Fresh From the Farm Begins Again!

I was super excited this week to harvest my first crop of the season: curly kale and some lovely rhubarb!  The kale I planted last winter and the rhubarb I inherited from the previous owners.  Definitely signs that spring has sprung.

I chopped up the kale and sauteed it with some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes, my standard for these kinds of veg.  Because it was so young and tender, the kale didn't have any of the bitterness that is usually associated with the more mature leaves.

As for the rhubarb, it's a funny plant.  It puts out these huge, luscious leaves which are poisonous to human consumption, so the only parts that we can (and should!) consume are the stalks.  

Strawberries and rhubarb are a natural pairing and so pretty (and tasty!) together.  I decided to put together a fruit crumble, which when eaten warm and topped with vanilla ice cream, is just a spectacular combination of textures and flavors--sweet and tart, and warm and cool.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble (adapted (barely) from Smitten Kitchen)

This is a simple recipe that uses melted butter so you don't have to spend a lot of time cutting it into flour.  Also, the use of baking powder cuts down on the need for additional butter (many recipes I looked at took 11/2 - 2 sticks) so with the fruit inside, this can almost be considered health food! :)

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons sugar
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional--I used walnuts but any kind would do)

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F and chop the fruit.  Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt and put the filling into a deep pie pan or oval baking dish.

Prepare the topping by mixing together the flour, baking soda, sugar, lemon zest, and melted butter until you get small and large clumps.  Pile the topping evenly on the fruit filling and pinch together some crumbs for variation in size on the topping.  Put into oven and put a baking sheet in the tray underneath to catch any bubbling fruit juice.  Bake until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 minutes.

Serve warm with French vanilla ice cream.  It doesn't get much better than this!