It’s spring I think! It’s lighter out longer, the sun seems to be shining a bit more, and temps are in the 40’s… so I’m thinking it’s spring. When I think of Spring I think of Rhubarb in any dessert. I saw the gorgeous red stalks and I had to make something. So I decided to clean it and slice it, toss sugar, flour, and cinnamon on it, then fill some ramekins. I was out of oatmeal in bulk but I did have packs of instant oatmeal so I used the 3 maple flavored oatmeal packs, ¼ stick of butter, ¾ cup of flour, and 1/3 cup of brown sugar to make my crisp. I mixed those ingredients together and pressed them on top of the rhubarb. I baked them for ½ hour at 350º (remember to preheat your oven). Place them on a lined cookie sheet as the delicious fruit does boil over. I would add rhubarb to bread or just sauté it and use over ice cream or yogurt.
If you see it at the store pick some up and get creative.
There is nothing better than having family over for dinner especially family you don’t get to see often. How lucky were we to have my nephew Jared and his lovely wife Marisa in town from California. Then the added gift of having Elizabeth and Sam… who call me Aunt Pam, also joining us. Their parents, Doug and Sue (my sister’s brother-in-law and wife), drove up from Champaign, and we were a group of ten with my two boys Zach and Josh. Garry and I were thrilled and it was such a wonderful evening.
I have not mentioned that they all brought wine… wonderful reds and whites to compliment the evening. I started this blog talking about how food brings us together and what a gift it is when we have guests to share our table with. This is why we cook, why we have a dining room table and why we say yes, please come to dinner!
