yet made a dessert for the picnic you're headed to this afternoon, here's a recipe you might consider. And if you have already made a dessert, just bookmark this one for later. It comes in handy on many occasions, including but not limited to the following: (1) when you have a lot of frozen fruit taking up space in your freezer that could be better used for breastmilk or baby food cubes; (2) when you make a rich, salty dinner and need a fresh, light dessert to cleanse the palate and round out the meal without making your guests explode; (3) when you blinked and those peaches or plums or apricots or berries that you had on your counter for a week overripened instantaneously; and (4) summer. (And, of course, when you are trying to see how many simple things you can make with rhubarb in one week.) It's one of the best, most useful recipes I've crafted and ends up being a go-to dessert several times every summer. The maple syrup is a perfect compliment to seasonal fruit and the oatmeal crumble proves to be everything you want in a crisp - buttery, chunky, and just sweet enough.

Rhubarb-Berry Crisp

From ME!

Yield: 4-8 servings, depending on appetite and how much ice cream you eat with it

2 pounds fresh fruit or frozen fruit, thawed and drained (I used about equal parts rhubarb, strawberries, and frozen raspberries, rinsed under cold water; mostly plums + a cup or two of berries also work v. well here)

2 tablespoons maple syrup (or brown sugar or maple sugar or vanilla sugar)*

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup flour (any flour will do, I used spelt this last time)

1/4 cup maple syrup (or 1/3 cup brown sugar)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted or soft

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon and/or ground ginger (optional)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix fruit and maple syrup or sugar in a 9" pie dish or a cake pan comparable in size. Cook fruit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the oats, flour, salt, and any spices you decide to use. In a measuring cup, melt or almost melt the butter. Add in the maple syrup and whisk until combined. Pour the butter-syrup mixture into the oat mixture and stir together with a fork until crumbly. Dollop the mixture evenly on top of slightly-cooked fruit and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the top is browned and the fruit is slightly bubbly. (Check it every couple minutes past 20 - it can burn quickly.)

This is absolutely delicious warm with fresh, lightly sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (if you are really dressing it up, try lemon or key lime ice cream or sorbet - yum!) and a glass of champagne. It's also good with vanilla yogurt for breakfast. But... I really like dessert for breakfast.

Note that this recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled to accommodate a crowd or use up a Costco-box-load of fruit. Just use a 13X9" pan or a 2 quart casserole instead of a smaller pan. Baking time should be the same.

(OR - if you are a bit evil - I have not personally done this but have wanted to because let's be honest the best part of a crisp, no matter how good the fruit is, is the crisp - you could just double the topping but not the fruit. But then, really, you might as well just make OMG Cookies.)

* If you are using tart berries, plums, apricots or more rhubarb than other, sweeter fruit, you might want to up the syrup or sugar a bit. Also, of course regular sugar would be fine too, but I'd add the spices and a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla then just to give the baked fruit some more desserty tones.

Wine-Roasted Rhubarb

Day 2 of the rhubarb frenzy. (Don't worry. There are only three days.)

(So far.)

This recipe is v. easy and v. tasty and v. easy to adjust to suit your own palate as far as sweetness and tartness and the highly personal delicate balance we all try to find between them go.

Hi. My name is Edith and I like to write awkward sentences.

This recipe is from Orangette. I am reading A Homemade Life, a sort of coming-of-age memoir/cookbook written by Molly Wizenberg, the creator of Orangette. She's cute. Because I can't not critique things I read, I'll note that conciseness sort of eludes her, but her writing is sweet and honest and quirky and funny and her recipes are v. good, and anyway maybe conciseness is overrated because books look better on shelves than pamphlets. What I like most about this particular book is that her writing style and tone and maybe even her attitude/perspective on life remind me a lot of my BFF of twentysomething years, Nicole. That's a compliment to them both. They're both quite charming and they both write passionately about food and family and love.

But back to the rhubarb frenzy!

