Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble

This has been an incredibly cold spring, however the rhubarb in my garden is right on schedule.   Years ago my mother bought a rhubarb plant for me as a house warming gift for my place in the country.  She loved rhubarb, and believed that no garden was complete without rhubarb.

The rhubarb plant my mother gave me

 Every spring my mother would make a huge batch of rhubarb stew.  She cut the rhubarb stalks into one inch pieces,  sometimes added chopped ginger, covered the rhubarb with water and boiled the combination until it became mushy.  She would then add sugar until the rhubarb stew was no longer tart and season wth cinnamon.  If strawberries were in season, she would also add berries to the mixture.  My mother would eat this compote in a bowl for breakfast, unadorned, for desert with ice cream or whipped cream, and occasionally spread on toast.  As kids, some of my brothers, but neither my sister nor I, tolerated eating the rhubarb stew. As an adult, I look back and think it was the mushy stringy mess that that was less than desirable rather than the rhubarb itself, unless rhubarb, like liver, is an acquired taste, and something I have grown into over the years.  I recently attended an event where the chef at the new restaraunt in Creemore "The Creemore Kitchen" spooned a similar concoction between split merranges and served with whipped cream.  It was delicous.  

The thing about rhubarb is that if you don't pick it, the stalks get large and stringy and the plant goes to seed.  Once the plant goes to seed, it is not nice to eat, and since my plant gets larger every year, there is a steady supply of rhubarb at this time of year.

I have served rhubarb crumble a few times this spring, once with cranberries and now that the first Ontario strawberries are available at markets, with strawberries and of course with Mad River Ice Cream from the 100 Mile Store in Creemore

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble

serves 4
preheat oven to 350F

• 2 cups of rhubarb,chopped into 1" pieces
• 2 cups of strawberries cut in half
• 2 large tablespoons of honey, I use my neighbour's honey
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped or grated ginger

Crumble Topping

• 2 tablespoons of rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons of coarsely sliced/chopped raw almonds
• 2 tablespoons of finely ground almonds
• 2 tablespoons of brown rice flour
• 2 tablespoons of cold butter cut into small chunks
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon

In a small casserole dish, approximately 6 inches in diameter, layer rhubarb, then strawberries, add dabs of honey on top and then sprinkle with cinnamon and ginger.

In a separate bowl, mix topping dry ingredients.  Add honey and butter and mix with fingers until mostly small lumps.

Spread crumble evenly over top of fruit mixture.  bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until top is golden and fruit is bubbling around edges.

Three Types of Strawberry Jam

The sky opened up and it rained hard on Saturday morning, and all of the local gardeners and farmers were ecstatic.  It had been scorchingly hot, with no rain for a few weeks. My neighbour, Peter, referred to the storm as 'the million dollar rain'.  The local Saturday morning market was a bit sparse and so when I saw the flats of strawberries, I thought strawberry jam, either that, or tackle organizing the basement.  It was an easy decision.  Strawberry Jam.

When I got home I pulled out my Small Batch Preserving, by Margaret Howard,  and found a couple of recipes, one with sherry, and another with balsamic vinegar.  My mother had a fondness for Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry, and I had the remnants of a bottle from years ago in the cupboard.  The other recipe reminded me of one of my favourite deserts, strawberries with balsamic vinegar and crushed black peppercorns. 


After making these recipes there were still strawberries left over, and I thought a classic jam, and so I made what started out to be Plane Jane Strawberry Jam until, Andrea, who was visiting, suggested I add tarragon "just to add a bit of interest", so the third batch is French Tarragon Strawberry Jam.  

Three Types of Strawberry Jam

Balsamic and Peppercorn Strawberry Jam

• 8 cups of small strawberries, cleaned and hulled
• 4 cups of sugar
• 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon of coarsely crushed peppercorns

Combine strawberries and sugar in large stainless steel pot.  Let it stand for at least two hours, stirring occasionally.  Add vinegar and bring to a hard boil and continue boiling gently for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add peppercorns.

