Rhubarb Crunch

Rhubarb? What's that you ask.

Rhubarb is an intensely sour vegetable in the genus Rheum which is popular with many people in a cooked and heavily sweetened form as part of a dessert.

I have a few rhubarb plants in my yard. They have been here for close to 40 years. They are a vegetable that is perennial.
Meaning they come back every year in the beginning of June.

Let's see if they are ripe this a.m.

Nice green foliage with bright red stems...perfect for rhubarb crunch!

(See recipe below)










Now to bring them in to clean.
The leaves are massive! All the leaves must be cut off and thrown away.


Never cook, eat, chew the leaves. They can make you very sick.
Only the stems are edible.



After cleaning they look like this.
Rhubarb is fibrous like celery.











De string some of the rhubarb. The strings are hard to chew and take longer to cook.
Leave as much red skin on the rhubarb as possible.
Cut out any dark spots and cut into 1/2" pieces.











Slice strawberries and add to rhubarb.

Note the frozen strawberries in picture.

I tried to chop some frozen but it didn't work too well.
Be sure to thaw them before use.

Add white sugar. Stir to mix well.









Mix oats, packed brown sugar, white sugar and melted butter till crumbly.

Put rhubarb 8x8 ungreased pan.

Top with brown sugar oat mixture






Bake for about an hour.

Note: I placed the pan on a baking sheet lined with a "Silpat". Any spills will wipe up easily. I wonder if Martha would approve?

Let cool on rack. After cool put in refrigerator.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream
and a scoop of lemon sorbet!








Rhubarb Crunch!

4 cups chopped rhubarb (or about 6-8 good size stems)
1 1/3 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Sliced Strawberries

Crunch
1/2 C Oats
1 C firmly packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C White Sugar
2 Tbsp Melted Butter

1 8x8 pan
350 Degree Oven

p.s. You can purchase Rhubarb frozen in some supermarkets.