Overflowing with Rhubarb

My mom has a wonderful rhubarb plant, which originated with my great-grandmother, Elsie Lohman, and has been transplanted to each house we've ever lived in. It is an old-fashioned tasting plant; by this I mean sweet not tart like most rhubarb is. My theory is this is why our sugar laden society doesn't consume much rhubarb, as well as it's not commercially grown much.

I digress...anyways rhubarb signifies spring to me and though I'm not much of a fan I do enjoy spring. Spring is definitely in-house here in the Yakima Valley, and for those of you who aren't familiar with the area summer is literally two weeks away. We aren't much for useless seasons like spring and fall around here...winter and summer that's us!

I also enjoy cooking for others. The smile and pure enjoyment shown on their face when they see you've made something special for them is priceless. Cooking for others gives me warm-fuzzies! :) My dad always enjoys my baking; however, he is diabetic, which can make baking for him a bit of a challenge especially when trying to bake/cook in season. Recently, I stumbled upon a diabetic friendly rhubarb recipe online...yippee! So after trying it out ans making some alterations here it is:

Rhubarb Apple Crumble with Equal
Makes 6 servings

Filling:


3 cups peeled, cored 3/4-inch cubed Granny Smith apples (I used Fuji apples instead; they have a great
2 1/2 cups 3/4-inch cubed fresh red rhubarb                        sweet/tart combo taste.)

1/2 cup Equal® Spoonful*
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup water or apple juice (I used water because apple juice has tons of sugar in it!)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (optional) (I omitted this. I was going for sweet but will try it next.)
I also added approximately 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to this & think adding some nutmeg & cloves, or pumpkin pie spice would also boost flavor.)

Topping:

3/4 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1/4 cup raisins (I used golden raisins...auh-mazing!)
1/4 cup chopped nuts (Walnuts worked well.)
1/3 cup Equal® Spoonful**
2 tablespoons stick butter, melted
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Combine apples, rhubarb, 1/2 cup Equal® and cornstarch.
Place in 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Combine water, lemon juice and lemon peel. Pour over fruit
mixture. Cover and bake in preheated 400° F oven 20-25
minutes or until fruit is tender. (I ended up cooking this for closer to 35-40 minutes which made the filling have more of a cobbler consistency.)
Meanwhile, combine oats, raisins, nuts, 1/3 cup Equal®,
butter and cinnamon until well blended. Remove cover from
fruit mixture. Sprinkle with oats mixture. Return to oven
and bake, uncovered, an additional 8 to 10 minutes or until
topping is crisp.

It's important to follow the instructions to avoid globs or cornstarch and Equal.
Serve warm with frozen yogurt, ice cream or whipped topping.


* May substitute 12 packets Equal® sweetener.
** May substitute 8 packets Equal® sweetener.


Here is an amazing looking recipe I found at a blog called Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I haven't had the chance to try it out yet but I'm sure it is yummy, because you KNOW those Mennonite girls can cook! :)

Crust: (use half for the tart)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
milk

Put both the egg yolks in a 1 cup measuring cup . . give them a quick stir with a fork and then add enough milk to make 2/3 cup. In a food processor or large bowl, combine the flour and the salt.
Add the cubed cold butter and pulse until large crumbs form or cut in butter with a pastry blender.
Add the milk and egg mixture until combined.
Use half the crust dough to roll out and line a 10 inch removable bottom tart pan.

Wrap the remainder of the crust dough well in plastic wrap and seal in a heavy freezer bag and freeze for future use. . .unless you double the filling and topping recipe and bake it on a cookie sheet.

Filling
3 cups of thinly sliced rhubarb
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup minute tapioca

Topping:
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Combine the rhubarb, sugar and tapioca and arrange evenly over the crust.
Cover lightly with some foil.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the tapioca is nearly clear.
While the filling is baking stir together the topping ingredients.
Pour over the baked rhubarb filling and bake an additional 15 minutes or until set.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If there are leftovers. . cover with a bit of plastic wrap and refrigerate.