Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Happiness Project

comfort-food    Vs.    
(Photos from www.alisamlibby.wordpress.com and www.cltblog.wordpress.com)
Are you struggling to be happy?  Do you have days where you can't get out of a funk?  Well, I have found a brilliant book and blog for you!  Gretchen Rubin, #1 New York Times bestselling author, has written a book called, The Happiness Project.  The book is a memoir of the how to be happy.  Some of the tips she offers are so basic and easy to follow that you will feel better in no time! 

One of Gretchen's recent blog entries discusses comfort food for your mind.  She explains how doing activities can make one feel better.  When one is sad and having a rough day, people often turn to comfort food.  We all try and eat healthy as much as we can, but every now and then you just want that something special that soothes your tastebuds and warms your heart.  Comfort food can be a hearty stew on a frigid winter night or a carton of cookie dough ice cream at 2 in the morning when you are upset about a breakup.  The problem with emotional eating is that after you try eating your problems away, you develop new problems and the old ones are still there.  I know that when I am stressed and have a piece of chocolate cake, I not only still feel anxious about the thing that was stressing me out but also about the calories that I just put into my body.  Instead of always turning to emotional eating, why not try comfort food for your mind?  Atleast, after you try some of Gretchen's tips, you won't feel even worse than you did before you ate the maccoroni and cheese.

Comfort food for the mind is a mental break that you allow yourself from whatever is stressing you out or making you feel sad.  Gretchen suggests cooking, exercise, playing with your kids, reading a good book, or seeing a funny movie. After you take a "mental vacation", you may feel better and be able to deal with your situation in a new manor.  Occasionally, when I have writer's block, I will take a break and go for a run.  When I run, I clear my mind, listen to music, breathe fresh air and release endorphines.  When I get back to the computer, I feel more focused and new ideas will pop into my mind.  The next time that you have a stressful day at work, a disheartening personal situation or are just feeling down, try nourishing yourself with comfort food - for your mind, that is!



Wednesday, October 6, 2010

How are you healing your wound?

The grieving process is so difficult and never goes away.

Like a wound to the skin, the pain is unbearable when it occurs.  The wound is raw and bleeding.  The body is in shock, thinking, "Did this really just happen?"  You are in pain but can't really feel the magnitude of the pain at the moment the wound occurs.  You know something horrible has happened.  You quickly hold a tissue over it, put some neosporin and a band-aid on.  There, that stops the bleeding, for now.

Eventually, you take the band-aid off and expose the wound to the world.  The wound gets some fresh air and decides its time to start the healing process; it turns into a scab.  A scab is a hard coating on the skin formed during the wound healing reconstruction phase.  The scab shows physically- it is dark, dry and discolored.  It shows the outside world that something is wrong.  It protects the wound.  When the scab is comfortable that the wound can handle life without the protecting walls, it falls off and leaves raw and new skin, that will heal and turn into a scar.  That scar is very visible at first and then over time it fades, but it is ingrained in you for life.

Everyone has scars, whether they be physical and/or emotional.  While a skin gash is physical and outside of the body, the emotional body does the exact same thing, internally.  It's nature.  The body learns how to recover from tragedy.  When you lose a loved one, you need to teach yourself how to recover and reconstruct your life.  In a sense, bandage and tend to the wound, then, let it heal.  Rituals can help by doing your normal routines (showering, going to work, making dinner) but what helps you have life and passion again?   How do you get through the days?  What heals your wounds?

In writing this book, I am looking for tips on what will help others with the grieving process.  Those who have experienced grief can offer the best advice and tips.  Please share them to help others!

Monday, September 27, 2010

S'mores... S'nuff Said


Did you go to camp and make s'mores with all of your friends?  I did and I just loved them.  My parents also would let us make them in the winter time.  They would light a fire in our fireplace and bring out the HERSHEY's chocolate candy bars with Graham Crackers and marshmallows.  My sisters, cousins and I would take the sticks, sit on the freezing cold floor and warm ourselves up by toasting the marshmallows.  My middle sister liked hers golden brown but my mom and I made ours burnt.  Anyways, I digress.
I found this delicious recipe for S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies off of the HERSHEY's website.   They can be made ahead of time and served for dessert.  I love them because you get the same great taste without all of the mess. One of my friend's mothers made these for a summer BBQ dessert and everyone went wild for them.  I hope you like them as much as I do!




