No-Recipe Rhubarb Crisp

I have to laugh at those articles on how to compost. The directions will usually tell you to build or buy a compost pin, chop up your veg matter before adding it to the pile, balance the "green" and "brown" matter in your compost with correct ratios, water it, turn it, massage it, pamper it...

You can do all of that if you want, but here's how I compost:

Step #1: Toss leftover veg/fruit/tea/coffee/eggshells/garden clippings/dried leaves into the garden.  Aim for the same general area with each toss.

That's it. That's all I do. Compost professionals call this "slow composting," since I don't generate a lot of heat in my pile to break things down quicker. Since I only actually use my compost once a year in the spring, slow is ok by me. Sure, my garden doesn't look quite as neat and tidy as my neighbor's. And I do spontaneously get pumpkin vines and sunflowers sprouting around from seeds that regenerated from the pile. But I don't mind it.  In fact, I kinda like it. 

The same approach I take to composting often follows me into the kitchen. Take this rhubarb crisp. There are a million crisp recipes out there, and a million chefs who will tell you the "correct" way to do it, but why fancify something that is meant to be humble and simple to start with. So here's a "recipe", if you will, for rhubarb crisp. And if you are pulling rhubarb straight out of your garden, just leave the clipped off leaves on the ground. I call it mulch. 

Rhubarb Crisp

Fill a baking pan with cut-up rhubarb; coat with sugar to taste (less is more for me). In a bowl, mix equal parts butter, flour, brown sugar, and rolled oats, however much topping suits your fancy (more is more for me). Sprinkle topping onto fruit, bake at 350ish until bubbly and golden brown.