the best strawberry rhubarb crumble ever

This is the best strawberry rhubarb crumble ever, no foolin'. Sure I can be a bit generous in my praise at times, but trust me on this one. Go make this dessert now. Skip ahead to the recipe. I'll wait.

I made this dessert a while ago and I can't believe that I haven't posted it until now. Not only is it the very best crumble that I have ever made, but it's so perfect for this time of year when local rhubarb and strawberries have started to appear at farmer's markets around town. Throw a scoop of ice cream on top and hot-diggity-dog! Or spoon some into a bowl of hot Scottish oats the next morning and make your breakfast cry out for more.

I adapted the recipe from Smitten Kitchen and it will definitely turn into a staple for all kinds of fruit come summer and fall. I can imagine some pretty amazing magic with nectarines, raspberries and blueberries in July. But for now, I'll just have to look fondly at these photos and drool slightly over my keyboard.

strawberry rhubarb crumble
4 stalks rhubarb, diced
3 c strawberries, quartered
juice of one small lemon
1/4 c sugar (I used fruit sugar)
3 T cornstarch
pinch nutmeg

topping
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 T brown sugar
3 T raw sugar
zest of one lemon
1/4 c melted butter + 1 T olive oil
1/4 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375F. Add the rhubarb and strawberries to a casserole pan, tossing with the sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg. Squeeze in lemon juice and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine all the topping ingredients, except walnuts. Using a wooden spoon, stir everything until clumps form. Use your hands to scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Sprinkle top with walnuts. Bake for 45 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit have created a bubbly sauce. Cool slightly and serve with ice cream.

a rhubarb schlump

When I was little, my parents had a little garden patch in the backyard where we grew all kinds of things: raspberries, corn, carrots, chives, lettuce and always, always rhubarb. Strangely enough being the sour-lover that I am, I wasn't a fan. It just looked too much like celery and I just didn't understand the attraction that made my parents and brother head out to the garden patch with a bowl of white sugar where they would dip and chomp their sugar-coated stalks like nobody's business. Besides eating it raw, my mom would eventually make a rhubarb compote or a crumble....it was like my family was trying to poison me! To me, this wasn't dessert, it was h-e-double hockey sticks. But then I grew up and fell in love with that strange fruit. Rhubarb, what's not to love! I've eaten it raw, turned it into crumble...hell, I've even made compote. But one thing I've never had was the strawberry-rhubarb combo. Cornelius assured me it was a perfect pairing and after trying my hand at this decidedly schlumpy, but totally knock-your-socks-off cake, I can agree. Strawberry and rhubarb rocks.

This cake tastes great on it's own, but you can dress it up with whipped cream or ice cream and turn it into a real treat. Or eat it up for breakfast with a dollop of yogurt, like we did in the photo above.

schlumpy strawberry-rhubarb pudding cake
2 c chopped rhubarb
2 c strawberries, cut in half
1/4 cup water
1 t cornstarch
1/4 c plus 1/2 c sugar
1 c flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c almond milk (soy or dairy would be fine too)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c butter, melted
1 t vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400. In a medium sized saucepan, dissolve the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of sugar in water over medium-low heat. Add rhubarb and bring to a simmer, stirring occassionally for a few minutes. Turn off heat and add in strawberries and stir so the 2 fruits can mingle.

2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. In a larger bowl, mix together the milk, egg, butter and vanilla. Add the dry to the wet and gently combine.

3. Butter up a baking dish (I'm sure a 8 or 9 inch square or round pan would work - I used an old Pyrex dish) and add all but 1/2 c of the strawberry-rhubarb mixture. Top with cake batter and then drizzle the remaining portion of fruit overtop. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream, ice cream or yogurt.

the not-so-humble crumble

One of the easiest desserts ever is the humble crumble. Or crisp. Whatever you call it, it barely calls for a recipe and it's delicious. When a crumble presents itself on the table, Cornelius is ready to bow down in its greatness. He looks down at me (he is well over six feet tall) with utter love in his eyes, "You made this for me?". It's a win-win situation. In talking about preparation, Cornelius is all for purity. "Two fruits, max", he lets me know. To me, that's just too little and always too late. Why settle for just 2 fruits when three kinds of fruit will just make everything better. Hell, I've been known to add four kinds of fruit...the more the merrier!

