Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Bars

I've had an unintentionally long hiatus from posting recipes. That is a combination of moving, working two jobs, and being pregnant. The frustrating this is  it's not so much finding the time to cook or bake (although I'm not doing either as often as I would like) as it is finding the time to organize and post a well thought-out entry. But I finally sat down today to write the first of about 30 some-odd entries that I have had back-logged and in the posting queue since last summer, so I'm posting these out of chronological order, but according to the season we are currently in, if that makes sense. I have about 6 baking entries that I consider "summer themed' so I am going to try to bang out as many of those posts as I can before the end of August.

I also have a huge number of backlogged cooking posts from the farm share I had last summer, which I suppose are "summer themed" as well, but I'd rather get the baking ones out of the way first, since I tend to be more enthusiastic about my baking than about my cooking.

Strawberry and rhubarb is one of my favorite summer flavor combinations, and this is not the first strawberry-rhubarb dessert I've posted on this blog, but it might just be my favorite. This particular recipe is a relatively simple bar recipe which I modified from a post on landolakes.com (don't ask how I ended up there browsing, I can't remember for the life of me!)

You start with the filling, which is made up primarily of sliced rhubarb and sliced strawberries.

Cook the fruit over medium heat with a little lemon juice until the fruit breaks down into a preserve of jam consistency. 

The original recipe said this would take about 8-12 minutes, but if I recall correctly, it took me about 20.

Then you add in sugar and cornstarch and bring it back up to a bubble, give it a chance to thicken, and set it aside.

While the fruit is cooling, start on the crust by combining oats, butter, brown sugar and flour in a bowl.

Pat about half of it into the bottom of a 9x13" pan.

Spread the fruit over the bottom crust (fruit does not have to cool completely, however long it takes you to make the crust and preheat the oven is good enough), and then sprinkle the reserve crust on the top evenly.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until the top is a nice golden brown.

Cool completely before cutting and serving.

These bars were delicious, and a big hit when I brought them into work. They are sweet, tart, transport well, and don't have to be refrigerated. 

All in all, they are a great choice for a summertime treat, especially if you need a take-along dessert!!

Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Bars

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

 Directions

1. Combine rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice in 2-quart saucepan. Cover; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is tender (8 to 12 minutes). Basically the consistency of preserves, if not full-on jam.
2.  Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in small bowl. Stir into fruit mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil (about 1 minute). Continue boiling until thickened (1 minute). Remove from heat. Set aside. 
3.  Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all crust ingredients in large bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Spread filling over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
4.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.