Rhubarb & Pumpkin Crumble

Tigger and I spent some time at the allotment this weekend.  It was mainly an exercise in turning compost heaps and clearing some drainage ditches, but we did notice that many of the rhubarb plants (and we have MANY) have multiple stems on them. 

It must be time to clear last season's rhubarb from the freezer. Fresh will be available a week or two from now.

I haven't sugared rhubarb for years now, prefering instead to cook it in pies and crumbles with a sliced banana, or some sweet cicely stems. 

Years ago I can remember someone who had worked in a jam factory telling me that cheap jams were often made using pumpkin pulp to bulk out the more expensive berry fruits.  So instead of sugar (and because the 'no shop' means I can't go out and buy bananas), I decided to cut the rhubarb pulp with mashed pumpkin. There are still plenty of last year's pumpkins stored on the dining room windowsill, and one or two had started to develop rot round the flower end so time to use them up - fast.

So there you have it - 50/50 stewed rhubarb and mashed cooked pumpkin, spiced up with some grated fresh (or frozen from fresh) ginger, and topped with a rolled oats crumble topping (see earlier post on crumble topping).
 
It works just fine, colour not as deep red as rhubarb on its own, but tastes excellent.