It's Rhubarb Time

One of the first fresh ingredients to cook with in the spring is rhubarb!  Every good country cook waits eagerly for the arrival of those juicy red stalks for making pies, cakes, jams, jelly, crisps and many other recipes.  We have some growing here at Honey B Farm, but it's not enough for making big recipes (like jelly) or freezing.  I got a nice batch of it from a friend from our church.  He has so much of it he begs folks to come out to his farm and pick what we want.   Tonight Harold also harvested about a dozen huge stalks from our own growth, too.  And rhubarb is good for you!  It is a good source of Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium, Potassium and Manganese. 
     Tonight I made our favorite rhubarb crisp.  I also cooked up a bunch of it with some water to make the juice for a batch of jelly, which I will make tomorrow evening. 

A nice pick of fresh rhubarb, ready for delicious recipes

Tonight's dessert - Rhubarb Crisp and ice Cream!

In case this got your mouth watering for some good rhubarb, here's the recipe for the crisp.  It is my version of a recipe found in the cookbook, Pine to Prairie Vol II. 

 

RHUBARB CRISP

 

Get a 9 x 9 pan ready.  Cut up 4 c. of rhubarb into small dice.  Mix with 3/4 c. sugar, 2 T. flour, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.  Spread into the pan and sprinkle with 1 T. red jello powder (can use cherry or raspberry or strawberry).  This is optional, but it makes for a nice red color to the crisp.   In a bowl, work together with fingers or a pastry cutter: 

1/4 c. butter, 3/4 c. brown sugar, 2/3 c. flour and 1/2 c. oats.   Put this mixture over the rhubarb in the pan.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 min until bubbly and rhubarb is tender.  When just warm, serve with ice cream.