Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

For Father's Day I had my in-laws and my husband's grandmother over for dinner. We were supposed to go to Jay's parent's house, but they decided to come here due to the weather forecast. We grilled a local chicken with homemade BBQ sauce and had salad made from local greens and other local toppings. We also had some local asparagus. My in-laws brought over some racks of lamb chops and some veggies to grill. It was an awesome meal rounded out with some homemade Sauerkraut and Kim Chi.

My mother-in-law was concerned about dessert, so I thought up something easy I could make quickly. I remembered that just a few weeks ago I put away in the freezer a bunch of Rhubarb from my father's yard (and a few stalks from my plants I started a couple years ago) and that we still had some strawberries from Ware Farm in Bear Lake in the freezer. I did a quick online search to find a basic Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp recipe and then made some healthy changes to it.

It turned out fabulous. In fact, everyone raved about it!! My mother-in-law asked me to make it for her 4th of July party too.

Here is my version of the recipe (which I doubled and used a 9x13 pan and baked for approx 45 minutes). I used whole wheat pastry flour and oats from Westwind mill and Caulder's butter. The rest of the ingredients (besides the rhubarb, strawberries, flour, oats and butter) weren't local but were healthy!! We served it with a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side!!

Enjoy!!

Lisa's Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
Serving Size : 4

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups rhubarb cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups strawberries -- if small can use whole, or if big, slice or cut in pieces
1/2 cup rapadura
1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
2 tablespoons organic orange juice

Ingredients for Topping:
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup rapadura
5 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons pecans (or walnuts) -- chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Butter an 8 x 8 inch baking pan
In a mixing bowl combine and toss the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and orange juice
Transfer mixture to the buttered baking dish
Mix the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a bowl
Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or use your fingers until the mixture becomes coarse crumbs
Mix in chopped nuts and spread over the fruit mixture
Bake until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling (30-35 minutes)

Note: Because ovens vary, check the cooking progress of the dessert after 25 minutes.