First Rhubarb Harvest of year and made a Rhubarb Crisp

Today was a perfect day to thin the Rhubarb plants a bit, plus the growing flower stalks were in desperate need of removal. The large leaves and thickening stalks were starting to make everything a little bit crowded so the thinning will hopefully give some space for new growth. The before pic of the plants sporting their thickness. My oldest boy J is about a meter tall so you can see how big the stalks are compared to him.

After the Veggiesuction was completed the plants seemed like "whole new girls" with a thin size and the flowers removed. The other leaves and stalks could be heard sighing in relief at having space.

The resultant pile of Rhubarb was fairly large and the leaves and plants had to be separated. I have always been fond of Rhubarb leaves for their immense size so I take a specific pleasure in the harvesting. I use a break blade utility knife for my harvesting in general and they have proven to be the perfect size to fit between the tight spaces of the thick growing Rhubarb. The Rhubarb stalks can grow very close together and can be tough to cut out with larger blades.

The leaves are a harbor of the awful vermin.... SLUGS. They are everywhere around the farm and are nigh on impossible to get rid of. J is pointing out one of the few that he saw while handing them to me to cut.

The stalks all removed from the leaves we headed back to the house to rinse them and sort them for use.

7 1/2 pounds was the total weight of the cut stalks with a mix of larger and smaller. Spring growth is always the nicest, it's full of water, crisp, and less stringy. I pulled the smaller of the stalks out for the crisp with the balance of them going into a bag and into the fridge until I decide to cut the m for freezing or use.

I love making these crisps as they are SUPER easy. I have no use for the whole pie thing given all the extra work involved in the crust.

I cut the small stalks into 1/2" or smaller pieces and tossed them into an 8x14 pyrex dish. There is a distinct sound, the crunch that emanates from the cutting Rhubarb, that denotes a fresh and crisp Rhubarb.

I ended up with about 5 cups of Rhubarb in the dish which filled it about half way. More than enough room for the rest of the ingredients.

The dry ingredients got mixed into the measuring cup and ended up nearly 4 cups. I whisked it to combine it all well. On top of the Rhubarb I cut thin slices of butter and chunks of coconut oil. This helps the dry side get moistened during the baking process. I poured 4 cups of flour mix over the top of the Rhubarb and shook it down to filter to the bottom on fill in the spaces between the Rhubarb pieces.

I put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 F and it ended up coming out of the oven looking perfect. The fresh Rhubarb cooks pretty quickly but when I opened the oven the entire crisp was bubbling. It set out on the counter for a couple of hours until after dinner. We all LOVE this version and I think it will be the keeper. I will be trying this with frozen Rhubarb next to see what is needed to be changed to make it as close to this one as possible.

5ish cups Rhubarb cut to 1/2" or smaller pieces
Top Rhubarb with:
1/3 stick butter
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/8 cup lemon juice
Mix:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2ish cup organic sugar
1 1/2 Tbls ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 Tbls ground ginger
Pour flour mix over Rhubarb and bake at 400F for 30 minutes.

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