S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 C. flour
3/4 C. graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 HERSHEY's Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz each)
3 C. miniature marshmallows


Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 8 inch square baking pan (I doubled the recipe and made it in a bigger pan).
Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture until blended.  


Press half of dough in prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.


Place chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit.  


Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. 


Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.  
Makes 16 bars.




Printer Friendly Version:


1/2 C. (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 C. flour
3/4 C. graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 HERSHEY's Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz each)
3 C. miniature marshmallows

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 8 inch square baking pan (I doubled the recipe and made it in a bigger pan).
Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture until blended.  Press half of dough in prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
Place chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit.  Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.  
Makes 16 bars.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Storecipe of the Week: Ruth's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

When a majority of people think about meatballs, they think of spaghetti and meatballs, with the traditional Italian flair.  I have noticed that many Jewish recipe are very similar to Italian recipe but with added sweetness.  For example, Jew's always joke that Kugel is really Jewish Lasagna.  Sweet and sour meatballs are very similar to Italian meatballs but with a sweet and sour tomato sauce.  Most Italian grandmothers would roll off their rockers if they tasted them as they would probably feel that the sauce has been ruined!  With that being said, they really are surprisingly delicious.  They are best served over rice or noodles for an entree or as an appetizer, they can be made into smaller balls and served with bread.


Belinda, from Highland Park, Illinois, put it best when she said that her "bittersweet memory is actually sweet and sour".  Here is Belinda's story and her mother, Ruth's recipe, which my family raved about.  Thanks, Belinda! 


Ruth's Sweet and Sour Meatballs
I guess my bittersweet memories are actually sweet and sour. Most of my mom's recipes I've had to approximate, because I don't remember exactly how she made them, and there are no written recipes as far as I know. In fact, I can't remember there ever having been a cookbook in our home. She had her recipes committed to memory and cooked in that intuitive, non-scientific way that many good cooks of an earlier era did. Her sweet and sour meatballs were my absolute favorite dish and one day, many, many years ago, I followed Mom around the kitchen taking notes while she prepared them. 
Mom's meatballs are delicious and smell great while cooking.  In fact, the aroma is intoxicating and takes me back to my childhood and my mom's kitchen. Moreover, this is a pretty healthful recipe, calling for all natural ingredients and no fillers. My daughter, Laura (Loritchka), makes them using ground turkey with much success. It works as either an appetizer or an entree, depending on how generous you are with the meatballs. Best to have fresh challah bread on hand for dunking in the sauce!


Thoughts
1 C. diced carrots 
1 C. diced onions 
2 T. olive oil 
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes 
1/2 tsp. salt 
1/4 tsp. pepper 
1/2 tsp. garlic powder 
1 lb. ground beef 
1 egg 
1/2 tsp dried onion flakes 
1 onion, grated 
1/2 C. diced celery
1/2 C. sugar 
1/4 C. lemon juice


Putting the Memory Together
Place oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Saute carrots and onions until soft, about 5 minutes.  


Add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with juice. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder; you can add more or less according to taste. Let simmer.


To ground beef, add egg, dried onion flakes, grated onion and celery. Wet hands and form small meatballs (about 1 inch balls) and drop in simmering sauce. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. 


Then add sugar and lemon juice. Stir and taste the sauce.  You may add more sugar or lemon juice to adjust the sweet/sour flavor to your taste. Cook for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Storecipe of the Week: Jewish Biscotti aka Mandel Bread

Mandelbrot, which literally means almond (mandel) bread (brot), is a twice-baked hard bread similar to Italian biscotti.  According to Jewish Cooking in America, "With a large Jewish population in Piedmont, Italy may have been the place where Jews first tasted biscotti and later brought them to Eastern Europe.  In Italy they are often eaten as a dessert dipped into wine or grappa. In Eastern Europe, Jews dipped them into a glass of tea, and because they include no butter and are easily kept they became a good Sabbath dessert" (Jewish Cooking in America, Joan Nathan [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1998 p. 354).

