Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Tis the time of the year where my parents garden begins delivering they're wonderful treats to us who are waiting.  First for us, comes the rhubarb.  I love rhubarb.  My parents always grew rhubarb when I was a kid and we would eat it like celery (after trimming the leaves obviously, since we're all still alive.)   So, when I went over to their house with the little birthday girl, I took as much as I could get.  Originally I was going to make  a pie, but I don't have a rolling pin at the moment.  So I thought maybe a crumble.  I don't have any rolled oats!  So I settled on a Cobbler!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

• 1 cup  + 1 tsp Flour


• 2 tbsp sugar


• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/4 cup butter


• 1/2 cup milk


• 2 1/2 cup fresh rhubarb (trimmed, and cut in to 1 inch strips)


• 2/3 cup sugar


• 1 1/2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca


• 2 tsp lemon juice


• 2 tbsp water


• 1 tsp rum extract


• 2 1/2 cup strawberries (trimmed and cut in pieces)

Preheat the oven to 425

First mix up your cobbler dough.  Put the flour, 2 tbsp sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl.  mix it up, then cut in the butter until it takes on a coarse crumbly texture.  Stir in the milk afterwords.

In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb, 2/3 cup sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, water and rum extract and on low heat bring it to a boil.  Stir it often, sugar is nasty if it burns.  Once its come to a boil let it simmer for 2 minutes covered.  This will let the rhubarb soften up nicely.  Once that's done take it off the heat and put in the strawberries.  Mix it until its coated and put it in a buttered pan or glass baking dish.   This recipe yields about an 8X10 baking pan so if you have company coming you might think about doubling up the recipe.

Put the cobbler dough on top and spread it as best as possible.  It won't be perfect, and it won't cover the entire wet mixture but it will be pretty close. Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes and you got cobbler!

Fruit Salsa!

So the birthday party has come and gone, and the food disappeared just as fast as the time it took my daughter to turn one! Shes not one yet really, that won't be until the 26th but the sentiment is still there.  Time has flown, and I don't think that I will ever know where exactly it went.  On to the recipes!  As I mentioned before I really wanted to go for fresh fruit, springtime feel.  So on the side of platters of blackberries, blueberries, cantelope slices and pineapple, I tried to give the "junk food" a healthy touch.  The kids actually loved it! we must have gone through three pounds of strawberries.  This is the fruit salsa I made, with cinnamon sugar tortilla chips to pick up the dip with.

• 1 pound of strawberries


• 8 oz raspberries


• 2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced


• 2 kiwi's peeled and diced


• 2 tbsp white sugar


• 1 tbsp brown sugar


• 3 tbsp Jam of your choosing. (I had strawberry on hand)

mix everything so its coated and keep refridgerated.  What is great about this recipe is after the party, and a day in the fridge it becomes perfect as a fruit filled ice cream topping!   And then for the chips, you just take 10 or so tortillas, coat one side only with butter.  I melted margarine in a bowl and brushed it on the tortilla.  Then sprinkle the buttered side with cinnamon sugar, bake butter side up at 350 for 8 minutes.

It makes for a delicious dessert afterwords.