This crumble is a compromise. A three fruit marriage that isn't meant to last. In fact, I was hoping to eat this for breakfast the next morning with a plop of coconut yogurt, but Cornelius finished the leftovers before bed.

three fruit crumble
2 stalks of rhubarb, chopped into half moons
1 granny smith apple, diced
1 cup of strawberries, cut in half or quarters (I used frozen)
1/4 c - 1/2 c brown sugar (or so, depending on the sweetness of the fruit)
2 t cinnamon
1 large pinch of ground cardamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1 large pinch of nutmeg

1. Mix all the above into a medium sized oven proof dish, covering all the fruit with the sugar and spices.

2. Prepare the crumble topping:

2 T oats
2 T flour
2 T brown sugar
2 T cold butter (or vegan margerine)
2 T chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, blend topping ingredients (except walnuts) with your fingers. Stop when crumble resembles small peas. Pour over top of fruit and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until fruit becomes soft and juicy and crumble turns golden brown.

summer licks

First off, may I direct you to the mp3 blog, Shake Your Fist, where I was asked by the lovely Amy to write a guest post about music. I LOVE music but haven't written about it in ages, so it was a bit nerve-wracking and I was sure the moment that I finished the post I'd be hit with regret for not including this song or that song. But it was a fun post to write and thank you to Amy for asking!

iced coffee
It's summertime and the living is easy. I may drink my coffee hot in the morning, but by the afternoon, I take any leftover coffee out of the fridge and serve it up right. A little simple syrup (which is just equal parts water & sugar that have been boiled together), some milk and lots of ice and I've got a drink that Mr. Brown would be proud of.

strawberry-pineapple popsicles
Another thing I can't get enough of are popsicles. At all times, our fridge is stocked up with these homemade icy treats. I wrote about these last summer and I feel it's time again for a refresher, because they are beyond simple to make and so refreshing. Last time I added some vanilla yogurt for creaminess, this time I just blended up some frozen strawberries, pineapple juice and fresh lime juice, poured the mix into molds and into the freezer they went. Yum.

easy peasy snacks

Last night we had some friends over. They brought over the 1958 Newport Beach Jazz Festival dvd and the Monterrey Pop Festival dvd. We promised them snacks. Because it's been so hot, I didn't really want to do any serious cooking or baking, so I came up with 2 tasty and super-easy snacks.

Snack no.1: Popsicles
Start this one early in the day, so you can eat them by nightfall. In a blender, put in the following: a handful of frozen strawberries, homemade lemonade to cover berries and then some, and 2-3 tablespoons of vanilla yoghurt. Blend at high speed until mixed. You may have to add some more lemonade if it's too thick. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Ultra delicious.


*note: You can substitute any kind of berry or juice to this "recipe". I've made it with orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, etc. and have used blueberries, black berries, bananas (for cornelius only, cuz i hate them!), or peaches.

Snack no. 2: Lemony-Garlicy Green Beans
1 lb of fresh green beans, trimmed
2 cloves of garlic, minced (1 clove if you aren't among friends)
2 lemons, juiced
2-3 T of olive oil
rock salt

Steam the green beans until bright green and crisp. You don't want to over cook these. Crisp = delicous! Drain and rinse in cold-cold water. At this point, I put the beans in the freezer just to get extra cold while I mixed the dressing. For the dressing, mix the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil together. Transfer beans into a nice serving dish and pour dressing over top. I tossed the beans and the dressing together with my hands. Sprinkle generously with rock salt and serve. It's better than chips. Seriously.


* these are the left over beans from last night. the lemon juice "cooked" them so they aren't so crisp or green, but they still are tasty! also, you may find them too lemoney, and if so, cut down on the lemon juice.

a photo, finally....with strawberry shortcake

Last weekend for my soon-to-be mother-in-law's birthday, I made a strawberry shortcake. this incredibly easy strawberry shortcake recipe to be exact. It tasted as great as it looked. I've actually never made or even eaten a strawberry shortcake before, so I wasn't sure if I was making it correctly. The cake batter was heavy and thick, so I figured the batter would turn out much more like a biscuit than a cake. It did, which was a perfect texture for soaking up all the berry juice. It wasn't overly sweet and it made the most perfect dessert.

I'm also extra happy for the under $5 glass cake plate & dome that we got on clearance! Pretty as a picture!

Best Strawberry Shortcake
(from Nick Malgieri)

Filling
4 c sliced fresh strawberries
2 T sugar
1 c heavy whipping cream
2 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract

Shortcake
2 c self-rising flour
2 T sugar
8 T unsalted butter
1 large egg
2/3 c cream

1 8-inch pan, buttered, lined with parchment or wax paper


1. To make filling, combine sliced berries and sugar and allow to macerate, covered, in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. Whip cream with sugar and vanilla, cover and refrigerate.

2. For the shortcake, preheat oven to 450 degrees and set a rack in the middle level.

3. Combine flour and sugar in bowl of a food processor outfitted with the metal blade and pulse several times to mix. Cut butter into 8 pieces and add. Pulse 12 to 15 times to reduce to fine crumbs. Whisk egg and cream together and add. Pulse several times to mix. At this point the dough will be very soft. Scrape dough into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until well colored and firm, about 15 to 20 minutes. Invert from pan to a rack to cool.

4. To assemble, split shortcake and place one round on a platter. Top with half the berries and half the cream. Place second layer of shortcake on top of cream and repeat with remaining berries and cream. Serve immediately.