Rhubarb Time is Just Around the Corner

Did someone say Rhubarb???? When I hear rhubarb my ears perk up. Its a funny looking plant, that really looks like a type of flower. It has bright red stalks and big green leaves. Just looking at it you wouldn't think about eating it. Rhubarb is tangy almost will lock your jaws if you eat it raw. I can remember taking a salt shaker and a knife out to the rhubarb patch and cutting a piece and salting it down and eating it. The salt made it sweeter. Boy oh Boy when you cook it down with some sugar and put it in a cobbler or eat it with a big piece of corn bread, you'll think to yourself where on the farm have I been and where as this rhubarb been all my life. Rhubarb is known to be put with strawberries, but I like it by itself as much as with other things.

My "Berry Rhubarb Cobbler Crumble" combines different berries just to give it a little bit more interest. Its sweet, tangy and crunchy. You can have this for dessert or even breakfast. "Ifin you want to squeal like a pig", try it before you cook it.

Berry Rhubarb Cobbler Crumble

Jason Smith, FNS southerncountrybling.com

Serves 12

Ingredients:

2-cups Fresh Strawberries, hulled and sliced

4-cups Rhubarb, chunked

1-cup Fresh Blueberries, washed

1-cup White Sugar

½-cup Honey

2-tsp Orange Zest

Pinch of Salt

1-cup Self-Rising Flour

1-cup Quick Cook Oats

½-cup Brown Sugar, packed

1-cup Butter, room temp

1-tsp Vanilla

½-tsp Ground Nutmeg

1-tsp Ground Ginger

Directions:

· Preheat oven to 350, spray a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.

· Put the strawberries, rhubarb, white sugar and honey in a sauce pot, cook for 20-25 mins.

· Add to cook strawberry mix the orange zest, vanilla and pinch of salt, stir to combine.

· Pour strawberry mix into prepared baking dish.

· Sprinkle the blueberries on top.

· In a mixing bowl place the flour, oats, brown sugar and spices, stir.

· Put the butter in flour mix and either work with hands or pastry cutter and cut in the butter until it looks like coarse corn meal.

· Sprinkle over top of berries.

· Bake for 45 mins, or until bubbly.

Serve with Whipped cream or French vanilla ice cream.

Tip: When working with rhubarb make sure to cut it small enough or it will be stringy.

ENJOY!!!