Rhubarb has arrived!

After many fits and starts, spring has apparently arrived. I'm still sort of leary of letting my guard down completely -- you never know if we'll get one of those June snow storms -- but for now, it's warm. And along with spring, comes one of my favorite foods: rhubarb. I'm not sure why I like it so much. Maybe it's because it's one of the first things ready in the garden every year. Or because it's tart -- and I like tart. Most people either love it or hate it -- kind of like lutefisk, I guess.

I'm really kind of a fanatic about it. I've been making rhubarb crisps and crumbles, rhubarb cupcakes and muffins, rhubarb sauce and jam and I've got about a dozen packages of rhubarb in the freezer for the rest of the year. (That's not nearly enough, but I'll keep working on it.) I also made rhubarb soda pop this year. It tasts pretty good, but I'm having trouble keeping the bubbles in.

Some people like strawberries in their rhubarb, but I'm more of a purist -- just the rhubarb, please.

Picking rhubarb is fun too. You have to find the stalks that are ready to pick, then pull it with just the right amount of pressure to get the root end along with the stalk. If you pull too fast, it will snap in half--the sign of an amature rhubarb puller for sure.

The big green leaves are pretty impressive too. They're strong and dark crinkly green -- and everyone says they're poisonous. I think I'll take their word for it.

Aunt Delores and Mom trimming leaves
of the first batch of the season.

Cut up rhubarb ready for a crisp.

Adding crumbly topping to the crisp.

My Favorite Rhubarb Crisp

This recipe is very forgiving. You can adjust the amount of rhubarb, the size of the pan and the amount of sugar you use. It will turn out great.

6 cups cut up rhubarb (about 1" pieces)

1 T. flour

2 T. sugar (more, if you like it sweeter)

Pinch of salt

Mix the above ingredients and spread into a buttered 9x13 pan. (The size of the pan is flexible -- use whatever you have.)

Crumble Topping

1 stick of butter, softened

1/2 C. Flour

1/2 C. White sugar

1/2 C. Brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 C. Oatmeal (opt.)

1/2 teaspoon ginger (opt.)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (opt.)

1/2 C. chopped nuts (opt.) Walnuts are great for this.

Mix everything together untill it's crumbly and holds together if you squeeze it -- like wet sand. Spread evenly over the rhubarb.

Bake for about an hour at 350 -- until the crust is brown and the rhubarb is bubbly.

Let it cool a bit before you serve it or you'll burn your face off. Serve with vanilla ice cream or real whipped cream.

Another thing I like to do with this is let it cool completely, then mix it into softened ice cream and put it back in the freezer. Now you have rhubarb crisp ice cream. Yum!