rhubarb crisp with orange, raspberries + crushed cashew topping

Friends, it is indeed beginning to look and feel like summer. It’s amazing what a glimmer of sun can do for the human spirit. It’s invigorating. Everywhere I look, people are smiling, planning BBQ’s and making arrangements to meet friends for cocktails. Children are riding their bicycles and skipping rope. After months of seemingly never-ending cold and dreary weather, summer has finally graced us with its presence.

Nothing screams summer more than the emergence of vegetables in your homegrown garden but after realizing that I hadn’t planted rhubarb this year, I felt almost desperate for it. It’s as though I couldn’t have imagined eating anything else that day. I dashed to the local farmer’s market and found some delicious rhubarb- red, crisp and perfect. I couldn’t wait to get it home and make tart rhubarb crisp with sweet raspberries, fresh orange and salty cashews. It was exactly what I needed to celebrate the beginning of summer. It’s amazing how a simple, summer dessert can make you look forward to an entire season of beach-laden days and warm nights filled with BBQ’s and family gatherings. Summer, we welcome you!