i'd rather be baking

Well, here we go again. We’re moving! In two weeks we’ll be westward-bound again, this time to Portland, Oregon. While there is certainly a mountain of work to be done in the next two weeks, we are excited. So here I am, cleaning out my freezer and pantry bit by bit, which led to this wonderful fruit crumble.

Originally I wanted to make a strawberry rhubarb crumble, but then come Sunday morning I couldn’t find any rhubarb, and really didn’t have time to go hunting around for it at multiple stores. So I decided to use cranberries instead. I know it isn’t the same thing, but I had just over a cup leftover in my freezer, along with a good two cups of strawberries, and decided to call it good. I don’t know why systematically emptying out the freezer is so satisfying, but it really is.

I started with Jenna’s crumble recipe and tinkered with it a bit, adding whole wheat flour and subtracting some sugar to try and make it as wholesome as I could without detracting from the taste. It’s a good thing I did, because in less than 24 hours I’ve eaten half the pan. I know, it’s not my finest hour. But if you’re going to eat half a pan of dessert, this is really not a bad one for the job.

Strawberry Cranberry Apple Crumble
Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

This is one of my favorite things I’ve baked…ever. And it was born out of leftover frozen fruit. I love it when that happens. This fruit medley is the perfect balance of sweet-tart goodness, without being overly sugary. Obviously this can be tinkered with; so long as you have about 4 cups of fruit total, feel free to throw in whatever you have in the freezer.

1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 cups quartered strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 medium apple, diced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 T cold butter, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter an 8 x 8″ baking dish and set aside.

Toss the cranberries, strawberries and apple in a large bowl with the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and agave nectar. Pour fruit mixture into the pan.

In the same bowl you tossed the fruit it, combine the oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the butter in until it resembles coarse sand (you still want some tiny butter chunks here though—don’t work it in so much that it becomes cornmeal/pie dough consistency).

Pour the topping on the fruit and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden. Refrigerate the leftovers – it’s just as good cold!