Pour into large flat glass or enamel pans to 1/2 inch depth.  Place in oven and bake at 170F for 10 hours, or in a convection oven for 3 hours.  Stir occasionally.


Ladle into 8 oz sterilized bottles and screw on lids.  Process for 10 minutes.  Makes 5 bottles. 

Mom's Harvey's Bristol Cream with Strawberry Preserves

• 5 cups of cleaned and hulled small strawberries
• 4 cups of sugar
• juice of one lemon
• I pouch of liquid fruit pectin
• 1/2 cup of Harvey's Bristol Cream

Stir sugar, lemon and strawberries in stainless steel or enamel pot and let stand for 4 or 5 hours. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring constantly, and boil hard for 2 minutes. remove from heat, and add pectin and sherry.

Ladle into 8 ounce, wide mouthed, sterilized bottles and process for 10 minutes.  Makes 4, 8 ounce bottles.

Andrea's Tarragon Strawberry Jam

• 5 cups of strawberries, half slightly crushed, the other half cut in half
• 4 cups of sugar
• juice from 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 envelop of pectin

Mix berries, lemon juice and sugar and let stand for 8 hours.  Put in stainless steel pot and boil for 5 minutes.  Stir in pectin and cook for another minute.  Remove form heat and stir in tarragon.

Ladle into bottles and process for 10 minutes.  Makes 4, 8 ounce bottles

Canada Day Strawberry and Rhubarb Tart

I currently have  strawberries and rhubarb in my garden. Strawberries and rhubarb are the quintessential early summer combination.  Rhubarb, technically a vegetable, is the very first thing from the garden and as long as it is picked regularly will continue to produce for most of the summer.  Strawberries come later, but are worth the wait.  There is nothing like Ontario strawberries fresh from the field.  They taste like a completely different fruit than the strawberries that come from the southern US and Mexico.

Growing up, we always had rhubarb in the garden, and would often pick buckets of strawberries in a "pick your own" strawberry field to make strawberry jam for the rest of the year, and then indulge in the left over bucket of strawberries, for the next few days -  strawberries and milk for breakfast, strawberry short cake,  strawberry and spinach salad, and my mother's favourite was always strawberry and rhubarb stew.  

It was Canada Day and I so it seemed appropriate to refer to Rose Murray's  book, " A Taste of Canada"  and her recipe for Strawberry and Rhubarb Tart for inspiration.  

Canada Day Strawberry and Rhubarb Tart

Pastry

• 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of cold unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons of ice water

9" tart pan with removable bottom

Sift together dry ingredients.  Cut butter into small pieces and put in flour.  Cut butter into flour until a light crumble.  Gradually stir in cold water adjusting amount until the correct consistency.  Form into flat ball, and roll and fit into 9" fluted tart pan. Prick bottom with fork, and cover with parchment paper, and weigh down bottom.  I use my daughters old marbles, but dry beans or rice also work. 

Bake at 425F for 8 minutes, Remove weights and parchment paper and put back in oven for another 5 to 8 minutes.  I protect the edges by reusing the parchment paper and placing it lightly over the tart.   Cool and remove from tart pan.

Filling

• 4 cups of chopped rhubarb
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of port
• 1/2 cup of black current jelly
• 4 cups of fresh hulled strawberries

Glaze

• 4 tablespoons of current jelly
• 1 tablespoon of port

Combine brown sugar, port and jelly in heavy sauce pan.  Add rhubarb and cook over low heat, storing until the sugar, jelly and port are fluid in constancy.  Turn up heat, storing often, until the rhubarb is a mushy constancy, about 10 minutes.  Cool.

In small pot, heat current jelly and port for glaze.

Fill shell with rhubarb mixture, arrange strawberries, point up in filling, and paint strawberries with glaze.  

This tart is fabulous on it's own, however whipped cream or vanilla ice cream as a compliment push this desert over the top.