Growing up, mandel bread was a staple in our house, especially around the Jewish Holidays.  My mother's friend, Paula always made the best kind with chocolate chips and a ton of cinnamon and sugar.  Paula would bring over a HUGE batch and we would eat some and then freeze the rest.  We wanted to have it for as long as possible, so we would just take out a few pieces at a time to enjoy it throughout the next few months.  Today, I make Paula's mandel bread every year for the holidays.  When I bake it, my house smells like the good old days when my mother and I would be preparing for our own holiday dinners together.  I just love it.

I was so excited when I received a submission from Skokie, Illinois native, Charlotte, about her mother's mandel bread.  Charlotte shares a very sweet story with an incredible recipe.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Many, many years ago just before my Mom died, my mother-in-law wanted me to get her my mother's recipe for mandel bread. Well, everyone feels that they make the BEST mandel bread, but I have to say our entire family always thought that my Mom beat everyone else's by a mile. At this point, in 1975, I was married with one son and did some baking but I had never tried to make my mom's recipe. So I asked her for it and wrote it down for my mother-in-law. Well, of course she nor anyone else with the recipe could make it the way my mom did. Shortly thereafter, on May 18, 1976 my mom died. My daughter was born 8 days later and was named after my beloved mother. The mandel bread was the last thing on my mind at that time. A few years later I finally decided to give the recipe a try so I had to ask my mother-in-law for the recipe since I hadn't kept it for myself. Well, I guess there is something to be said for passing things down, because to this day I have been told by many, many people that I am the only one that can make the mandel bread the way my mom did and this is a very treasured memory for me.


Thoughts:
3 Eggs 
1 C. Sugar 
3/4 C. Vegetable Oil 
3 C. Flour 
1 Tsp. vanilla 
2 Tsp. Baking Powder 
1 tsp. Cinnamon 
6 oz. of Chopped Walnuts or Chocolate Chips
Extra Cinnamon and Sugar to dust 


Putting the Memory Together:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat togther (by hand) the eggs and sugar. Then add the oil. Next add the flour 1 cup at a time, reserving a little to use to sprinkle on the baking sheets. Add the vanilla, baking powder and a dash of cinnamon after the first cup of flour. Stir until well mixed. 


Then add the nuts and/or chocolate chips. 


Butter and flour two cookie sheets. You make four rows of dough - 2 on each sheet. 


Sprinkle the dough with cinnamon and sugar. 


Bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned. 
Cut each loaf into single pieces, about 3/4" thick, and turn each one on its side.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Flip the cookie on its other side and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar again.  Bake for another 5 minutes.  Watch closely to make sure not to overcook. 

Monday, September 6, 2010

Storecipe of the Week: Jill's Sugar Cookies

As I have said before, cookies are my most favorite dessert in the world!  Whether they are oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, peanut butter, Oreo's or the classic sugar cookies, I just melt when I have them.  Every night before I go to bed, I need a cookie.  I know what all of you health nuts out there are thinking, "sugar before bed? She must be kidding"!  I know it's not recommended but I just can't help myself.  I am not fully satisfied, no matter how great my day was or how satisfying dinner was, until I get my cookie!  When I received this submission for sugar cookies, I was so excited!  Since I make everything that is submitted, I was thrilled to bake the cookies and have them for a few nights!  While I love Oreo's, there is nothing like a homemade cookie, or anything for that matter. With that being said, I present to you, Erin Waitz's beautiful story and yummy sugar cookies.


Story:
The taste was familiar, more familiar than I thought it would be. The memory of making sugar cookies with my mom, once a distant memory of the past, is now part of the present. As I took a bite of cookie dough I was surprised at the rush of memories. Even as a young child I would have to try the cookie dough, just to make sure my mom and I had really included all the ingredients (at least that’s what I told her). 


