Ready Or Not: Rhubarb

Rhubarb figured prominently in this week's delivery from Farmer Rich for a couple of reasons.

1. I have never baked anything with rhubarb before and I have always wanted to.

2.Other members were eager to bequeath me their shares, claiming they hadn't the time, nor inclination to prepare it anyway.

So a few nights ago, while Izzy was snug in bed, I prepared a Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble. I paired the rhubarb with some perfectly ripened strawberries I purchased from the Union Square Green Market. Once again, a recipe so astonishingly simple yielded vibrantly delicious results.

Smitten Kitchen provided the recipe I had in mind, although next time I may tweak it a bit by reducing the amount of sugar and adding some cinnamon and nutmeg to the crumble part. When it emerged from the oven it looked lucious, as the red juice bubbled about the sides of the dish. I couldn't resist eating a few warm spoonfuls, drizzled with heavy cream.

When Izzy awoke in the morning, he seemed surprised to find it sitting on the table. As a treat, I allowed him to have a few bites for an after breakfast dessert.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

For the topping:

1 1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar, or Sugar in the Raw)Zest of one lemon

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

1 ½ cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered

Juice of one lemon

½ cup sugar

½ cup flour

Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

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, flour and 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.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.