fruit crisp – Dragonfly Home Recipes

The combination of strawberries and rhubarb is one of my all-time favorites. The sweetness of the strawberries mellows the tartness of the rhubarb, yet there is still enough tartness in this crisp to make it bright and lively. I love this recipe because it is so simple, so easy, and it allows the fresh flavors of the fruits to really shine. There is just enough brown sugar to sweeten the fruit filling without overpowering it.

It is lovely here in northern Michigan, and I am thankful to have the chance to spend a few days here at my family’s place, where we can walk to the beach and the town, with a beautiful view of the water in almost every direction. After an extremely busy spring, it is so nice to have some time to recharge and slow down, soaking in the absolute beauty of this area. Just like at home, I like to use food that is in season, and right now strawberries and rhubarb are easy to come by up here at farmers markets and produce stands. WiFi is not so easy to come by here (and that is not always a bad thing), and we don’t have many cookbooks here, so I walked to the library in town to look for a recipe for a fruit crisp. As I was browsing through cookbooks, one recipe caught my eye because of its simplicity. It comes from Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook, “My Father’s Daughter.” It is a basic fruit crisp recipe that can be used with any type of seasonal fruit, and I like this recipe so much, I am going to use it for upcoming crisps with raspberries, blueberries, and peaches, as they come into season. I will share an adaptation of it below, using strawberries and rhubarb. I did make a couple of changes–I used all-purpose flour instead of spelt flour since that is what we had in the cupboard, and I added 2 tablespoons more of the brown sugar, since rhubarb is not as naturally sweet as other fruits. Still, this recipe uses less overall sugar than many of the ones I have tried, and I like it that way. You can adjust the sweetness to your own tastes.

Perhaps it is because the strawberries and rhubarb are late spring/early summer fruits, or perhaps it is because I am writing this post very near Lake Michigan, which always makes me feel inspired, but in any case, making this crisp reminded me that summer is still young and full of possibilities. The days are long and full of bright sunlight. I have been breathing in the clean, northern air, and it smells like pine trees and fresh water. It is only just recently that our schedule has slowed down enough that we can have more leisurely dinners. We have had time to eat outside, watching the boats go down the channel into Lake Michigan. Tomorrow we head for home, where it will still be summer, and we will still be able to eat dinner outside. The lakes close to my home are much smaller than Lake Michigan, but they are still beautiful. And as much as I don’t want to leave here, I love to be home. I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and savor it as much as possible.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Servings: 4-6
Time: about 15 minutes of prep time and 45 minutes of baking time
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Ingredients for the fruit filling:

2 cups of strawberries, washed and sliced
2 cups of rhubarb, washed and diced
1 tablespoon of flour (I used all-purpose flour, but you can use spelt flour or another type of flour)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (adjust the amount of sugar to your own tastes)

Ingredients for the crisp topping:

1/4 cup flour (again, I used all-purpose flour, but you can use the type of flour you prefer)
1 cup rolled oats (the old-fashioned kind, not instant or quick-cooking)
a pinch of salt (optional)
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare the fruit and place it in a lightly greased 9 inch pie baking dish. Stir in the tablespoon of flour and the brown sugar and mix until combined.

In a medium bowl, stir together the 1/4 cup flour, the oats, and the salt. Cut the butter in with a fork or a pastry cutter and gently stir/mash until the mixture forms balls about the size of peas. Spread the mixture evenly over the fruit in the pie pan. Bake in your oven for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the fruit starts to bubble. Serve warm. It tastes great by itself or with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from “My Father’s Daughter” by Gwyneth Paltrow

This delicious jumble of a crumble came about by luck this week. I don’t usually eat blackberries this time of year, but the grocery store I usually go to had organic ones on sale for a price I simply could not resist. And blackberries just sounded so juicy and luxurious, a way to brighten up the body and soul in this bleak, bitter cold weather we are having. The recipe below is a conglomeration of my favorite fruit crisp/crumble recipes, based on what I had on hand and what I thought my family would enjoy. I cannot tell you how good, sweet and juicy these blackberries taste when baked with a bit of apples and topped with the brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, almonds and pepita (shelled pumpkin seeds) mixture. The rich,velvety fruit contrasts with the crunchy, hearty topping. And of course with their deep, indigo color, the blackberries are loaded with antioxidants. After the excesses of the holiday season, it is refreshing to eat a fruity dessert. It is quite a breeze to prepare, since the blackberries require no chopping, and while it’s baking away in the oven, making your kitchen smell wonderful, you can do other things. My kids were home both yesterday and today because their schools were closed due to the extreme cold and blowing snow. I was so happy to be able to throw this blackberry apple crumble together yesterday morning and have it turn out so well, though it was an adventure to find enough natural light to photograph this dish, because of the faint winter morning light. Luckily, I have a porch, and out on the porch I went in the sub-zero temperatures with the steaming blackberry apple crumble to photograph. The deep purple of the blackberries looked so pretty against the cold, white snow and the morning sky. The sugar I had sprinkled on the blackberries before adding the topping looked just like snow. The contrast made me think about how beautiful the light and dark look together, and how our lives are defined by all types of contrasts. And that treating ourselves now and then to blackberries in the winter is good for us. I have put this recipe in the category of desserts because it is sweet, but it is substantial enough to have with breakfast, as we did this morning. Today I am going to be joining the Fiesta Friday gathering at Angie’s blog, The Novice Gardener, and will be taking this recipe over to share with the lovely bloggers there.

Blackberry Apple Crumble

Servings: 4-6
Time: 15 minutes preparation and about 25 minutes baking time
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Ingredients:

3 cups blackberries
1 cup apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1 medium-sized apple)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons roasted and salted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt the butter in a small pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, almonds, and pepitas. Place the blackberries and apple slices in a 1.5 quart baking dish (or a baking dish of a similar size). Sprinkle the granulated sugar and cornstarch over the fruit and mix gently. Stir the melted butter into the oat/flour topping mixture and then gently spoon the topping mixture over the fruit, distributing it as evenly as possible. Bake for about 25 minutes. This dish is delicious on its own, but also tastes good with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!