Rhubarb-Strawberry Cobbler (gluten-free)

Here is something that's easy to put together 

and bake when the rhubarb and 

strawberry season collide (mesh?).

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 slightly heaping cups).  NEVER EVER use ANY part of the rhubarb leaves!
• 1 pound fresh strawberries (1 quart?), thickly sliced.
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar.  (Add one more tablespoon if you prefer more "sweetness".)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon corn starch.  (You could use same amount of wheat flour OR all-purpose white flour as the thickener IF you do not need this recipe to be gluten-free.)

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• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats.
• 1 cup almond meal flour.
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds.
• 2/3 cup  sugar.  (I use half white, half brown.)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.

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• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 egg whites, slightly beaten.
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional.

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
• Place the rhubarb and strawberries into a medium-sized bowl.   After mixing the sugar and corn starch together very well, dump it over the rhubarb and strawberries...stir well, to coat evenly.  Put this sugared mixture into a 10-inch oven proof dish OR a round skillet (I used my 10" cast iron frying pan.)
• In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, almond meal flour, sliced almonds, sugar(s), and ginger. Add the slightly beaten egg whites and melted butter.  Stir together until blended evenly.
• Spread the "dough" mixture evenly over the fruit mixture. Using a teaspoon, I took little dabs of the sticky mixture and plopped them on top of the sugared fruit layer, staying about 1/2" away from the edges of the dish, then evened it out a bit more.  Like this...

Above:  Just for "because", I put some more sliced almonds on top before sticking it into the oven.

• Bake in 350-degree for about 35-40 minutes.  It's done when the rhubarb can be seen bubbling around the edge and the topping is crisp and lightly golden like this... 

• Allow the cobbler to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy this while it's still hot or at room temperature.  

 Enjoy it "naked" like this....

OR, "dressed up" like this...

Through the years, I've found this basic recipe also works with other fruit-- including pitted cherries, blueberries, peaches, etc.  (For juicier fruit, just adjust the amount of "thickener" you add.)

OR, ...you can do a computer search (google?) and find a good recipe for Apple Crisp or Fruit Crisp to get the directions for a topping YOU like better and take it from there.

♥ STRAWBERRY Day! ♥

While I make reference to a cake recipe* below, 
there is no actual recipe in today's posting-- 
only BEAUTY and something very TASTY!

For as long as I've known him, my husband has ALWAYS liked strawberries-- he likes picking them, helps with de-stemming them, and surely likes eating them in many different ways.  In malts, shakes and sundaes; on waffles and pancakes; in pies, and in cakes; and  however many other ways there are to eat them.   (He also likes banana and coconut cream pies... and, blueberrry... and, pumpkin...and, apple...and cherry... and, rhubarb... and, lemon... AND...)

Even through the years when he was so very busy with farm work, he'd somehow find the time to go to the strawberry fields south of Clintonville whenever we received the notice about the berries being ready!   Often, we'd go as a family.  As our children moved on to homes of their own, we had grandchildren and/or foster children to take with us and they loved the experience.  On certain picking days, the owners of the U-pick place would take/bring the pickers to/from the designated berry fields on wagons pulled by a team of work horses.  FUN, fun, FUN!  Otherwise, it's always on a wagon pulled by a tractor.

Just like last year, the price for the berries is $1.20/lb.

I put some of today's berries (unsugared) in a single layer on cookie sheets to freeze overnight-- tomorrow morning, I'll put them into a baggie so hubby can get a few out at a time to put into his smoothie drinks.  The rest I ran through the slicer attachment of my Kitchen Aid mixer, sugared them a little, and bagged them up in amounts of 16 oz. each.  After strawberry season is long past, these will taste so good on waffles/pancakes and in other recipes calling for strawberries.

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Today, our 'after berry work' treat was a variation of a 'strawberry shortcake' dessert (pictured below).  

It was a little different in that, for the CAKE part, I used very thin slices (layers) of a POUND CAKE I made for something else.  

*The actual recipe I used for the cake can be found in my 'blog index' and is listed under cake-- POUND CAKE.

It was BERRY tasty!

BYE, BYE!

Pie Plate Strawberry Cake

I first saw this on Martha Stewart's show and I've made this quite a few times. You can go to the following website and see a photo of how it ends up looking:  http://www.marthastewart.com/336020/strawberry-cake *

*I put a few less strawberries on top because I like to use this recipe as the 'shortcake' part of Strawberry Shortcake by pouring a little 'strawberry sauce' over this.  To make it quite 'fancy', you can top with whipped cream or a small amount of ice cream. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
~~~~
6 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for the pie plate
1 cup sugar plus an extra 2 tablespoons sugar for the top
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
~~~~
1/2 to 1 pound strawberries, hulled/halved and set aside.

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Spray a 10-inch pie plate with non-stick spray and set aside.  Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into a medium bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Put butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

3.  Reduce speed to low, gradually mixing in flour mixture. Transfer batter to sprayed  pie plate.  Arrange strawberries on top of batter, with the cut sides downward in whatever design you want.  Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoon sugar over berries and top of cake.

4.  Bake the cake  for just 10 minutes at 350-degrees.  Reduce oven temperature to 325-degrees.  Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 45 minutes longer (I tested its middle with a toothpick).  Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack.  Cut into wedges.  Cake can be stored in refrigerator OR at room temperature, loosely covered, for up to 2 days.