Rhubarb = Tart goodness
I was born in Nebraska and lived with family near for the first 12 years of my life. How comforting it is to have memories of grandparents near enough to spend life stories with and not just holidays, or to have cousins running in and out of your weekends just because being together was how time was spent. Sadly, my parents felt that a change of locations might be best for all and then even that became too close and then four turned into three and we have just continued to spread thinner and farther apart.
While on some of those weekend visits with my Grandma I can remember her getting out a sharp knife and we would head out back to her rhubarb patch. She was going to make rhubarb pies. My favorite was always her chocolate meringue pie but rhubarb was always a treat too. She would always remind me that those big elephant ear shaped leaves were poison but that the stalks although bitter when fresh would cook up into a wonderful tart goodness.
I have one rhubarb plant and it goes to seed way to quickly but I whack it into submission and then we have some tart goodness around here. A very fast favorite is to take some rhubarb stalks, cut them into about 1 inch pieces, put them in a pan with about a 1/2 cup of water, a cup of sugar and maybe half a box of strawberry flavored jello. Cook until the rhubarb is very soft and everything is sorta syrupy ( you can add some cornstarch if it doesn't thicken enough) . Let cool a bit and then eat over vanilla ice cream.
Here is a recipe I wish I could have made for my Grandma. She would have loved this I think.
Rhubarb Cherry Crunch
1 Cup granulated. sugar
3 T cornstarch
1 Cup cold water
1 21 oz can cherry pie filling
1/2 teas. almond extract
1 Cup rolled oats
1 Cup flour
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teas.salt
1/2 Cup butter
4 Cups chopped rhubarb
1/4 Cup chopped nuts
1. In med. sauce pan, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly; cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in pie filling and almond extract. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar and salt. Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press 2 cups of the mixture onto the bottom of a greased 13x9 in baking dish or cake pan. Spoon the rhubarb evenly over crust. Spread with cherry mixture. Combine remaining crumbs and nuts; sprinkle over top.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 mins. Serve warm or at room temp. It is great with ice cream or whipped cream.
Enjoy!!!
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