Dreaming of Strawberry and Rhubarb

I have been dreaming of summer for quite a few months now and not just for the usual reasons: warm weather, sunny skies, flip flops, etc.

But I have had strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and rhubarb dancing around in my dreams.

And since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle back in May, I have been awaiting the day when I would have local strawberries and rhubarb to put into my own Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble.

I grew up eating rhubarb in pies and crumble cooked by my mom and it has been years and years since I've had the pleasure of its tangy taste in my mouth.

Last weekend, the day finally came.

At the farmers market I found quarts of sun-warmed strawberries plump with juice and one vendor who had a few bunches of rhubarb and I was on my way to crumble-town.

This has got to be one of my favorite summer desserts because it just highlights, with a little added sweetness and texture, the juiciness and vivacious flavor of these two fruits (ok, the internet is telling me that rhubarb is actually a vegetable but that's just confusing, so I'll pretend it's still a fruit).

In this beautiful and simple recipe from Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, you chop the "fruits" and mix them with some honey.

Then, you place them in your baking dish and cover with a delicious butter, flour, oat, brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice mixture.

Then, they bake until bubbly and browned and are ready to be eaten with a nice helping of ice cream, which is even better if it's your own homemade strawberry ice cream (made with the same local berries).

I told my husband that I think and hope that there will be strawberry rhubarb crumbles in heaven.

Here's to a perfect taste of sweet summer!

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