Summer Berry and Peach Crisp

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Not the band but I know it is no longer summer. Although with these recent warm weather days, it has definitely felt like it. Nevertheless, I made toward the end of the summer to capitalize on the last of my summer fruits, but never posted about it. I am sorry that I have hidden this gem from you but better late than never?

Adapted from: From the Board Room to the Barn

Ingredients

1 cup of fresh blueberries
1 cup of fresh blackberries
1 cup of fresh strawberries (quartered)
3 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup to 1/3 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of your fruit)
1 cup regular rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter,chilled and cut into very small pieces
Pinch of salt

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Put the berries and peaches in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, flour and sugar to the bowl.

3) Gently toss and let sit for a few minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens.

4) Meanwhile, combine the rolled oats, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and salt with a pastry blender or a fork. Mix together until the mixture is crumbly.

5) Pour the fruit with all the juices into the prepared baking pan. Evenly distribute the topping over the fruit.

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until top is brown and the berries are starting to bubble up through the topping. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

7) Enjoy and Share!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

man o' man. if i would have known that making a fruit crumble were so simple, i would've been making these a long time ago.

however, it was special BOOF buddy, cr's "not birthday birthday" and i knew how much he loved rhubarb so i thought i would delve into the wonderful world of a fruit crumble. at a friend's party a few months back, i had endulged in a strawberry rhubarb crumble and was really taken back by the flavor because i had never had rhubarb before, so i was excited and nervous to take to this new ingredient.

the roughest part about making this dish was finding rhubarb. rhubarb is extremely seasonal peaking in the spring and a bit into the summer, and it is really almost nearly impossible to find it in stores (farmer's markets are your best bet). I had to call about 4 or 5 grocery stores to find one that carried it but I did! WIN.

thanks to Deb of Smitten Kitchen, I found this most perfectly easy Strawberry Rhubarb crumble recipe and made a couple of additions just for a little added flavor.

Ingredients

For the Topping:

1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw-- that's what i used...maybe 6 packets?
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

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

Directions

1) Heat oven to 375.

2) Prepare topping: Combine flour, baking powder, sugar(s), lemon zest, and melted butter until large clumps begin to form.

3) Refrigerate until needed.

4) Prepare filling: Toss chopped rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep dish plate.

5) Remove topping from fridge and cover fruit thickly and evenly with the topping.

6) My addition: dust top with brown sugar and cinnamon- i think this added a nice additional flavor to the dish.

7) Bake until topping is golden brown in certain places and the fruit is bubbling underneath (40-50 minutes).

Recipe adapted from: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/crumbling-crisp-convictions/