Food Friday: Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb Crisp - Hot out of the oven!

It’s rhubarb season!  This Food Friday post is an old family recipe for Rhubarb Crisp. It is colorful and oh, so tasty! The crumb topping works well for apple or cherry crisp, but rhubarb is my favorite! Bake up a pan of this sweet and tart dessert tonight!

Rhubarb Crisp

Crumb Topping

1 Cup sifted flour
¾ Cup rolled oats
1 Cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ Cup melted butter

Combine dry ingredients. Pour melted butter over dry ingredients and stir until texture is uniform.  Set aside.

Fruit Filling 

4 Cups diced rhubarb
1 Cup sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 Cup water
1tsp vanilla

Place rhubarb in an 8x8 inch baking pan. Combine sugar, cornstarch and water in a saucepan.  Heat and stir until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour over rhubarb.  Top with crumb topping.  Bake at 350◦ for one hour.  Serve warm as is or top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Yum!

This recipe can easily be doubled for larger crowds.

Find more of my favorite recipes HERE.

Question: Do you have a recipe to share?  Comment below.


Happy Running!
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Idaho weather running challenges

I love this state. I still sing the state song I learned in the fourth grade, “And here we have Idaho,” but the weather patterns in the spring and fall of the year are so unpredictable that it presents a real challenge to outdoor exercise enthusiasts. Mornings are cool and afternoons are still blazing hot.  Last night I made a date with a friend to go for a bike ride this morning.  Alas, the wind is blowing heavily enough that we opted out.  No need to get blown over!

These changing weather conditions are actually one of the reasons I choose to run.  Although I really dislike running in the wind, there are few excuses to keep me from heading outside for a run.

 Too cold?  Layer up.

Too wet? Don a rain jacket and stay off the dirt roads.

Too snowy?  Well, running in a snowstorm is a lot of fun!

Too hot? Run early or run late.  Better yet, run in those cute wicking outfits you splurged on.

Too dark? That’s what headlamps and running buddies are for.

Too windy?  Yeah, probably.

I don’t always stick to my running schedule, however, the more excuses I can eliminate the more likely I am to be successful. Injuries and wind are my two biggest challenges and even then I can sometimes be found running with both.

What about you? What keeps you from being consistent?

Happy Running!

Warm weather running

Warm weather running, oh how I’ve missed you!  It’s like it happens overnight in the Treasure Valley.  One day I am layering on long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, gloves and headbands, and just a weekend later I am running free in a short sleeved Tee. 

Freedom!

Well, except for the part where it is so warm that sweat stings my eyes as it drips from my brow and the cool down is actually a warm down.

I do enjoy a warm weather run.  I feel ten pounds lighter what with the absence of the sweatshirt and added warm gear.  My muscles don’t protest as much at the beginning of a warm run as they do during colder temps.  Slow as molasses?  Yes, I understand that expression. It is also easier for me to take time to stretch post-run.  When it is cold, I can’t wait to get indoors and into a hot shower!  While this feels absolutely divine, I would be better served to stretch a bit first.  Experience has taught me how important it is to stretch, but oh … that warm water calleth me!

I have to hurry to enjoy it, however.  You see, the seasons change quickly around here and soon I will be going for hot weather runs.  They are almost as challenging as cold weather runs, only opposite.  Instead of adding more layers I plant water bottles in strategic spots and rise early to avoid the heat.

Alas, I must be difficult to please, but I must keep running, and so I shall.  For now, I will bask in the comfort of moderate spring temperatures – at least until the wind comes or it rains.

Question: What weather conditions do you prefer for your outdoor exercise?

Happy Running!

Perfect Moments

Every once in a while you find a perfect moment ...

What a beautiful evening for a run!  I keep praying for precipitation because it is dearly needed, but I do so love a run in the sun.  I’ve been grumbling all week about Daylight Savings Time because it has messed up my mornings, but it certainly helped make this evening great.  I thought my day was too full to work in a run, but even after feeding my hubby his supper and getting him out the door for a meeting it was still nice and warm with enough daylight left to hit the pavement and log a few miles. Some cool things happened …

I was able to run in a short sleeved shirt.  Love that.

I ran upon a friend who was out for a walk.  I abandoned the run and enjoyed her company for about a mile.

After the walk, I felt like I needed to make up some time so the next mile and half turned into speed work.  It just happened.

I arrived home and decided that the night was young and warm and I had time to run farther, so off I trotted for an easy mile cool down.

I am looking forward to some balmy running weather.  I am a realist, however, and know that mixed amongst those balmy runs are rain and wind and hail and more wind! For today, though, the weather was perfect!

I am grateful for moments of perfection.

Question: Have you had a moment of perfection lately?

Happy Running!

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I’m a runner and I know it!

More evidence that I am a runner came today.  I escaped for a couple days with my husband.  While he was in meetings learning how to better do his job, I had free time on my hands in Teton Village! I could have booked a pedicure.  We all know runners need pedicures! I could have shopped the shops or ordered breakfast in and scheduled some other kind of pampering at the spa.  I could have gone to Jackson Hole and spent the day in those shops or stayed in my room to read a book. But I am a runner, and so I ran three miles at 6300 feet!  Here is the evidence.  Those would be Teton Peaks in the background.

 

Proof

 
I need to work on selfies.  I forgot to smile!
It was a brisk morning and the elevation is a killer, but here are some of the things I would have missed had I chosen a different activity.

 

A glimpse of the Tetons in the fall. My early years were spent in view of these mountains and I still get a feeling of “belonging” when I see them.

 

Check out those ski runs!  It won’t be long before they are covered in snow, the lifts are running, and skiers are scattered about the mountain.  Did I mention that I am also a skier?

 

Look at those fall colors! 

Yes, I am a runner and I know it, not because I can run a six minute mile – I can’t. It’s because I run.  Whether I run because I am racing, staying sane, helping with a cross country team, or killing time, it matters not.  What matters is – I run. 

Do you run?  If so, then you are a runner, too.

 

What do you do that says, "I am  runner?"



It's Fall. What's your excuse?

It's Fall! I don't know why I think I should have time to report about running during this busy season.  The daylight gets shorter and the work load gets longer.  Here is a list of excuses for my silence.

1. Harvesting the garden.
2. Canning - tomatoes, hot pepper jelly, mandarin sauce, and chicken
3. Lawn care.  Cooler temps and a little precipitation make for rapid grass growth.
4. Football.
5. Running - daily with the XC Team.
6. XC Meets.
7. Cookie baking - for the XC Team.
8. Examining toes for shedding nails.  They are still hanging in there!
9. Wondering what on earth I could possible write about!

That just about covers it. Now I am off to run in the rain with the XC Team!  Happy Fall!