Sigh…my birthday weekend has come to a close! But, it started with a wonderful evening with Skip and a couple of close friends and ended with a lot of unexpected sunshine, Mars, and rhubarb (mostly) crumble that was almost a cake. Hard to complain with such a lovely start to being 41.

This afternoon, after a delicious brunch with Skip, I popped over to a local Sunday farmer’s market and found some beautiful rhubarb, picked this morning, and some of the tastiest first strawberries of the season, along with a couple of adorable baby butter lettuce heads and carrots. I even saw cherries on one of the stands–it’s super early for those little gems! On the way to the grocery store to pick up the remainder of the groceries for the week, I decided to make a rhubarb cake with the lovely stalks I’d bought at the market. Then, somewhere between the store and home, though, I changed my mind and went the crumble route. I mean, really, who doesn’t like delicious, sweet and tangy fruit topped with a buttery streusel–anybody? Nobody I know…so, a crumble was the fate of the fresh cut rhubarb and early strawberries, along with some sweet blueberries and lemon zest. I’m pretty happy with my last minute change of plans. Since it’s mostly fruit and grain, I can have it for breakfast, right?

Rhubarb+Berry Crumble
4 C (475 g) Chopped Rhubarb
1/3 C (87 g) Blueberries
2/3 C (100 g) Quartered strawberries
1 1/2 tsp (3 g) Lemon zest (about 1/2 of a large lemon)
1 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice
1/4 C + 1 Tbsp (71 g) Sugar
Pinch of salt

Crumble Topping
1/2 C (48 g) Steel cut oats
1/2 C (44 g) Rye flakes, or substitute more oats
1/2 C (57 g) Almond meal
1/4 C (44 g) Whole wheat flour
1/2 C (105 g) Packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp (4 g) Salt
Black pepper — I didn’t measure this, just a couple of turns of the grinder, optional
1/2 C (113 g) Unsalted butter, cold & cut into cubes

Ice cream or whipped cream–optional, but delicious

• Preheat oven to 375 °F.
• Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or 9-inch deep dish pie plate.
• Toss the rhubarb, berries, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 C + 1 tablespoon sugar, and pinch of salt together. Pour into the buttered dish.
• To make the topping, add all the ingredients for the crumble topping in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly and begins to clump together.
• Put the crumble topping on the top of the fruit. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
• Serve warm; top with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.