Rhubarb Torte

Enjoyed lunch with friends and an afternoon at the West Allis Farmer's Market today. The most entertaining part of the trip was when an elderly produce selling man decided to hit on me. I bought something from one of his neighboring vendors and started walking by when he very loudly said, "hi, how are you doing today?". I responded with a cheery good and returned his greeting. He said he was good. I flashed a big smile and started on my way. I heard him shout back at me "you're looking good today too". That made me laugh a little and my friend Kev said that Ryan better watch out!

I was surprised to see how much the market variety had increased in just a few short weeks. I purchased an eggplant ($1), two broccoli stalks ($1), four large sunflowers ($3), a cantaloupe ($3), a pound of green beans ($3) and a basket of heirloom dark cherry tomatoes ($4) which I forgot to take with me. Blast! I'm consistently amazed at how much healthy food I can get for so little cash. West Allis really has the most spectacular Farmer's Market I've attended outside of Madison and it's considerably less annoying than that one with designated wide aisles and a better overall sense of order.

Visiting the market has started to get me pumped up for the idea of a front yard garden - a project we hope to embark on next spring. I was still skeptical when we talked about starting it this year, thinking our neighbors might decide we're crazy freaks for wanting to rip up our lawn. I also wondered how it would look and whether it would be ugly. But when we were visiting our friend Kathleen in Durango, CO she inspired me by telling us how she killed her lawn right off the bat determined not to waste water on something of no use. The endless vegetable bounty of the Farmer's Market makes me think about what we could grow at home on our small, small plot of land and how gratifying that could be.

With a day off I decided to surprise Ry by making his favorite Rhubarb Torte that comes from a special family recipe. Last year I made it for his birthday, but I didn't get the recipe quite right. It calls for corn starch and I subbed tapioca flour hoping it would work. Needless to say, it was good but didn't pass the Mom Test of Approval (aka as good as mom makes). Since we were away for his birthday, I wanted to surprise him with it sometime this week. I had a couple of bags of garden fresh rhubarb stored in the freezer courtesy of Josh and Brenda (Ry's cousin & wife). With all the right ingredients this time and beautiful red rhubarb chunks, I tried it again!

Murray Rhubarb Torte
* Disclaimer...Ry assures me since I'm family now it's okay to share the recipe. If it's not okay, then it's on him!

Oatmeal Topping
2C brown sugar
2t cinnamon
1.5C oatmeal
1C melted butter (vegan margarine for us)
2C flour
Mix with hands until crumbly.

Rhubarb
4 C rhubarb
Chop into inch wide pieces. Pour boiling water over fruit. Let stand five minutes. Drain.

Syrup
2C water
2C sugar
4T cornstarch
2t vanilla
Combine in saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until clear. Be careful, once boiling it can quickly run over the top of your pot. Best to lower the temp once it's boiling. It's no fun to clean up off the stove top.

Put 1/2 the oatmeal topping in the bottom of a 9 x13" pain greased with Pam. Cover with rhubarb. Pour syrup over rhubarb. Top with remaining oatmeal mix. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Okay to serve when hot, but should be stored in the fridge thereafter.