Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

The strawberries are here! As a child, I knew that strawberries came right around Easter. My best friend and I would melt down our bunnies and have chocolate covered strawberries and it was always my favorite part of spring. Growing up in California we picked apples in the fall and once we picked grapes in the San Joaquin valley, but that was it. I lived in a suburb of a large city and there weren't many farms around. Well, I've come 180* in the opposite direction! It takes about 30 minutes of driving to get to the nearest mall or Target and in between is nothing but fields and farms. My location may have changed, but not my love of strawberries, and this year we got to go out in those fields and pick them ourselves! I quickly learned that "pick your own" is a bit of a scam, and something we'll only do once a year. For $16 you get 4 quarts of strawberries that you pick yourself. Or, alternatively, they'll pick them for you for...you got it, $16 for 4 quarts. I do all the labor and pay the same price??? scammmmm! But, it was really fun, and SweetPea loved it.

SweetPea and my mom

We went to an orchard close to our house and picked, and picked, and picked...I've got to say, it's hard to leave some behind! They're all so red and juicy, I kept thinking, "just one more. oh wait, that one too. but, that one is so big!" Then, as I went up to pay it occurred to me to double check on these delicious looking berries as I didn't see any bugs out in that field, which was suspicious. Sure enough! The teenager at the counter looked from side to side nervously and then leaned in to whisper,
"They DO spray. Must be because the man who owns this place is really old and that's what they did back in the day". WHAT???!!! I just payed $4 a quart, spent an hour picking them in a field and they're nothing but grocery store strawberries that I could have paid $2.50 for at the commissary?! Suffice it to say, I was irked**. They were amazingly delicious though. And over the next 4 or 5 days, we ate them pesticides and all.
The next time I wanted strawberries, I wasn't taking any chances of being ripped off again and called ahead. There is a lovely little certified organic farm about 15 minutes down the road and I picked up a flat (8 quarts) for $35 and didn't have to pick them myself. That's a WAY better deal! And next year, we'll go to that farm for the strawberry picking experience.

I used 2 quarts to make jam, we ate 2, I sliced and froze 3 and I used 1 quart to make strawberry rhubarb cobbler. This cobbler is one of the best things that I have EVER eaten, and I'm not just saying that because it's my recipe. I was skeptical about rhubarb for years. Why do I want something that resembles celery in my strawberry pie? I thought it was weird. Last April Mr. F and I went on a date about a week before he left for 3 months for OCS. It was one of the best dates we've ever had. We went to the Boardwalk and shopped at a farmers market, and watched the sunset over the ocean while we ate strawberry rhubarb pie and I was sold. Strawberries and rhubarb are one of the most perfect flavor combinations in existence. I've wanted to try my hand at those flavors ever since, but I didn't want to do it with out of season fruit. So, I waited patiently for Spring. It was well worth the wait and this will definitely become a Spring time tradition in our family.

Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

1 lb rhubarb sliced thin and chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 lb sliced strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 TB cornstarch
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

1 stick of butter (Earth Balance for Vegan) softened
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup brown rice, sorghum or oat flour
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup gf rolled oats
2 TB Olive Oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
small pinch of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375*. Coat the rhubarb in sugar and let it sit for 10 minutes. This sort of "cures" the rhubarb. Throw away any leftover juices. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with the strawberries and to the rhubarb. Add cornstarch, lemon and vanilla and stir. Place in a medium sized baking dish.
Mix together almond meal, flour, oats, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Stir well. Add Olive oil and butter and mix with your fingers until it becomes a coarse crumble. Generously sprinkle over the filling and bake for 45 minutes. Turn down the oven to 325* and bake for another 15 minutes. Allow it to cool for about 20 minutes. This will allow the filling to set but will still be warm. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

**As a side note: I'd like to mention, that while we do eat a lot of organic foods, we do eat non-organic too. It depends on the item, availability and the price. Some months we choose to do other things with our money and have to buy a lot non-organic, but I always strive to stick with the dirty dozen list. I never want to come across superior sounding; eat the best you can afford and do what you can. Every little change makes a difference.