Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sweet Sunday

After days and days of rain, I decided we needed some summer cheer, so tonight I made strawberry-rhubarb crisp with local fruit from Lull Farm in Hollis, NH--our favorite farm stand of all time, and they have now expanded to mind-boggling proportions while still retaining their old-fashioned appeal.  Dreamy food, flowers, and cool cats who hang around while you shop.
I bake a lot, and I often experiment with proportions and ingredients, so nothing in this recipe is written in stone.  The nice thing about crisps is that you don't have to be as exact as other kinds of baking.  Cherries would be nice in this, too.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
~Toss about 6 cups of washed and cut strawberries and rhubarb in a baking dish.
~Make your crisp topping:
  • 2/3 cup unbleached flour (I like to use 1/3 cup white and 1/3 cup wheat, but all white flour is fine, too)
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • about 3/4 cup to 1 cup white sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
  • zest of one lemon (or one orange, whichever you have)
  • (Sometime I toss in a handful of chopped almonds, especially if I'm using cherries)
~Stir all these dry ingredients together, then with a pastry blender (or just your fingertips), cut in:
  • 8 to 10 tablespoons of cold, diced, unsalted butter
~Work the butter in until it is coarse and crumbly.  
~Sprinkle the fruit with the crisp topping and bake 40-50 minutes.
~Serve warm (I can't wait more than a minute) with vanilla ice cream on the side.
~Tuck in and enjoy!


10 comments:

  1. How does one send drool via cyberspace? Your new masthead puts me in mind of my very favorite William Morris pattern -- The Strawberry Thief -- apparently inspired by some thrushes who managed to negotiate his berry nets, and whom he suffered to stay. We're heading to Maine today -- the kids look forward to seeing you and Todd (to say nothing of Jonathan and myself!).

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  2. Strawberry time...rhubarb time...put them together and you get YUM! LOL! Thank you for this delicious recipe. I just love strawberries. Your new banner is gorgeous...And speaking of gorgeous--your previous post with wedding musing was so lovely. Hubby & I have been married 9 years, early next spring we celebrate the big 10th anniversary...I'm musing on weddings and finery too ;o) Happy Week!

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  3. Oh that looks just divine!! LOVE strawberries!

    Kellie x

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  4. My all-time favorite combination - strawberries and rhubarb! YUM! I'm drooling....

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  5. And you bake? Oh yes! I knew we would be best friends in no time. : )
    This sounds sooo good!
    I have a rhubarb bush in my backyard. ; )

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  6. Thanks, fabulous women! Nancy, I was thinking about the strawberry thief. I'm not kidding!! William Morris is my god in most things design. Can't wait to see your amazing kids and their amazing parents. Let us know what will work for you. We'll be at my mum's for the 2nd through 4th o' July.
    xo Gigi

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  7. This sounds and looks absolutely delicious :)

    Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my blog, I am so glad you are enjoying it.

    Have a good day :)

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  8. Got a ton of company coming for the fourth... think I'll try this recipe although my humble strawberry patch will fall short of supplying the fruit. Besides the lack of sunshine, the slugs are feasting on the few berries which have managed to turn red. UGH! Still waiting for the rhubarb to take real hold. This is its second year. Truth be known, I am almost as excited for the leaf as I plan to make a hypertufa birdbath over the form of the leaf and a mound of sand.

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  9. Let me know how it turns out if you make it. It serves 8-10 people, I'd guess. The two of us have been eating the leftovers every day. Yum. I'm so intrigued by your rhubarb-leaf birdbath idea, by the way!

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  10. There's only one thing to say...My mouth is watering!

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