Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars

I pretended it was really spring and almost summer as I made this flavor combo. My Jim loves his strawberry rhubarb pies in the summer, so I hoped these bars would hit the spot.

I made a few small mistakes with the first try.

 

The first try I didn't press the crumb mixture firmly into the pan. I dumped it in and scooted it to the edges, pressing slightly. This made for crumbly bars. They tasted great and we ate most of them but they sure weren't neat. The bottom crust never really came together.

My other mistake was that I used foil to line the pan. The foil stuck horribly to the bars. I may have ingested tiny bits of the foil that just didn't come off. Oh well.

So this second try I hope the bars are much better. They are headed to my work for a friend's 40th birthday surprise!

So I did firmly press the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan. I also used parchment paper to line the pan, and I can tell already that they will cut much easier.

Yay! Great for breakfast or dessert!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars.

 

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Rhubarb Ginger Crumble

I love when my husband utters these words- "I think this is one of the best things you've made yet."

 

I couldn't go wrong combining his loves of rhubarb and ginger. Really. That man is pretty easy to please :)

Another BEB recipe. Seriously, run don't walk to her blog. She's fabulous. I think I'm a groupie.

I did add a bit more than the 2T of chopped ginger. My husband REALLY loves ginger. I knew we wouldn't be disappointed with a bit more.

I also was leery when I accidentally tasted some of the crumble. It is just flour and butter... so it tasted really bland and dry. DUH. You need to eat it with the rhubarb, ginger and sugar mixture. It is plenty sweet and flavorful.

 

My husband was in heaven. I think he was tempted to eat some for breakfast this morning but he has these weird dessert/breakfast rules for himself. (I don't share such rules!) Well, and then I met his demand for pancake balls, bacon, and eggs for breakfast so he didn't really need any dessert. I'm sure he'll have some for lunch :)

Seriously, you should make this. Six simple ingredients! Rhubarb, ginger, sugar, flour, salt, butter. Easy peasy.

OH MY! Just realized I didn't add the little bit of (divided) sugar to the crumble mixture. That's why it was bland! I forgot the 1/2 cup of sugar. And it still tasted good. It will taste even better next time when I make it correctly! My husband's mind WILL BE BLOWN!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Rhubarb Ginger Crumble.

 

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Buttermilk Broccoli and Carrot Slaw & Grilled Pork Chops with Rhubarb Honey Sauce

I cleaned out my refrigerator today and it felt good. I actually know what's in there! So I started to look for recipes that would make use of what I had. I bought bone-in pork chops yesterday that were on sale (buy one, get one free), but I had no idea how to make them. I used my trusty Google Reader to do a search for "pork chops" within my favorite cooking blogs. Sure enough, one of my blogger friends had recently grilled pork chops and the word "rhubarb" popped out at me! I was thrilled. We have so much rhubarb and to find a way to use it in something that is not baked or with lots of sugar- SCORE!

So I set to work on making the citrus mint brine that the recipe suggested. I didn't have orange pineapple juice but I did have orange juice and some pineapple tidbit cups. So I used 4 ounces orange juice and an entire pineapple cup with the juices and fruit. I figured the fruit would add a little extra something something. And lucky me that I had just frozen my fresh mint! It was only $1 for the entire bunch but I hated to waste it. I read one one of my other blogs about how to freeze herbs, and so I was trying it out. I didn't know it would only freeze for a day before I'd use it though.

So as the pork chops sat in the refrigerator, doing their thing, I made this coleslaw. I really just found a recipe for the basic idea of coleslaw. I had a head of broccoli that was beginning to wilt so it was perfect for a slaw. I really really loved this buttermilk dressing! (And wow, I actually had buttermilk in the fridge!) The little bit of cider vinegar was awesome. Who knew that coleslaw dressing is just buttermilk, mayo, apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper?

Other refrigerator/pantry items that I used: chopped red onion, baby carrots (shredded), sliced almonds.



So I didn't really follow the recipe exactly. Smitten Kitchen didn't use carrots. She also added dried cranberries but I didn't have those.

Back to the chops- I made the rhubarb sauce ahead of time. It was easy enough but it took longer than I thought. It didn't demand constant attention, but I needed to stir it every 4-5 minutes for a total of like 20 minutes I think. I liked the sauce but I think I would take it easy on the cinnamon and allspice if there is a next time.

The porkchops cooking on my grill pan-



Dinner!


Jim and I liked the porkchops but we really liked the slaw. We had second helpings of it!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Broccoli Slaw.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Pork Chops with Rhubarb Honey Sauce.

Strawberry Extravaganza!

I went a little nuts today with the strawberries. My son and I went strawberry picking and we came home with 5 pounds! I didn't really have a plan but I found some easy things to make that didn't require a lot of planning or extra supplies.

First up, strawberry preserves. I don't have a finished picture, like on toast, but so far so good. I opened a jar and it seems to have set well and it's nice and chunky with fresh strawberries. It's also a little tart from the lemon zest and juice. Yum.





Second, the Strawberry Rhubart Tarts. I went searching on one of my favorite food blogs for anything with strawberries and rhubarb and this was perfect. It was something new when I really wanted to go with something familiar, like last summer's Strawberry Handpies, so I'm glad I headed into the unknown. I really am very glad that I made these, they are wonderful! I loved that I got to use my little tartlet pans and they are a perfect portion size. (We tend to overeat our sweets in this house :)

I was a little confused when I followed the recipe at the end, mixing the strawberries and rhubarb with cinnamon, brown sugar, and an egg. I figured it would work out well. Uh, yeah!

In between making the top two delicious items I was making Strawberry Frozen Yogurt, from none other than David Lebovitz. So easy! I think I might have found my favorite way to use my ice cream maker. It feels healthier using organic plain yogurt instead of the heavy cream and whole milk, and eggs, and lots of sugar.

It felt like all day I was cutting strawberries, mixing with it sugar, and letting it get happy for a while before using it in my cooking/baking. Lots of dishes going on! It was all so worth it! I'm trying to decide if I should go strawberry picking again next week- maybe make a whole pie! Oh my Jimmy would love me so much if I made a true strawberry rhubarb pie! (Did you notice that every sentence in this paragraph ended in an exclamation mark?!)

Yes, exciting stuff! Great day! :)

I am sharing some of the jam (it made two half pint jars), probably with my mother-in-law, and then I froze the remaining tarts after Jim and I each had one for dessert. I'm sure Jim will dig in tomorrow again though :)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Preserves.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Frozen Yogurt. (Perfect Scoop)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts.