Strawberry-Rhubarb "I Want to Strangle a Chapter of my Diss" Crisp

The other day I saw rhubarb at our local Mejier. Now, my mother always told me not to get rhubarb past the 4th of July, but it looked really good and I hadn't had hardly any rhubarb this summer. It's kind of a past-time -- we always have rhubarb at our house during the summer. I remember Mom going out and getting some, making rhubarb crisp, the tang and the sweet melting in with the vanilla ice cream we always ate it with. It always made the house smell, distinctly, a little like a sweet tart. I think I was looking for a piece of home, maybe some comfort food. As you can tell from the title, I am ready to strangle my second chapter of my dissertation. I am going over it with my dissertation director tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

Anyway, instead of working on the chapter, like I should have been doing, I made this crisp. It turned out really well, if I do say so myself. Yum! You'll see the cast of characters at the top -- pretty, diced rhubarb and sliced strawberries. It's an easy recipe, really, and apparently fool-proof. The last time I tried a cobbler-like dessert, it looked like I'd cooked it for four hours, and tasted like it, too. What a waste of expensive fruit that was.:P But, this one, this one has my vote of confidence.

Ophelia got a break with this one, for the most part. This crisp called for my trusty old pastry cutter. There is something really satisfying about using a pastry cutter. I think I like what it represents -- you separate the parts of many things to make a different thing from the parts. Plus, this crust and topping had a ton of butter -- hello, Paula Deen, it's nice to meet you. No I did not sneak a taste. Not at all. I wouldn't do such a thing. I come by this figure naturally, of course.

Ophelia did play a supporting role in this ensemble, mixing the cornstarch, water and sugar for the glaze mixture. I think she was happy to not be in the spotlight for this one, to tell you the truth. All the attention was making her uncomfortable, so she thought she'd share the limelight.

I really liked this recipe for the most part. I didn't have the 9 inch square pan that the recipe called for, so I used an 8 inch pan and just cooked it 10-15 min. longer. It turned out just fine. Just fine enough that I haven't shared it with anyone. Whoops. Maybe that's my mentality with my dissertation? Maybe?

Strawberry-Rhubarb "I Want to Strangle a Chapter of My Diss" Crisp
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
4 1/2 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Press 1/3 into an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan (see my comment above for what I did instead -- I'll have to try with a 9-in square pan yet). Combine rhubarb and strawberries; spoon over crust. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the water and vanilla; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Pour over fruit. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour (1 hour 10-15 min. if in a 8-in square pan). Serve with ice cream if desired (it would also be good with homemade whipped cream). The crust does get a little bit soggy, but I found that if you only put a 1/3 of the crumb mixture in the bottom of the pan (the original recipe called for 1/2), it gets a little bit more crispy. It's also good to serve this to people right away. Enjoy!