Iron Pigs, Bastille Day, and Strawberry Rhubarb Bars

Blake and I spent a glorious weekend at my Aunt Polly and Uncle Dick's house. They are artists who spend time creating beautiful shows in the Lehigh Valley, Staten Island, and Wilmington, Delaware. She is a costume designer clothing the beautiful actors/actresses and he is envisioning how the theatre set should look and move. Since they planted roots to Easton, PA in the mid-80s, they have hosted an Annual Bastille Day party for 40-60 of their closest friends. This is my 3rd Bastille Day and what a blast! The food is amazing, the wine and beer are flowing, and the conversation with their ecclectic friends (a General Manager on Broadway, a photographer for Vanity Fair, a PR Director for one of the oldest family run businesses in the country, etc) is fantastic! They spend all year thinking about the menu and fixing up the yard (you have never seen such a work of art)  to spend one night with the people they hold most dear. Now that is what I call dedication to sustaining long-lasting relationships!



FeFe and Me!

Other than Theatre, Art, and being the best tour guides of NYC (I am forever in their debt for spending days showing me around the city), they also love baseball. On Friday night, we accompanied them to Coca-Cola Park to cheer on the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (the AAA affiliate for the Phillies). This ball park is phenomenal and the food is delicious (Aw Shucks Grilled Corn on the Cob and Veggie Gyros) with fairly reasonable beer prices, yes please! The pigs also have the cutest mascot, FeFe, who is the biggest tease and likes to soak the littlest fans with water guns!

After a wonderful weekend with family, I returned to Darden to host an office birthday party for my colleagues with July, August, and September birthdays. This was our inagural event of trying quarterly birthdays and it worked pretty well with the help of Sticks Kebab Shop (a Charlottesville staple) and these Strawberry Rhubarb Bars. This recipe would work great with any type of seasonal fruit so stop by your local Farmer's Market today!

Strawberry/Rhubarb Bars

Crust:
1 cup oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter (cut up in small pieces)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Pulse together oats, flour, sugar, and salt.
Add butter and pulse until crumbly.
Whisk together oil, egg, vanilla, and almond extract.
With the motor running, add egg mixture through the tube and combine until a ball begins to form.
Save 1/2 cup for topping and press crust into 9 by 13 greased glass baking dish.

Filling:
6 cups chopped fruit (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine 4 cups of fruit, sugar, corn starch, and orange juice over medium heat, simmer and stir constantly for 10 minutes or until mixture gets very thick.
Add additional fruit and vanilla and stir until combined.
Spread filling over crust.

Topping:
1/2 cup crust mixture
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Combine additional crust and nuts.
Sprinkle topping over filling.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, lower temperature to 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
Let cool completely before serving.

*Adapted from an EatingWell.com recipe