Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

 I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day!

Don't let the blah colors of the picture fool you. I'm not very good at taking pictures of crisp... It just looks kinda mushy & brown. But trust me - it was delicious!!

If you read my garden post, you might remember that I'm growing rhubarb & strawberries. Both have taken off & are ready to be eaten in abundance! I'm especially excited about the strawberries. Last year, I didn't do much with them because we were so busy eating them by themselves. I have a few recipes that I'd like to try this year, but I'm starting with the usuals - crisp & shortcake.

It was SO hot over the weekend, so I tried to keep this light. The flavor of rhubarb is so often overpowered by sugar, but I wanted to showcase it's tart flavor here. The strawberries add sweetness, but not a lot.

We topped ours with a version of banana soft serve. I make this a lot, but this time I tried freezing a big batch of it & we were able to scoop it out like hard ice cream. The sweetness & cold from the bananas complimented the crisp really well. I'm sure a vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt would be good as well.

Summer is officially here. Woohoo! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Serves 6

For filling:
6-7 stalks of rhubarb, chopped
1 qt. strawberries, quartered
2 T honey
1/4 c white whole wheat flour

For topping:
1 c old-fashioned oats
3 T honey
2 T coconut oil, softened
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a 8"x10" baking pan (or similar size) with cooking spray. Combine filling ingredients and add to baking pan. In a small bowl, use a fork to blend the topping ingredients until combined. Topping should be sticky. Spread evenly over filling. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top. Enjoy warm!

Mangia Mangia

Over the weekend, we went out to eat at Mangia Mangia Italian Grille with my parents. They'd been there once before & loved it, so they wanted us to try it, too.

We all started with salads. The great thing was that they will do half sizes of their salads. Now, I'm a HUGE salad eater & could eat the largest imaginable salad, but at a restaurant I always want to try everything. Smaller is better for my stomach & my wallet!

Mom & I each had half of the Beet Salad, which was field greens, roasted beets, & fennel with sherry vinaigrette & a goat cheese crostini. It was delicious! I'm not a huge fennel fan, but it was shaved very thinly so it complimented the salad instead of overpowering it. The vinaigrette was light & fresh.

The Bup got the full-size Caesar salad, & Dad got a half-size Caesar. Very traditional. I tasted it, & was surprised by the lightness. Caesar salads can be really heavy, but this wasn't. Like my salad, it wasn't over dressed.

Mom & I split the Vegetable Pizza, which had eggplant, mozzerella, zucchini, tomato, spinach & garlic. The crust was amazing: chewy, but still crispy on the bottom. I was also impressed with the fresh taste of the sauce.

The Bup got the Spinach, Mozzerella, Ricotta Calzone. It was really good! There was too much cheese in it for me, but he loved it. He had to request a second bowl of marinara sauce. Dad requested one with his Meatball Parmigiana sandwich, but there wasn't enough to share. They both love their dipping sauce.

For dessert, Dad & I split a huge slice of Coconut Rum Cake.

Mom had the Canolis. She really grilled the waiter (who was super nice!) about how they were. She's picky about her canolis! These stood up well to her high standards.

And of course, the Bup had the Chocolate Cake. It was super chocolately & not dry like chocolate cakes often tend to be.

This is our new favorite Italian place. The service was great, the meal was delicious, & it was reasonably priced. It's also BYOB. I love having that option because you really save a lot of money & I know I'll like what I'm drinking. Next time we go, I'm going to try one of their pasta dishes. My only complaint - it's not within walking distance!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes

Yay for breakfast! Double yay for pancake breafasts!!

I don't know about you, but I love fluffy pancakes. I want them to be thick, fluffy, & filling. Plus, I want them to be a blank slate for any topping I'm in the mood for. I ended up topping these with pure maple syrup, cashew butter, & leftover rhubarb puree. Triple yum!

Ever since my friend Jen posted her quest for perfect sourdough pancakes, I kept thinking about them. And thinking about them. And possibly drooling while thinking about them. So finally I had to make them.

Of course, I can't leave well enough alone. My ideal pancake breakfast would keep me full for several hours. Whole grains are a great way to fuel the body for longer periods of time because they have more fiber & take longer to digest. So I did some research & altered the recipe to include whole grains.

The Bup is very happy about these pancakes because I've been experimenting with a variety of flavors for awhile. Every time, we'd both take one bite & realize we'd rather have a plain pancake. But then the next week, I'd try something new again. There are so many recipes out there that look delicious! This one is here to stay, however, & we've eaten these for 3 Saturdays in a row. I'm sticking with them for as long as I have my sourdough starter. Actually, I think it's an incentive to keep it alive!

If you have a starter going, prep these tonight for your breakfast tomorrow morning!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes
Makes 8 3-4" round pancakes

1/2 c sourdough starter
3/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c water
2 T honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 T butter
1 c white whole wheat flour

Combine starter, whole wheat flour, and water. Cover lightly and let stand overnight, or at least 4 hours. Add honey, salt, baking soda, egg, and butter. Stir just until combined. Do not over stir. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Heat skillet to 375*F. Gently stir white whole wheat flour into batter. Pour onto hot skillet, about 1/4-1/3 cup batter per pancake. Allow to cook until edges and middle are covered in tiny bubbles. Flip and cook for another 45 seconds or until cooked through the middle. Serve hot.

Note: Any sourdough starter should work here. I got the recipe for mine from the book How to Bake the Perfect Life & it includes rye flour. I've been feeding it for about 2 months now with whole wheat flour, so I think the rye is eaten up by now! If this one ever dies, I think I'd try making Mama Pea's. The pineapple juice in it intrigues me.