I asked my dad for the recipe that I had made with my mom during our short decade together, I could almost visualize the two of us sitting at the kitchen table mixing in the eggs and measuring out the flour before getting our hands messy when we balled up the dough. On special occasions I remembered my mom and I would use cookie cutters and sprinkles. Now, the smell of the baking cookies brings me back to my time with my mom. I anxiously await the 12 minutes to taste the final result, bracing for the memories that would flow over me when taking the first bite. As soon as the timer buzzed, I couldn’t wait to let a cookie cool, I immediately tried it and felt instant happiness. I successfully made my mom’s sugar cookies. For the first time I realized a memory of my past could create memories for my future.

Jill's Sugar Cookies
The Thoughts:
1 cup sugar plus some extra to sprinkle on top of cookies before serving
2 sticks butter, softened 
1 egg  
1/2 tsp. baking powder 
1 tsp. vanilla 
1/4 tsp. salt  
1 tsp. light brown sugar
2 cups flour












Putting the Memory Together:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.  


In a separate bowl, cream sugar, brown sugar and butter together with an electric mixer.  Add the egg and vanilla until well mixed and fluffy.


  Slowly add in the dry ingredients until well combined.


Shape spoonfuls of dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet.


Using a drinking glass floured in the bottom, press down on dough to flatten fairly thin. 


Bake in 375 degree oven, on middle racks, for 12 minutes or until done. Dust with sugar if desired.


Makes about 2 dozen cookies.



Printable version

Jill's Sugar Cookies
The Thoughts:
1 cup sugar plus some extra to sprinkle on top of cookies before serving
2 sticks butter, softened 
1 egg  
1/2 tsp. baking powder 
1 tsp. vanilla 
1/4 tsp. salt  
1 tsp. light brown sugar
2 cups flour



Putting the Memory Together:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.  In a separate bowl, cream sugar, brown sugar and butter together with an electric mixer.  Add the egg and vanilla until well mixed and fluffy.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients until well combined.
Shape spoonfuls of dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Using a drinking glass floured in the bottom, press down on dough to flatten fairly thin. 
Bake in 375 degree oven for 12 minutes or until done. Dust with sugar if desired.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Storecipe of the Week: Mom's Chicken Soup

"Worries go down better with soup" -Jewish Proverb

Could what our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers been telling us for centuries really be true?  Does Chicken soup really make you feel better?  According to the journal, Chest, researchers say "Chicken soup may contain a number of substances with beneficial medicinal activity." (CNN.com)  So, I guess our mother's really do know what they are talking about!

Could what our mother, grandmother's, and great grandmother's have been telling us for centuries really be true?  Does chicken soup really make you feel better?  According to the journal, Chest, researchers say "Chicken soup may contain a number of substances with beneficial medicinal activity."  (CNN.com)  So, I guess, our mother's really do know what they are talking about!

Growing up, my mother would make Chicken soup when I was sick.  Whether I had a cold, sore throat, the flu, or just having a bad day, she made soup.  Chicken soup heals us in more ways than one.  According to Elizabeth Somer's, Eat Your Way to Happiness, "Eating 'mood foods' 75% of the time will help you find more energy, think more clearly and drop additional pounds - with more 'joie de vivre' in your attitude" (iVillages, 9 Foods to Boost Your Mood).   It's the ultimate comfort food with all of the veggies and chicken.  Somer says,  "The protein and vegetables gives you a helping of happiness since they are full of vitamins that improve your mood, brainpower and immunity."


In the Jewish tradition, Chicken soup is made for holidays.  With the Jewish New Year right around the corner, I decided to make my mother's recipe for my family.  Whenever she made the soup, the aroma would take all of your worries away.  The smell is so comforting and homey to me.  I remember sitting in the kitchen with my mom while she would hover over the huge pot, which seemed bigger than me.  I just loved those days and the traditions of holidays.  When serving the soup, she would make matzoh balls or serve with egg noodles.

