A recipe for strawberry & rhubarb crumble...

Hello, hello-
Me again. I didn't leave it as long between visits this time, did I? I'm trying my very hardest to get back into my blog stride. So, today, I squeezed in a little *us* time between the laundry folding and bed. Don't you just hate laundry (I can see you're nodding right now)?

Anyhoo, I'm not about to get into a rant about my never-ending laundry pile, but if anyone knows how to resolve this conundrum (other than the kids walking around in their birthday suits), please let me know, because, today, I did a whole butt-load of laundry and yet, when I went to the girls' hamper at the end of the night, it was already back at the top again... I think they're hiding another puppy in the bottom of it.

Speaking of puppies... my little Lucy is off to be *fixed* this coming Thursday... to say I'm nervous is an understatement, but never mind me... poor, poor Lucy. She has no idea! One minute, she'll be merrily chewing bones and the next minute... well, we all know what happens...

On a brighter note, it does mean that she'll be convalescing for a few days and so, hopefully, with the wind knocked out of her sails, she might give me a break and stop stealing laundry... It wouldn't be so bad if she took it, never to be seen again, but, instead, I'm forever finding knickers (and the like) dotted all around this little old house... I'm back on laundry again, aren't I? Well, this post is not titled, 'Laundry,' so I best get onto the subject in question... Rhubarb!

I lurve rhubarb, so when I popped into my local farmer's market the other day and spied it on the shelf, I decided to rustle up a Rhubarb and Strawberry crumble.

Now, as a child, my mum typically made an Apple and Rhubarb crumble and, while it was delicious, I just love the combination of rhubarb and strawberry, as  the sweetness of the strawberry really balances out the tart rhubarb. Add the delicious buttery, crunchy topping and you have on your hands one pretty fantastic dessert.

Why don't you give it a whirl? I promise you won't be disappointed!

Here's Lucy blissfully unaware...

Oh, and while I remember, here's a picture of my Lucy Boo... Aww, if only she knew what was in store for her...
Take care all.
Lx

Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble

Ingredients

4 sticks of rhubarb sliced into approx. 3 cm chunks

2 cups strawberries, stalks removed and sliced

2 tbsp vanilla sugar (use regular sugar if you don't have it)

2 tbsp water

1 1/2 cups (approx. 200g) of plain flour 

1 stick (114g) unsalted butter cut into cubes

1/2 cup (approx. 100g) of brown sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F
Place the rhubarb chunks in a pan and add two tablespoons of water. Sprinkle with the vanilla sugar and place on the hob on a low heat, remove when the rhubarb starts to soften (don't allow it to stew, otherwise you'll end up with a rhubarb gloop). 
Transfer the rhubarb to a ovenproof dish, using a slotted spoon.
Sift the flour into a medium sized bowl, and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips. When the flour and butter have been rubbed in, the mixture should look like bread crumbs. Stir the sugar into the flour mixture.
Add the sliced strawberries to your rhubarb and sprinkle with a little vanilla sugar. Spread the flour mixture over the top of the fruit, ensuring that all the fruit is covered.
Pop the crumble in the oven for 35-40 minutes. When finished the crumble top should have a lovely golden top.
Allow the crumble to cool for 10 minutes, as it comes out radioactive hot!! Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream... Mmmmmm!