Let's Get Ready to Crumble

Being as the in-laws are coming in today, I thought the occasion called for something special. Something crumbly. I think technically this is actually a crisp, but that name had fewer possibilities for wordplay, so I took a little poetic license.

The recipe I (loosely) followed is this one. Usually I prefer a food blog, with pictures and witty commentary, but nobody I could find seemed especially interested in the humble crisp. So this is the recipe I went with, doubled, and I must say I'm pretty pleased with it. (And, as the site says, oddly, "Just by making it, the day becomes special." Well.) Here's my adaptation:

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Filling:

About 5-6 cups strawberries and rhubarb, chopped (choose your own proportion)

1/2-3/4 cup sugar (the original recipe called for a whole cup, which seemed like a lot, so I cut it down to 3/4; I think it would have been just as good with 1/2)

2 Tbsp cornstarch

4 Tbsp orange juice

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1-1/3 cups oatmeal

1 stick butter

2 tsp cinnamon

Scant 3/4 cup flour (I used whole-wheat)

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup nuts (optional)

Combine topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. (That's them in the background below.)

Combine chopped fruit and other filling ingredients in a 9x13" greased pan.

Stir until coated.

Pile on the topping.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Then just die of satisfaction.