Saturday, June 18, 2011

strawberry rhubarb crumble.

i made this june 4 . . . after spending the late morning blowing bubbles with miss eliyah while her parents went on a fishing trip with the youth of our church and a few of my siblings. 
our rhubarb plants near the back of the garden have been growing nicely. they're pretty handy, i must say.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble
Yields 6 to 8 servings

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (some commenters found the flour option a little too, well, floury so this has been updated)
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.

2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (I used an oval dish this time, because they fit better in the bottom of a shopping bag.)

3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a (foil-lined, if you really want to think ahead) baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.
that was the day that i surfed purevolume for 2 minutes and found a great band out of the blue: he is we.
acoustic indie pop? 
sure. i love that. :)
in ze oven.
sigh:)
there was so much butter in that topping. 
and it was awesome.
the next day's outfit at church. i had only worn that grey lacey dress (maurice's) with skinny jeans before, but it was hot outside and this worked out dandy. :)
you'd never guess what i had for dinner sunday night, right? ;)
right around sunset time, some evenings i love going out and sitting in one of the chairs made by a friend (or ben) . . . it's like that time of day draws me outside. like a magnet, to go for something normal and un-quirky.
the temperatures are nearly always the best at that time. 
most of the time, there's a perfect breeze.
and the hues of color in the sky through the leaves and houses are beautiful.

now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy....[jude 1:24]