Rhubarb-Strawberry Crisp

So I was on the internet and looking through my cookbooks for a good rhubarb recipe. I love rhubarb in desserts but honestly I have never cooked with it before. I know it's in season so I figured why not give it a try. I swear I wasn't even 20 minutes into my search and my friend Christa texted me a picture of her her son cutting rhubarb from her garden and her daughter chopping rhubarb for the muffins they were making. I immediately texted her back and said "Oh my gosh, I was literally just searching for rhubarb recipes minutes ago." She said "I have a bunch at the house, I'm leaving for Peru for 10 days and if you don't take it it may go to waste." So the good friend that I am, went to her house the next day  to pick up a bunch of rhubarb, so it didn't go to waste. Nothing made me more excited! I love getting fresh produce from farmers markets but getting produce from a friends' garden is even better. Plus, she said she would save me a few of her rhubarb muffins…total bonus!

Since I never cooked with rhubarb before Christa educated me a bit on the best way to prepare it. 1) cut the ends off at the base and at the leaves. Make sure to wash it well. 2) Cut it into small pieces 3) Use lots and lots of sugar to offset the tart taste. She also said that rhubarb was easy to grow so I know next season I'll be planting some rhubarb in my garden.

I make an awesome apple crisp so I figured why not make a crisp using the rhubarb and strawberries that I already had. It was so easy to make…in fact easier than an apple crisp because there was no peeling. It took me 15 minutes to prep if that. And the funny thing is that while I was prepping the rhubarb the boys walked by a few times and thought it was celery. When the dessert was ready to come out of the oven I asked Nate to take a peak and smell the deliciousness. He was like YUM! When he asked what it was I told him and he said "Oh no, don't tell me you put that celery looking stuff in there?" I said "don't knock it until you try it." Luckily he did try it because he thought it was amazing! Especially with a huge dollop of whipped cream on top. Salute to Rhubarb-Strawberry Crisp and getting the rhubarb from Christa's garden!

Rhubarb fresh from the garden 

Red juicy strawberries

Crisp topping

Just out of the oven 

Add vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, then indulge yourself!

Rhubarb-Strawberry Crisp (Click to print recipe)

Preparation and cook time: 70 minutes

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 pound rhubarb cut into small pieces, 5-6 stalks
• 1 pound strawberries cut in quarters
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tb cornstarch
• 2 t. lemon juice

For Crisp:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cold and sliced

For topping:

• whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in a bowl. In a 9 x 13 glass dish, coat with cooking spray or butter. Place mixture in glass dish and evenly spread. For crisp, in a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, oats and butter. Using your hands mix until butter is evenly distributed into the flour sugar and oats. Top fruit mixture with crisp. Bake for 1 hour or until crisp is browned and fruit is bubbling. Serve warm and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Food Impressions:

Nate: "I do not want to eat that dessert if it has that celery looking stuff in it." Nate just try it!!! "Oh wow, this is super good. It's sweet and I love the crisp topping."

Tyler: "I really like this dessert."

Zachary: "The crispy stuff on the top is awesome. What kind of fruit is this? Can I have more?"

Dave: Dave is not a dessert guy but I made him try it. "I'm impressed, this is really good without being too sweet."

Andrea: Loved this! Rhubarb was actually easy to use in this recipe and it turned out great. You could really use any fruit in this crisp recipe. I can't wait to add some rhubarb to my garden!