Monday, February 10, 2014

Sweet And Simple


I did end up making that rhubarb-strawberry cobbler during our last snow and it was fantastic!!  Yum-OOO!!  I really hope my little rhubarb plants come back this next year but I'll just buy new ones every year if I have to.  I only managed to harvest one really full quart bag of rhubarb off the plant I had but maybe I can refine my technique (and fertilize the ever-lovin' crap out of the plant) and produce more from now on.  At any rate, it was worth the minimal effort for one big cobbler.

All my cobblers are very simple matters; basic same recipe no matter what fruit you are using.  I love them because you can throw one together in just a few minutes and they are so tasty.  As I mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of sweets but they are a nice treat every so often and in the summer you can add a couple of spoons of ice cream for the season!  It's also very simple to can up or freeze lots of summer fruit for use during the winter so I always keep fruit stored for a quick dessert.  Here's my basic recipe:  This makes enough cobbler for a 9x13 inch pan but you can cut it down however you like.  I've even made little 1 or 2 portion mini cobblers.

Basic Fruit Cobbler

8 cups fresh (or thawed) fruit of choice
1 1/4 to 2 cups of sugar  ( I don't like real sweet so I use the 1 1/4 cup)
2 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour  ( I like a thick syrup tho, so i use about 4 Tsp)
1/4 cup butter
*appropriate spices 
biscuit dough crust

Combine first 3 ingredients;  bring to a low boil then reduce to low simmer until mixture thickens, stirring constantly; this won't take too long.  If fruit is fresh you might want to cook a little longer because it will be much firmer.  But no more than 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in butter and spices, vanilla extract or whatever and stir until butter melts.  Pour into a buttered dish and top with biscuit crust in lattice or just a solid sheet with slits cut in it.  I sprinkle a little sugar on top of the crust and then bake at 475 degrees (F.) for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Biscuit Dough Crust:

About 1 full cup of all-purpose flour
About 2 tablespoons of shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
about 1 tablespoon sugar

Mix flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.  Mix in shortening until coarse and distributed.  Add enough buttermilk until dough is just workable.  (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 cup)??  Roll out on floured surface to about 1/4 or 3/8 inch thick and either cut into strips for lattice or whatever else you want!

*For the rhubarb-strawberry I used a little nutmeg and grated orange; that's good with blueberry too.  Vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon is great with peaches and apples.  Or go wild and use your imaginations!

9 comments:

Gin said...

Nice looking cobbler! Looks doubly good given that it's near zero here right now. Cold weather keeps me hungry. If I'm not mistaken, you all are having a round with ice/snow right now. Have you ever tried almond flavoring in peach cobbler? It pairs well with that fruit.

Ed said...

I suspect the more years a rhubarb plant lives the bigger it gets. The two on my mom's farm are huge. We probably get a dozen+ quart bags from each one. Someday I would like to take a bit of it and transplant it to my place but right now I don't have a nice sheltered southern exposure for one. Up here, that is the only place we can grow them.

Ed said...

Oh and there was no audio ads today. Maybe it was a glitch in blogger that has been fixed.

JO said...

seems I missed your last blog. Nice days are hard to come by for most states these days. So I read that when folks have the chance it's out the door. Even the chickens needed a break from each other I guess.

That cobbler looks really good. Going to give it a try when the gang come over.

Stay warm. I don't like to rub it in about our weather so I won't tell you. LOL

MamaHen said...

Hey Gin! well, the snow and ice is all around us but we have mostly just got rain! It's still very cold though.
I'm not sure if I have tried the almond flavor or not; I love almond and always keep some. I will keep that in mind for next time!

Hey Ed! Wow! I will keep trying until I can find the spot they like here!
Glad the ads are gone! I wasn't sure what to do and no one else said they had a problem with it so I didn't know where to start.

Hey JO! Yeah, everybody is getting hammered this year; it's rough.
The cobbler was very good; I think you'll like it. I can imagine it's very nice out in Arizona! I want to go back there some day so bad.

pamit said...

My friend's rhubarb in Boulder got drowned in the September floods...we are anxiously waiting to see if it comes back this spring. Thanks for the tip on fertilizing, I wouldn't have thought that rhubarb needed it. Learned something new. That cobbler looks dee-lish!

R.Powers said...

Looks delicious. And yes to vanilla and cinnamon!
Hope you are doing well, Annie.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

We will bring the ice cream if there are any leftovers, Annie. This was so delicious looking and sure it tasted even better!

MamaHen said...

Hey Pam! well, I found out kinda by accident when my potted rhubarb, in the very rich, fertilized soil did so much better than the ones in the kinda lean garden soil. Someone else verified that they do better the richer the soil.

Hey FC! good to hear from you! I'm doing better..which is good.

Hey Bea! Oh, that thing didn't last long!! There was a little left as I was recovering from the spinal tap and Jack saved it for me when I could eat again.