Harvested Rhubarb and A Rhubarb Berry Crumble

[All Photos - The Grower's Daughter]

My rhubarb seems to just be exploding this year, which is probably due to all the rain we've been getting.

I am not complaining though! I love fresh Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, Stewed Rhubarb over Custard, and my latest making; Rhubarb Berry Crumble! I've been trying to freeze as much as I can, so I can enjoy this lovely seasonal treat all year long.

Here is the easiest recipe for Rhubarb Berry Crumble. It's paired perfectly with some vanilla icecream, making it a lovely early summer dessert.

Rhubarb Berry Crumble

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the Fruit Filling:

In a medium saucepan, bring a pint of blackberries and raspberries, as well as about 5 cups of chopped and cleaned rhubarb, with 1 cup of sugar to a boil. Add 1 tsp. cinnamon, if desired, and continue stirring occasionally until everything is stewed nicely. About 20 minutes. If the mixture seems a bit runny, I mix 1 tsp. clear gel with about 1/8 cup of cold water and whisk in to thicken.

While stewing the fruit, hand mix the following ingredients for the Crumble in a large bowl:

2 cups flour

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 sticks of butter, softened

Mix everything thoroughly with hands together, similarly to how you would cut in butter when making pastry. Crumble should stick together when compact, but break apart easily when dropped. Add a bit more flour or butter if the consistency is either too moist, or too dry.

Next, take an 8" x 11" pan and sprinkle half of the crumble mixture in the bottom. Pour fruit over layer, and add the remaining crumble to the top, one handful at a time to give it a nice crumbly look. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until nicely golden brown on top, and remove. Serve warm over vanilla icecream.

Enjoy!

Stalks should be between 1 1/2" and 2 1/2" in thickness, firm, and a nice dark pink in colour. Harvesting season is between late spring through summer.

I've learned that when picking the rhubarb, it's important not to cut the stalks off with a knife, but rather grip them near the base, wiggle a bit and gently pull them from the main plant. They easily break off and apparently it's best for the plant.

The crumble looks so gorgeous when served up in vintage Hall custard dishes and pretty silver plated spoons.

Waiting Out the Rain

[Martha Stewart Living]

This morning we awoke to the sounds of rain, again. It's put a damper on my plans to prepare my raised beds in my vegetable garden. Our patch consists of four 4 x 4 raised plots, an 8 x 8 unraised plot, a few feet of raspberry bushes and a small cluster of rhubarb.

The beds need to be weeded and raked because it's almost time for me to begin planting. But, all this rain is making for some overly muddy soil, not dry enough for prepping.

They are forecasting periods of sun for the middle of the week, so hopefully I will be able to get out there soon!

[Unknown]

If only I had a glass house to work in... Wouldn't it be a lovely way to spend a rainy day?

[Unknown]

It wouldn't even have to be large... This one is the perfect size!

Happy Monday girls.

PS. 50 billionth attempt at making proper French Macarons - - - failed. Again. Why can't I just give up and move on?

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Later that afternoon...

I'm happy to report that the rain momentarily let up this afternoon, so on went the boots, and outside we went! Garden prepping has officially begun.

Every time I got them perfectly leveled, along he came with his rake.

His rubber boots are his favourite. When he was just learning to stand, they came all the way up his thighs, so they helped balance him. It was the cutest thing... they still are.

Inspiration - The Garden

While flipping through this month's issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I especially enjoyed their Fresh Living feature. It was a garden inspiration work space.

The idea is to collectively store your seed packets, catalogues, garden plans and inspirations in one space. I found this especially useful for myself, as my seeds and markers are in one place, my inspirations in another and so on and so forth.

One thing my garden has always lacked is a vegetable garden. I have a rather large yard with a rather large vegetable patch, but it's most definitely not being used to it's potential. Year one of it's un-use was excused because of a very pregnant me. In year two, I had my husband make me 4 small plots to make a more manageable garden. I figured it would be more successful if I started out small. This year however, my goal is to optimize the space to produce a bountiful crop from late spring until early fall. It's something that will take a lot of work and maybe most importantly, a lot of discipline. I just feel as though it's my responsibility to make the most of what I've been blessed with.

Here in Ontario, in the heart of the green belt, we have rich soil and optimal growing conditions. I have the opportunity to plant a large variety of crops. I have the time to maintain a garden and I have a son who can learn the rewards of harvesting something you've planted and tended to. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and try to prepare my meals with fresh, farm stand ingredients so why not ones I've grown myself?

This morning, I took my first step in the right direction. I ordered my Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalogue. I've been collecting photos for inspiration and I've been making lists of my favourite produce that I would love to have readily available. I'm assembling my own garden inspiration workspace in my basement until spring arrives and I can transform my potting shed.

With thoughts of juicy heirloom tomatoes and crisp lettuces, I'm sketching out my garden-to-be. I have a trip planned to the library this afternoon to try and find some helpful gardening resources. There's no point in planting a garden if you don't know how to properly tend to it, right? Gardening is in my blood - I come from a long line of green thumbs so I think it's time I exercise mine!

The Baker Creek Seed Catalogue is mailed out to over a quarter of a million gardeners each year. It's available on their website here and is free (a $5 shipping charge is applied).

This is the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Bank in Petaluma, California. It's quite literally an old bank.

Baker Creek has over 1,400 heirloom seeds available and is a favourite of many a gardener, including Martha Stewart!