Vernon WadeThere are lots of cooks out there who actually know what they are doing. I pretty much taught myself to cook, out of necessity. I haven’t a clue most of the time, but I do love to eat. 

I have made everything posted here. If I can do it, you certainly can. Someday, if there is enough interest, I will gather all these recipes into a cookbook. In the meantime, in the spirit of dashes, dollops and three-fingered pinches, I present them here for you to try. Let me know what you think.

Dutch Oven Rhubarb Cobbler

 

Spring hasn’t officially arrived until the rhubarb is up. One morning a few leaves poke through the frost covered mulch; by the end of the week, giant rosettes of primordial leaves on bright red stalks cover that corner of the garden. All too soon, these plants will bolt and the stalks will turn woody and inedible, but while they are fresh and tender, there is no better treat. This year, I made a cobbler from the first cutting. It was delicious. I plan to freeze some rhubarb and use this desert for a treat while camping this summer.

 

chopped rhubarb

Ingredients:

Filling

 

  • 8 cups chopped rhubarb
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

Ingredients:

Topping

  •  3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup powdered milk
  •  1 tsp salt
  •  3 tsp baking powder
  •  1 tsp vanilla
  •  2 eggs
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 cup water

Ingredients:

Streusel

  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 pinches of cinnamon
  • 3/4 stick of melted butter

Wash and chop 4-8 cups fresh rhubarb stalks (more rhubarb is more better).

Place rhubarb in 5-quart Dutch oven, stir in ½ to 1 full cup unfiltered apple cider and ¼ to ½ cup brown sugar. Place coals above and beneath the Dutch oven to bring it to 350f

While the rhubarb cooks down, combine the dry ingredients for the topping in a large bowl. Stir in water, oil and two beaten eggs two form a thick batter.

In a separate bowl mix 1½ cups brown sugar with 2 three-fingered pinches of ground cinnamon.

Melt ¾ stick of butter

Once the rhubarb mixture is bubbly and the oven is hot, pour in the batter, spreading it evenly over the top of the rhubarb.

Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over the batter and drizzle with melted butter.

Replace the oven lid and renew the coals as necessary. You want to maintain an even, medium-low heat. Give the oven and lid a quarter turn in opposite directions every 15 minutes or so to prevent hot spots and promote even baking. The cobbler is done when a knife can be withdrawn cleanly from the cake.