By Thanksgiving. The seventh joint Kowalski-O'Brien Thanksgiving. Jake turns twenty-nine. The numbers accumulate. The table stays full. The food stays the same because the food is the point and the point doesn't change.
Turkey cranberry pierogi. Now so established that they appear on a printed menu Megan made for the table, listing every dish and who brought it. My name is next to seven items. Colleen's is next to three. Linda's is next to four. Tom's is next to "opinions." Patrick's is next to "Jameson." The menu is framed on the fridge. It is both a joke and a document of a family.
Eight months of trying. Thanksgiving prayers feel different this year. When Father Jankowski talked about gratitude at Mass, I thought about the things I'm grateful for — Megan, the family, the food, the life — and the things I'm waiting for. Gratitude and waiting can coexist. Thankfulness and longing can sit at the same table. They do, every year, at this table, in this house.
After dinner, Megan and I sat on the porch again. Cold November air. She said, "I'm grateful for this." I said, "For what?" She said, "For everything. For the trying. For you." I said, "I'm grateful for you." She said, "I know." She does know. She always knows. The confidence of a woman who chose a pierogi maker from Bay View and has never once regretted it.
Made pumpkin pie and apple pie. Both from scratch. Both for the table. Both eaten with the abandon of people who have been cooking all day and deserve every bite. Twenty-nine years old. Married. Trying. Waiting. Grateful. This is enough. This is more than enough.
Pumpkin pie and apple pie got all the glory that Thanksgiving, and they deserved it — but the recipe I keep coming back to when I want that same from-scratch feeling any other time of year is this Rhubarb Raspberry Crisp. There’s something about the balance of tart and sweet, the way the oat topping crisps up golden in the oven, that captures exactly what I was reaching for on that porch with Megan: something real, made by hand, shared with people who matter. It doesn’t need to be November to deserve that.
Rhubarb Raspberry Crisp
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish or equivalent.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, toss together the rhubarb, raspberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract until the fruit is evenly coated. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
- Make the crisp topping. In a separate bowl, combine the rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles with pea-sized butter pieces throughout.
- Assemble and bake. Sprinkle the crisp topping evenly over the fruit filling. Bake for 38—42 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling around the edges.
- Rest and serve. Let the crisp rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm on its own, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 47g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 80mg