Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

Rhubarb can be fresh or frozen.  Cut fresh rhubarb into one inch slices; frozen is usually already cut.  Fresh strawberries can be washed, stemmed and cut in half; frozen just need the package opened and the amount measured.  Let frozen fruit thaw somewhat so you aren’t starting with a solid chunk of ice.  Using the microwave is fair, if needed, to de-ice quickly .   Cook fruit until it is just tender, about 7 or 8 minutes.  Then quickly stir in the sugar and cornstarch mixture  and cook until thickened.  It’ll take about a minute to return to a boil so stir gently until the mixture does boil.  Then boil for another minute until  the mixture thickens, stirring intermittently.  When thickened, remove from the heat.

If you are a learning cook, it is sometimes hard to see how you can make the best use of your time in the kitchen until someone points the way.   Here’s what I do:  Turn on the oven and prepare the baking pan.  Put the fruit on medium heat. While the fruit is heating, first mix the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Then soften the butter and measure all the crust ingredients into a large mixing bowl, adding the butter last.  Stop and tend to the fruit mixture until it thickens and has been removed from the heat.  Finish preparing the crust mixture, using your fingers or a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the dry ingredients.  Set aside 1 ½ cups of the mixture (I pour it into a two cup measure,  stopping at the 11/2 cup line)  Pat the remainder evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking pan.  Spread the fruit filling across the bottom crust, pushing the mixture to the edges and corners with a spatula.  Sprinkle the reserved butter crumb mixture evenly across the top and bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.  Cool completely before serving topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

[tasty-recipe id=”35362″]

You might also enjoy these rhubarb delights:   Rhubarb Cheesecake Bar        Rhubarb Apple Crunch        Rhubarb Cherry Jam

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