Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

I love rhubarb season! It's one of the first things to appear at the farmers market each spring and leads the way for all the other local fruits and veggies to come! I came to my love of rhubarb later in life, as I don't think I was ever exposed to it until after college.



These bars are typically make in a square or rectangular plan, but as you can see, all I could find was a round one. I put the excess in a loaf pan and baked that up, too. Whatever works for you; this isn't one of those fussy desserts. The star of the show is the taste and texture - crunchy, buttery top and bottom layers and the nice sweet/tart filling sandwiched in between! I had a piece still warm from the oven and topped it with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt. The bars firm up quite a bit after they are cooled.

I adapted a recipe from Culinary in the Country, which is an awesome blog that you should check out: http://desertculinary.blogspot.com/2005/05/strawberry-rhubarb-oatmeal-bars.html I added cinnamon and coconut to mine because I think they go together so well with rhubarb.



Recipe

Filling:

• 1/2 cups 1" chopped fresh rhubarb



• 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries



• 1 tablespoon lemon juice



• 1/2 cup granulated sugar



• 2 tablespoons cornstarch



• 1/4 cup cold water

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  


• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  


• 1/4 cup shredded coconut (I used sweetened but unsweetened would be good)
  


• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  


• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  


• 1 tsp cinnamon
  


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  


• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  


• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  
  

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 9"x 13" pan.

Prepare Filling:

1. Cut strawberries and rhubarb into roughly 1" pieces.


2. Cook rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepot over medium heat until rhubarb begins to soften - about 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent any burning or sticking.


3. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water (this is called a slurry and prevents the cornstarch from clumping) and then add to rhubarb strawberry mixture. Stir mixture vigorously and continuously, boiling for about a minute (make sure there are bubbles in the middle, not just around the edges of the pot).


4. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl or other container (to stop cooking and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan). Set aside.

Prepare crust:

1. Combine all of the crust ingredients in a bowl, except the walnuts.


2. Stir until mixture resembles coarse crumbs but is well-combined.
   

Assemble:

1. Press 2/3 of crust mixture into even layer in your pan.


2. Spread filling evenly on top, making sure to get into all the corners!


3. Sprinkle remaining third of crust mixture and the chopped walnuts on top.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooled, drizzle on a simple glaze made from powdered sugar and milk or cream (just whisk it together until you like the consistency. Start with a smaller amount of liquid then you think you'll need - it doesn't take much).

Brown Butter Rhubarb Cake

I was lucky enough to be able to stop by the farmers market on Nicollet Mall last Thursday. Normally, I'm in class but we had our summer break last week. I didn't think that I would be able to because I had training for work that day - but we got out early! Yay! I was also able to stop by the Friends of the Library book store (got some old cooking magazines) so it was pretty awesome, overall.

Anywho, I bet you're wondering about this delicious cake, right? I found one seller who still had some rhubarb and snatched some up. I thought rhubarb season was over and was resigned to waiting another year.

Since this might be it for an entire year, I was anxious to pick just the right rhubarb recipe. Well, this one doesn't disappoint! It's got the delicious nutty brown butter, the tart and tangy rhubarb, and just enough sweetness! The only change I made was to toss the rhubarb with some brown sugar and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the top before baking. Make sure to really whip those eggs or you're cake won't rise as much as it should.

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Emily Kuross and her blog:

http://www.fiveandspice.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/brown-butter-rhubarb-cake/