Rhubarb Crumble

I love rhubarb -- anything sour, really. It is delicious. I saw some great looking rhubarb at the store the other day and could not resist. It was smooth, bright pink, fresh and tender. I made up this easy recipe as I went, and it turned out delicious!

Rhubarb Crumble

1 lb. fresh rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c. sugar

Crumble topping:
3/4 c. oats
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. shortening of choice -- I used butter, but could have easily just used oil or anything else

Assembly is pretty easy. Spray 9"x9" casserole (or whatever pan you have) with non-stick spray. Put rhubarb into casserole, dump sugar on top, and toss. In separate bowl, mix together ingredients for crumble. If using butter, crumble it in as you would for biscuits, but if using oil, just mix. This crumble recipe makes a little extra topping (can be used for variety of other things another time). Distribute crumble over top of rhubarb and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Eat.

I suppose you could have this with vanilla ice cream, yogurt, or milk, but the smell of it's deliciousness kept me from doing any of these things. I just ate. Enjoy!

Love from a distance

Relationships are so complicated, and long-distance dating makes it even harder. When your partner is far away, it brings out every dumb insecurity that you ever had in relationships.. like, does he like me as much as I like him? Does he like me too much? Does he understand me? Even though my boyfriend gives me no reason to doubt him -- he always brings me thoughtful gifts when he comes to visit, sometimes sends me sweet packages, and we have such great talks on the phone -- I still sometimes find myself wondering if he could possibly care about me as much as he says, or if I really love him or if I'm just holding on because he is the only constant in my life while everything else is changing. I admit, the last time I visited him, I felt a little detached emotionally, as if sex was the only thing we had in common any more. Not that we didn't have fun hanging out, but I found myself wondering if it was really worth the drive or if I was just holding on for other reasons. That is horrible. He is wonderful. I think I was just feeling a little insecure because this love thing is so new to me, and sometimes he doesn't say those three words quite often enough. I did not mention this to him, but I think he could tell something was up. He's been telling me he loves me a lot more now, which does make me feel better actually. Is that stupid?

But, now that he's saying it more often, it also makes me miss him more, which is another reason that I had allowed myself to feel detached sometimes (easier emotionally to not be longing for him all the time). He was supposed to come visit next weekend as part of a business/family visit trip, but now he probably won't be able to come my way because of the way the business aspect of his trip has worked out. This makes me sad. In fact, I've already cried about it more than once. Am I crazy? I'm not normally a crier, but he just seems to bring it out in me. Without this coming weekend, we won't be able to get together until Easter at the earliest -- a full month since the last time we saw each other. Does anyone out there have tips or suggestions for how to keep the love alive from a distance and not lose your mind? I could sure use some help in that department.