Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Ingredients:

•  2 C rhubarb, diced
• 2 C strawberries, diced

Part I:

• 1 C flour
• 3/4 C uncooked oatmeal
• 1 C brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 C melted butter (1 stick)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Part II:

• 1 C sugar
• 1 C water
• 2 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Start by dicing the rhubarb.

First thing?  You want to lob off the ends:

This part goes straight to the trash.  Or into the garden for compost like we did!

You want to keep this part:

As tempted as you might be to take a big bite of the stalk, DON’T!!!  Rhubarb is very bitter when it’s uncooked.

Don’t worry.  We will add plenty of sugar to make up for it!

Now, dice that rhubarb up!

(Pardon my SOOC pictures.  I figured that you guys would forgive me once you tried this recipe out and died of happiness!)

Dice enough rhubarb up until you have roughly 2 cups.  Each stalk of rhubarb made about 1 cup but it depends how long and/or fat the stalks are.

 

 

See those green bits there in the middle?  Feel free to leave those out.  I got a little close to the ends but, again, enough sugar makes even the most bitter food delicious!  Vivá la sugar!!

Now, onto the strawberries.

Hello, gorgeous.

Again, just lob off the stems and roughly dice ’em up until you get 2 cups!

I absolutely love my Pampered Chef measuring cups.

So easy!

So pretty!

Dishwasher safe!

What more could you ask for??

Chocolate flavoring?

Mmmmmm . . . chocolate.

Alright, back to work.

Mix Part I ingredients until crumbly.

Oh yeah, baby.  Nice & crumbly.

Go ahead and get a pan (I used a 8×11 casserole dish) and butter it.

Don’t be afraid of the butter!  You want the food to end up in your mouth, not stuck to the side of your pan, amiright?!

Once your pan is a cardiologists nightmare, press half of the crumbly goodness into it.  I used a fork to make sure it got all over the corners.

No corners left behind!!

Now, make a layer with your diced strawberries:

Gorgeous!

Add a layer of rhubarb:

Now, set that beautiful creation aside for a bit while you make a glaze.

Combine all of the ingredients listed in Part II:

It doesn’t look like much yet but remember the Ugly Duckling??

Cook that mixture on medium heat until it turns clear.

Pour the glaze over the crumble-strawberry-rhubarb layers and . . .

. . . . the Ugly Duckling has morphed into a beautiful swan!

Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch for now, but trust me, the swan is just around the corner!

Remember the other half of the crumble mix that we made earlier?

Sprinkle it over the top of the glaze:

Let me just take a moment to talk about the wonders of science.  You throw a bunch of uncooked ingredients that, individually are “meh” at best, into a warm oven (specifically 350 degrees for an hour) and you end up with??

Pure deliciousness.

Feel free to serve warm with a side of ice cream.

{Recipe slightly modified from The Basics and More cookbook that was given to me as a wee lass by my grandmother and this cookbook has rarely failed me.}