The (literal) fruits of my labor

As I write this post, I realize that I never snapped a photo or wrote about my fully stocked basement pantry at the beginning of the fall.  It was chock full of jams, pickles, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes, applesauce, and sliced apples in syrup.  Well, now that we're halfway through winter, some of this stock has been pretty well diminished (just one more quart of tomatoes!), but my stinginess earlier in the fall means that some of it has still been untouched!  

This past weekend, I set about to remedying this and found the perfect  recipe for Apple Rhubarb Crisp, which made the perfect endnote to a delicious dinner I cooked up for Jared's family on Sunday night. 
A note about the recipe: had it not been for my use of canned and frozen fruit, I would have stuck to the original recipe exactly, my modifications were solely based on that.  Also, to accommodate the gluten free among us, I replaced the flour with white rice flour, which worked great if you're among gluten-free folks, though this is not a modification I'd make otherwise.  So, if you're looking for a recipe to use up some of those fruits of your labor earlier in the fall and summer, this is a great one.  I might even add some defrosted strawberries next time...

Apple Rhubarb Crisp, for winter

(adapted from epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

for the filling...

2 quarts sliced preserved apples, drained

1 1/2 cups defrosted rhubarb, diced

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbl flour

1 tsp cinnamon

for the topping... (note: this does not make heaping amounts of topping, so feel free to double this if you like loads of topping on your crisps)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

handful of chopped walnuts

4 Tbl non-dairy margarine (cold, cut into pieces)

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a 9"x13" (or equivalent) baking dish, combine all filling ingredients and mix well.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine all topping ingredients except the margarine.  Stir well, and work in margarine with your hands or a fork.  Spread topping over fruit mixture.  Bake for 1 hour or more, until topping is browned and fruit is bubbling at the edges of the pan.  Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving warm.  This is also delicious for breakfast the next day, if you have any leftovers...

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PS: My friend Mary is having a raffle over at her shop to support a great agency serving homeless men in Chicago, where her husband works.  The winner gets this amazing Owl pillow (and I can tell you from personal experience that Mary's work is seriously awesome).  Check it out!