sprinklefingers

i spent the last few days at the oregon coast. we were lucky enough to stay in a prefabricated home (something we’ve been curious about,) and i’m here to tell you it felt nothing that you’d think it would. solid.as.a.rock. and gorgeous, too.

the kitchen was lovely. extremely compact, but that made for a perfect little triangle between fridge, sink and cooktop. butcher block counters meant food prep could happen anywhere. open shelving meant bowls were just a reach away. to be honest, it felt like playing house. in a very nice house, mind you.

we were away to celebrate the birthday or a certain someone’s husband. and he loves rhubarb. if you’ve been reading a while, you know i (hate) don’t like rhubarb…but, because it’s his favorite, i took one for the team and planned a strawberry-rhubarb crisp instead of a birthday cake. and, actually, we called it a crisp for about 12 seconds because it was swiftly renamed ‘crunchy pie’ by my biggest little kitchen sidekick, our 3 year old.

because we were staying at a home away from home, i had no idea what to pack for kitchen adventures. would they have flour? sugar? decent salt? i’m a worrier, and i hate shopping in foreign grocery stores, so i brought everything (literally) i’d need to whip up several scratch meals (including dessert) during our stay. so what if i packed up half of my kitchen for a few days away? i like to be prepared…

god, this is long-winded. sorry. i’ll wrap it up in the next few paragraphs, promise.

continuing on, the strawberry-rhubarb crunchy pie was so good that i felt i ought to tell you about it. this recipe can be the frame work for any fruity crunchy pie that you feel like making all summer long. just don’t forget the vanilla ice cream (a direct order from my biggest little kitchen sidekick.)

strawberry-rhubarb “crunchy pie”

for the filling:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup plus 3 T sugar
• 20 ounces best strawberries, hulled then sliced into halves
• 16 ounces rhubarb - red as you can get - sliced crosswise into thinner than 1/2” pieces
• good sprinkling of kosher salt
• 1 T best balsamic vinegar

for the topping: (all measurements are volume because topping is very forgiving!)

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 t kosher salt
• 6 ounces cold, unsalted butter, cut into smallish cubes

prepare the filling:

1. cut the vanilla bean open and scrape out the seeds. mix the seeds together with the sugar, strawberries, rhubarb, salt and vinegar. mix until you see the vanilla flecks evenly distributed. set aside.

prepare the topping:

1. in a bowl, mix together the flours, oats, sugar, salt and butter. using your fingertips, smear the butter into the other ingredients until you come to the point where the mixture will stay clumped together if you squeeze it. it will look mealy, and you do want it clumpy.

prepare to bake:

preheat oven to 375.

1. butter a baking dish - something smaller than a 9x13 if you like your crunchy pie to have more fruit in each serving.
2. scrape the filling into the baking dish.
3. top with AT LEAST half of the topping. you can use more if you, like me, prefer the topping to the fruit.
4. put the dish in the oven and let it bake for 45 minutes, minimum. you want the fruit to be bubbling vigorously - and you want it to bubble until those bubbles thicken and kind of burst open (instead of bubbling like something that looks like boiling water.)
5. come back tomorrow and i’ll tell you what to do with the remaining topping. i know! it’s like the season finale of gossip girl! chuck bass in lying in an alley in prague all by himself, shot! no. wait. crunchy topping isn’t THAT important.

seriously, come back tomorrow. i’ve got good ideas for extra topping. and some good tips on using this recipe as the framework for all summery fruit crunchy pie creations!

now, if you’ll excuse me, i’m tired and can’t wait to sleep in my own bed.