Since I like the recipes in her book and the small handful on her blog that I've tried, I figured Ms. Wizenberg's v. simple roasted rhubarb recipe was worth a shot, particularly since I had all the ingredients on hand. I was right. It's delicious. And I didn't even use fresh wine. I used wine that my husband and I had opened and forgotten about (an unfortunate rarity) for about a week in the refrigerator. But I am the opposite of wasteful, so I saved it anyway for cooking or baking and here we are.

It's a bit tart as written below. If you want something more rhubarb-pie-like, double the sugar, and then actually you'd be following the original recipe more precisely. I was a little sugared-out when I made this, so I thought I'd go for something more subtle so I could have it for (a guilt-free) breakfast. I also wanted to see how much the roasting itself brought out different flavors in the rhubarb. All in all, it proved to be a worthwhile mini-experiment. I'd make it exactly the same next time.

Wine-Roasted Rhubarb

Ever-so-slightly adapted from Orangette

Yield: about 2-3 servings

1 lb. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup white wine

1 vanilla bean, split

Set a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Put the rhubarb in a pie plate. Add the sugar, wine, and vanilla bean, and stir to mix. Bake (uncovered) for about 25 minutes, or until very tender, giving the rhubarb a gentle stir about midway through to ensure even cooking.

Great served while warm (particularly with ice cream) and pretty darn tasty right out of the refrigerator the next morning.

Mango Rhubarb Loaf with (optional) Coconut Crumble

Hello!

Did you miss me?

I missed you too.

In fact, I always miss you.

Yes, you.

YOU.

You are so pretty.

So, the reason that I haven't posted lately is that I had my parents and nephew visiting for a week and we spent a portion of their visit at our cousins' lake cabin about an hour north of Brainerd. I don't know that region of Minnesota v. well, so I can't be more specific than that really, other than to say that it is one of the prettiest and tick-ridden parts of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and storms there feel a little more horror-movie-esque than they do when I'm safely in the confines of my sixth floor condo. But that all sounded a little darker than I meant. It was actually a wonderful trip, and we ate loads and loads of red meat and bacon and big, syrupy breakfasts and super rich desserts made by my cousin, who makes a habit of substituting sour cream for yogurt and heavy whipping cream for milk. I am fatter having gone on this trip.

Oh well.

Before we left, as I mentioned in my last post, I got some rhubarb from the farmer's market. Rhubarb is so interesting. It looks like celery spray-painted red, which is weird in and of itself. And then after you touch it your hands smell like delicious summer candy. But then you take a bite and no no no. I mean, I know some people like it, but they're weird, right? It just makes my mouth pucker thinking about it. But then it cooks down to something mild and semi-sweet and chutney-ish. It's wonderful. I think I love rhubarb, so there was a rhubarb frenzy in my kitchen last week. The rest of the month's posts are going to document the frenzy. Hopefully you'll enjoy it because maybe you love rhubarb too.

We have so much in common.

The first thing I made with the rhubarb was a quick bread based on this recipe. My modifications can be summed up as follows: I used mangos instead of strawberries, as I had some mangos that were going soft and I didn't want to use up my beautiful strawberries quite yet in a baked good; I used Cointreau because I didn't have rum on hand (well, except Bacardi 151, which I didn't use for fear of starting my oven on fire); I used a tad less oil; I substituted yogurt for sour cream; and I doubled the recipe, because I feel that one always should make two loaves instead of one because it takes the same amount of time and is super easy to double and then you have one to share and one to hoard, which is kind of my style. I also used coconut instead of pecans in my crumble because I am allergic to nuts. The crumble, which I only put on one of my two loaves, was so-so. Its flavor was fine, but it turned out a little dry (coconut absorbs more moisture than nuts), and it didn't really stick to the loaf so it was sort of a crumbly unnecessary mess. I'll skip it next time, but I'm posting the recipe for it in case you want to mess around with it a bit and let me know how to make it better.

Mango Rhubarb Loaf with (optional) Coconut Crumble

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes two loaves (about 10-12 1/2" slices per loaf)

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup oil (I used olive oil)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons Cointreau or Grand Marnier or good rum

2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used whole milk yogurt)

1 cup diced rhubarb (you'll want fingernail-sized pieces, like in picture - I am so helpful!)

