Apricot Rhubarb Crisp with an Oat/Pecan Topping

I've betrayed my Southern roots. Well, in so many ways. By not having heirloom china, for one thing. But also because I prefer--get this--crisp to pie.

Yep, all too true. My ancestors are rolling over in their Pea Ridge and Lookout Mountain battlefield graves. But so be it. I'm too in love with that crisp topping, the fruit down in. I like the crunch, the luxurious softness, all together in one spoonful.

You know that's how we experience satiety, right? By a greater range of textures, even more than tastes. It's all in our seven-step plan to get off processed food, the book for which this blog was named (here).

So all said and done, I want more crisp. And now that fruit is coming back into our lives after this long winter, I want one now. Particularly with a pecan crunch topping. Ready?

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Rhubarb Crisp

Have I told you this? Besides being a cookbook writer and all-around eater, I'm also a news junky. I read several papers a morning, follow a whole host of political blogs of all persuasions.

So I was a little irritated by that grouchy op ed from E J Dionne in this morning's Washington Post. Yes, it's Memorial Day here in the U. S. And yes, it's about honoring our war dead. And yes, it's important.

But no, I'm not laying the bunting over graves today. I'm doing what most Americans are doing: enjoying the first taste of summer bliss, of the peace that passeth hot weather. It seems to me that's a great way to honor those who have died: I'm at peace in the world they helped to create. I'm not going to argue just wars or unjust wars today. But soldiers die hoping that those left behind will live in some sort of peace and contentment. Politicians and bureaucrats go to war for other reasons, many of them not worthy of celebration. But soldiers die for hope. And today, in the sunshine, enjoying the beautiful weather, gardening and working in the yard, I think I'm honoring that hope. The peace that passeth hot weather.

Bruce is about it his own way--which mostly means cooking great food, his peace, about like this rhubarb crisp, a fantastic treat this time of year.

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Salmon with Crisp Potatoes and Olives

Ah, the lowly salmon fillet. It's the boneless skinless chicken breast of our day: a cliché, really. One that gets a tad tired. Or tiring. Whatever. It can be decidedly dull. But stocked with omega-3s, it's real food, a high-nutrition feast. How then to make it exciting?

I've been puzzling on this and I think I've come up with one delicious solution. Delicious enough that Bruce and I have had it for dinner now on two Tuesdays running. I had to share it with you: a skillet sauté for salmon fillets with potatoes and olives that get crisp.

Yes, even the olives. You really let them go. The potatoes, too. Until you have this crisp, salty bed for the salmon. Pure bliss. I sucked mine down last night with a glass of Coffaro Fresco. (If you don't know about the fantastic wines from the Coffaros in California, then check them out here. They'll drop ship right to your house. Plus, Pat's a pleasure to get to know!)

OK, so here's how to get the job done.

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Blueberry Crisp

Blueberries were thick in the markets in England for the past few days--which reminded me how much I love blueberry crisp. It's just one of those things. Vanilla ice cream makes it better--but is not necessary. Whipped cream, too. (I can't believe I just wrote that whipped cream is not necessary. I must be ill.) Anyway, here's a simple recipe for a blueberry crisp.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Not that I'm complaining (much), but it is after Easter and this is what our rhubarb looks like in the garden. (Um, if you want a notion of scale, notice the acorn cap at the top center of the picture.)

When I taught literature at Saint Edward's University in Austin, I always had to talk my students into agreeing with T. S. Eliot that April was "the cruelest month." April 15th and they were in shorts, T-shirts, half of them already sporting well-honed tans. "What does this old guy have against April?" they'd ask. If they were with me now in the Berkshires, they'd have no problem catching on.

Anyway, we wanted some taste of spring this weekend, some way to mitigate April's cruelty around here; so Bruce turned to THE ULTIMATE COOK BOOK to make a strawberry rhubarb crisp.

If you know anything about me--and there's no reason you should--you know that I'm a fanatic for crisp (although lately I've sort of been pretty cake-obsessed, thanks to this.) Crisps are like pies but with oats and lots of crunchiness. What's not to like?

Here's how it went down:

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