Honey Rhubarb Crumble

If you're looking for a new spin on a crisp recipe that features rhubarb I have one for you~

I got this recipe from Cooking Light and used up my gifted rhubarb in it.  I like the honey in this and the lime made things kind of pop in an amazing way, especially with the vanilla ice cream.  My blender worked just fine instead of the food processor the recipe called for.  This is one I'll be keeping around--very easy and tasty.

Enjoy!

Honey Rhubarb Crumble

5 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) sliced rhubarb (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon grated lime rind {I couldn't find my grater, so I sliced some off and chopped it up into fine bits}

Vegetable cooking spray

1/3 cup regular oats

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar {I used a little less than 1/4 c.}

3 tablespoons chilled stick margarine, cut into small pieces {I didn't have margarine, so I used butter}

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl, and toss well. Spoon into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Place oats, flour, and sugar in food processor, and pulse 2 to 3 times. Add chilled margarine, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal; sprinkle over rhubarb mixture. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Serve with frozen yogurt.

This was prepared/baked in the camper, which has pretty much no counter top space.  I put a cutting board over the sink to have a surface.  In the future home I've got some counters in mind.

Rhubarb & Lilacs

A friend gave me some rhubarb from her stash and lilacs {in three awesome colors} yesterday.  The lilacs have been scattered in jars everywhere I could stick them--they are by far my favorite flower and I can't help but stick my nose in them every time I pass by them.  The rhubarb is being strategized about to see what it will become.  These two things are the garden items I missed the most when I lived away from the Midwest.  Having access to them makes me feel all is right with the world right now and that I'm in the right spot way up here in the woods...they are pretty powerful things for sure!  I remember in 2006 I traveled to Northern Minnesota for the first time on my way up to Lake of the Woods.  It was an awesome trip...and the lilacs were in bloom everywhere.  It was then that I started thinking that I wanted to live up here.  I remember applying for a position in Baudette and then several around other random cities in Minnesota, but being a teacher for just two years didn't give me much clout.  I landed in Iroquois, which I've always been grateful for.  The forests and the lilacs bewitched me though, and I'm grateful that my travels did land me up here eventually, and that now every year I can take in the lilacs.

Preserves Party

The other day I loaded up some strawberries, rhubarb and canning supplies and headed over to my sister's place where both of us put up two batches apiece of strawberry preserves or some combination of strawberry goodness {I decided to do a strawberry rhubarb preserve and then just a strawberry}.  Both of us are looking forward to doing the same with several more berry varieties this year as well as pickles and more.  What a fantastic way to spend an afternoon!

All of what I do preserve wise is pectin free.  I follow a general recipe of 8 cups fruit and 6 to 7 cups sugar with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon juice.  Instead of skimming I throw in a pad of butter when the fruit starts to boil.  It's never bothered things before, but I've always been kind of curious about whether just skimming would change anything.  Maybe I'll have to try that for my raspberries later this summer.  Boil time is always so variant depending on the fruit, its ripeness, etc...  This time I did close to 4 minutes, but I do like a less set preserve and would rather go in the other direction from "tacky" with what I can.  My preserves go on everything from toast, in peanut butter sandwiches, on pancakes and waffles, and ice cream {just to name a few uses} so it has to be versatile!

Rhubarb Round #2

This would be rhubarb from a Minnesota benefactor...it fills 2 1/2 gallon freezer bags and I couldn't be happier to have such a supply after years of rhubarb deprivation.  This bunch will be made into a cake, custard, then hang around just a little bit to keep some strawberries and raspberries company when they come into season.

I might have to try some of these recipes too!

Rhubarb Cake

This recipe is from my sister's in-laws and the rhubarb is from a North Dakota garden.  It was the first time either of us had made it, and I must say it was nice to do on a Friday afternoon.

Rhubarb Cake

Topping:  

1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon {I will consult with recipe giver, but believe next time I will sprinkle the topping on right when putting the cake in the oven}

Cake:

1/2 c. butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 c. buttermilk

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 c. rhubarb

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add egg and sour milk and mix.  Stir in flour salt and rhubarb.

Bake @ 350* for 35 minutes

The cake proved excellent to enjoy with others after a busy day and again with coffee in the morning catching up on a past episode of Prairie Home Companion way over in Washington {missed a few of those while getting ready for the move}.

I like the base of this cake a lot and am looking forward to trying it with the berries available this summer--strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  Oh my, I believe this is a recipe that will be sticking around a while!

Rhubarb Custard

So, what did that rhubarb become?  One of my favorite rhubarb recipes is an custard one.  I also put it in some little raspberry rhubab mini-pies.

Crust

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup cold butter

 

Filling

2 cups sugar

7 tablespoons flour

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 eggs, beaten

5 cups finely chopped rhubarb

Cinnamon, ground

Topping (optional)

1 package cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

Mix the flour and sugar, then cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Press into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.

For filling, combine sugar a liberal dose of cinnamon and flour in a bowl. Whisk in cream and eggs. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour over crust and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until custard is set. Cool.

For topping, beat cream cheese, sugar and honey until smooth then fold in cream. Spread over top or put in a bowl for eaters to add if they wish.  Chill before cutting and serving. 

Rhubarb and more...

Eating lots of freshly gathered beans and peas and new potatoes, and oh my...rhubarb!  Coming north in July has afforded me the opportunity to appreciate Midwestern gardening again!

will let you know what the rhubarb becomes...

can't wait to garden like this again right there in the dirt...

sitting on the grass, taking in things I used to take for granted is heavenly...
and oh to spend the night in a house built prior to 1930 again amidst a town that still has a water tower...
it feels like home when I get up to this neck of the woods

I'm sure you'll see lots of flower pictures on the blog the next coulple of weeks...love those tiger lillies

squirrel watching at its finest...did I mention I miss squirrels too?

Having a grand time these first few days away from home.