1 cup chopped mango

Coconut Crumble Topping (Optional)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Beat together the brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and liqueur or rum until creamed. Combine the flours, salt, spices, and baking soda; stir. Add dry ingredients to first mixture with the yogurt. Stir in mangos and rhubarb.

Divide evenly and spread into two well-greased 9×5-inch loaf pans — the batter will be very thick.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over the loaves.

Bake at 350° for about 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cool about 10 minutes in the pan and then about 10 minutes outside of pan before diving in.

Have at it.

Pasta Salad Revisited

This weekend marked the second week of my family's favorite farmer's market. It was so great. (But it's always great because it's the best farmer's market in the world.) My husband and I shared a ham and cheese crepe with fresh peppery chives in it - note: chives go v. well with ham and cheese. Who knew? We got some spicy pickled brussels sprouts and a big bag of arugula and some herbs that cost about a third of what I've been paying at the store lately. I also bought rhubarb for the second time in my life and am determined, this time, to use it before it gets floppy. (I'm entertaining the thought of a mango-rhubarb coffee cake or crisp. Thoughts, anyone?) Finally, we got asparagus. I thought we were big asparagus growers here in the midwest, but maybe that's not true. Our co-op, which is fairly dedicated to distributing local produce when available, is selling asparagus from Washington right now. We've never gotten asparagus from our CSA farm, which is in Wisconsin. And at the farmer's market, only one vendor had it, whereas there were several folks selling rhubarb, herbs, various spring greens, and doughnuts. I guess its elusiveness in Minneapolis makes asparagus a hot commodity, in turn making the recipe below not the simple little salad recipe that it appears to be at first glance, but rather a special, get-it-while-you-can-because-you-only-can-briefly-at-least-if-you-live-in-Minneapolis little salad recipe. And a tasty, super healthy one, at that.

It's one of my favorites. It's light and fresh and summery and yet substantial enough to be your whole dinner.

It's the reason I've been on the lookout for asparagus.

Not persuaded? Here are five other reasons to make this: (1) It's inexpensive. (2) I think kids would like it, but I am not positive about that, as my kid's not old enough to. (3) It stores well, so it can travel to a picnic (just add the cheese and olive oil at the last minute before tossing), or if you are only feeding yourself or yourself + 1, it makes enough for tasty leftovers, which can be eaten cold or lukewarm (just microwave for about thirty seconds or so). (4) It is healthy and pretty - I have served it for guests on three occasions and it has consistently gone over v. well. (5) It uses up frozen peas. Maybe you are like me and always happen to have frozen peas in your freezer just begging to be used. "Help! I am a hundred years old! Cook me!" That's what my peas would say if they could talk. Unless you were my company one of those three times I served this for company. Those peas were super fresh.

Pasta Salad Revisited

Adapted from 101Cookbooks

Yield: 4-6 main course servings

1/2 pound cheese or mushroom ravioli

1 bunch fresh asparagus, sliced into 3-inch pieces

2 cups frozen peas

4 big handfuls of baby spinach (or other fresh, coarsely chopped greens)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, toasted

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

olive oil

salt and pepper

Cook the ravioli according to package instructions. Throw the peas and asparagus into the boiling water with the ravioli for the last two minutes. Drain the ravioli, peas and asparagus and run cold water over them until they are no longer hot. Place the spinach in a large serving bowl and add the cooked and slightly cooled ravioli, peas, and asparagus. Top with sunflower or pumpkin seeds and feta cheese. Toss with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

The original version calls for parmesan rather than feta. I'm sure that would be lovely although I've never used it myself. I have, however, added some fresh herbs that I was trying to use up (e.g., mint, basil, scallions, chives, and stevia leaves). While they are by no means necessary, if you have them, they go well with the basic ingredients listed in the recipe.

It is a whole lot of sunny delicious summer here today. I need to get off this compy and take my baby for a walk. Have a good one!