Starting off 2022…. I bought a pineapple. I don’t do that very often because about half way through, I realize that pineapple is pretty acidic and I lose interest. But I felt like buying a pineapple for it’s symbolism. There are lots: warm welcomes, celebration and hospitality, friendship. Have one (or a painting or sculpture of one in a doorway, and it might mean stop in for a chat. In addition, it reminds me of warm climates and it’s pretty yucky weather here in greater Boston to start out the new year, so maybe I subconsciously was dreaming of Hawaii or the tropics. Either which way, I decided to make the standard crumble bars to start of the new year. Delicious, as always.
crumble bars
When in doubt, there is always a new type of crumble bars to try! This time, I went with a great combination of autumn flavors: figs and ginger. For those who don’t know, I absolutely love figs. I even have a Pinterest Board called “Getting Figgy with it”. 🙂 Anyway, figs and ginger, a buttery vanilla base and a few walnuts to top it off. Super yummy.
These were so good, I had to make them twice. 🙂 Yep, that’s right. I sampled one from the first batch and before I knew it, I had eaten half my giveaway. Whoopsie! At least I had a lot of Blueberry Jam hanging around. It is blueberry season and if you can get the good ones from Maine (or at very minimum, a jar of Stonewall Kitchen stuff), definitely go with the “Wild blueberry” variety. You won’t be sorry!
So many people only associate rhubarb with strawberries. I am here to prove that differently. Because rhubarb is an early summer harvest, and the cherry crop becomes ripe, at least around here, not too long after, I decided to combine those two fruits/veg and made some lovely and simple rhubarb-cherry compote. Add it to my usual crumble bars and you have a lovely, juicy, sweet-and-a-little-tart, handheld dessert or snack.
I’ve had a song stuck in my head for a day now. Do you like Piña Coladas? Getting caught in the rain…. Yup, all because of these here Pineapple Coconut Crumble Bars, I have been humming those two lines of The Piña Colada Song (mainly because I only know those two lines 🙂 ). It turned unexpectedly tropical this weekend in Greater Boston, so it was more or less appropriate eh?