It’s baaaaack. Rhubarb season that is.

I have wonderful memories of my grandmother, and I miss her more than ever during spring’s rhubarb season. She was quite fond of her magnificent “pie plant” patch at the north end of the garden, and she made the most delectable rhubarb pie imaginable.

Her secret: She enrobed the rhubarb in sugar, eggs, milk, salt, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. This silky batter kept the rhubarb in the pie and prevented it from bubbling all over the bottom of the oven.

If you’re like me and want the tartness of the rhubarb to shine through, restrain yourself from over-sugaring and over-spicing. There are recipes out there that urge cooks to dull the flavor by mixing and mingling the rhubarb with vanilla, strawberries, oranges and lemons, but I’m old-school when it comes to rhubarb. Give it to me straight with a minimum of embellishments. I want just enough sugar to make the pie filling jammy, and just a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. You want to enhance the main ingredient, not overpower it.

Now I love a golden two-crust pie (with a just a small scoop of ice cream, natch). However, this “harvest crisp” topping has been a mainstay in my kitchen for many a year. This recipe can be put together to complement any type of fruitful over-abundance.

Start with pie pastry to make a bottom crust or simply pile the rhubarb filling into a buttered dish and pat the topping over it to make an easy fruit crisp. Pats of cold butter are combined into the dry ingredients with a food processor or just use a pastry blender or your hands before patting the whole business on top of the fruit.

If you’re longing for rhubarb at breakfast, whip up a batch of tender, flavorful muffins. The yogurt brings a tangy richness to the batter and a half batch of harvest crisp topping adds crunch. These muffins are best right out of the oven and spread with butter. (I like a cup of Irish breakfast tea on the side.) But if you choose to make them ahead, simply re-heat them at 300 degrees for a few minutes. These gems will be made in your kitchen every rhubarb season from here on out.

Are you thirsty after all that baking? Have a swig of a refreshing libation made with rhubarb syrup. Whether you crave a cocktail featuring vodka or gin, or a mocktail mixed with flavored seltzer, this pretty pink syrup will stir your bartending imagination into action. It can also be poured over pancakes and waffles or swirled into your morning yogurt or oatmeal.

And don’t toss that cooked leftover rhubarb into the compost bin! That can be stirred into your oatmeal as well, or slathered on toast or spread on to pound cake . . . my grandma would definitely approve.

CORINNE SCANLON’S RHUBARB PIE

8 servings

3 cups chopped rhubarb

2 beaten eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and/or 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons butter

Pastry for a 2-crust pie or pastry for a bottom crust and harvest crisp topping

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together eggs and milk, then add sugar, flour, salt and spices. Fold in rhubarb.

If preparing a two-crust pie, spoon filling into prepared bottom crust. Dot with butter and place top crust, sealing edges and cutting vents for steam to escape. Bake for 15 minutes then turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes more, until filling is soft and bubbling and the crust is golden.

If using “harvest crisp” topping, below, in either a buttered pie plate or a pie plate with a bottom crust, add the rhubarb filling and then pat the topping over the rhubarb filling. Bake as above or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden.

This pie is best served at room temperature so it has time to settle. Leftovers should be refrigerated.

Harvest crisp topping

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup oatmeal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup cold butter

Blend all other ingredients until crumbly. (I use a food processor, but you can also use a pastry blender or your hands).

JUNE MUFFINS

12-16 muffins, depending on size

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups rhubarb, finely diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin pan with baking cups or spray with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Fold yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients until the batter just comes together; do not over mix. Gently stir in rhubarb. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.

Sprinkle a generous 1/2 teaspoon of harvest crisp topping over each muffin. Bake the muffins until they are slightly golden, spring back slightly when gently pressed, or a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 17-20 minutes. Transfer to

a rack and allow to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before removing.

RHUBARB SYRUP

Makes 3 cups

4 cups rhubarb, chopped

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Combine ingredients in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, until rhubarb is soft. Remove from heat.

Strain rhubarb through a fine sieve and decant into bottles. Keeps for two weeks in the refrigerator.

Writer and editor Karen Schneider has been a regular contributor to the Lewiston Sun Journal for over 23 years. Contact her at iwrite33@comcast.net with your ideas and comments.

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