When I was growing up, my family grew heirloom rhubarb.  Truly heirloom plants that my grandparents brought with them when they moved to Rochester, NY from Connecticut.  Those original plants were split and shared.  And, we never mixed our rhubarb with other fruit.  My mom always just made rhubarb pie or rhubarb crisp or rhubarb sauce.  One of my very first forays into jam making was rhubarb.

As Father’s Day rolled around, I wanted to make something rhubarb because it is one of my father’s favorites.  I asked my mom about the rhubarb crisp she often made when we were growing up and she matter-of-factly said, “I just used my grandmother’s apple crisp recipe.”  “No sugar in the rhubarb?” I queried.  She simply said, “No.”  So I tried it.  Sure enough, she was right.  It’s got just the right amount of tart to balance the sweet of the crisp topping.

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Making Rhubarb Crisp

Brown sugar, butter, oatmeal and flour mixed to create a topping for the rhubarb from the farm stand down the road. (Try as we might, we have failed at cultivating rhubarb on three different occasions here at the Crooked Vane Farm.)  Since we mix the butter into the sugar, oatmeal and brown sugar, I use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into it until it crumbly.  You probably want the butter pieces to be about the size of pebbles.

Spread the cut rhubarb on the bottom of your baking dish and cover with the crisp topping.  Bake.  Actually, it’s a pretty easy dessert–perfect for your Fourth of July celebrations.  The only problem is heating the oven on a hot day.

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The original recipe says to use a 8×8 pan, however, I used this awesome oval pyrex casserole dish that I inherited from my grandmother when she downsized.  It it the perfect size for many a kitchen project.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  Mine was bubbling and the crisp part looked like it was crisped(?).  Serve hot with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or cold.  It’s super both ways.

Enjoy!

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