Thoughts:
1 chicken, cut up into 1/8ths, with skin on (I usually have the butcher do this)
3 chicken thighs, with skin on
2 chicken legs, with skin on
2 large parsnips, peeled
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
4 celery stalks, washed and cut into large pieces
2 large leeks, sliced in half and cleaned thoroughly
1 onion, skin removed
1 turnip, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
1 T. Kosher salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 T. Better Than Boullian chicken base






Putting the Memory Together:
Rinse the chicken pieces with cold water and put into large pot.  Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken and add additional 5 inches of water.  Leave about 3 inches of space from water to the top of the pot.  Bring water to a boil.  Using a small strainer, skim the fat off the top of the soup as it rises.


Add the parsnips, carrots, celery, leeks, onion, turnip, salt and pepper.  Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours.  Strain the foam and impurities off as needed.  Add the Better Than Boullion base.  Let simmer for another 15 minutes.  Taste the soup and if needed add more Better Than Boullion or salt and pepper to taste.


Turn off heat and take vegetables and chicken out of the pot.


Let soup cool to room temperature.  When soup is cook, pour it through a strainer to sift out any chicken bones or stray skin.  Place the chicken soup in air tight containers and put in refrigerator overnight.  The next day, take the layer of fat off of the top and reheat soup.

Put back in carrots, celery, chicken pieces, matzoh balls or egg noodles and enjoy!!



Printable Version
Thoughts:
1 chicken, cut up into 1/8ths, with skin on
3 chicken thighs, with skin on
2 chicken legs, with skin on
2 large parsnips, peeled
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
4 celery stalks, washed and cut into large pieces
2 large leeks, sliced in half and cleaned thoroughly
1 onion, skin removed
1 turnip, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
1 T. Kosher salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 T. Better Than Boullian chicken base


Putting the Memory Together:
Rinse the chicken pieces with cold water and put into large pot.  Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken and add additional 5 inches of water.  Leave about 3 inches of space from water to the top of the pot.  Bring water to a boil.  Using a small strainer, skim the fat off the top of the soup as it rises.

Add the parsnips, carrots, celery, leeks, onion, turnip, salt and pepper.  Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours.  Strain the foam and impurities off as needed.  Add the Better Than Boullion base.  Let simmer for another 15 minutes.  Taste the soup and if needed add more Better Than Boullion or salt and pepper to taste.

Turn off heat and take vegetables and chicken out of the pot.
Let soup cool to room temperature.  When soup is cook, pour it through a strainer to sift out any chicken bones or stray skin.  Place the chicken soup in air tight containers and put in refrigerator overnight.  The next day, take the layer of fat off of the top and reheat soup.
Put back in carrots, celery, chicken pieces, matzoh balls or egg noodles and enjoy!!








Sunday, August 22, 2010

Storecipe of the Week: Rhubarb Crunch






Rhubarb is a vegetable that, unfortunately, I am not too familiar with.  I have never baked with it or eaten it.  When I received a submission for Rhubarb Crunch, I was so excited to learn about it, cook with it, and taste it.  

I started off by doing some research about the plant.  The first important thing that I learned was that the stalks are the edible parts, not the leaf. The leaf is supposed to be toxic, so stay away!  The fresh crispy stalks are similar to celery and have a tart taste.  Sugar usually off balances the tartness when baking.  

Nutritionally, the root is 95% water and is rich in calcium, vitamin C and dietary fiber.  Rhubarb root has been used for medicinal purposes, especially in traditional Chinese medicine.  The roots can be used to help the digestive system as a laxative and, therefore, the fruit is known as a slimming agent.  The roots, also, seem to lower blood glucose levels.

Peaking in the Spring months, rhubarb is popular ingredient in summer dishes.  People commonly use it in pies, jams, sauces, jellies, and juices.  Before summer is over, go out and get some rhubarb and make a pie, crunch or jam to have for the winter.  With that being said, I am so excited to present Linda Pfeifer Basham's story and recipe of Rhubarb Crunch.

Story:
My grandmother Aleila Isabelle Pfeifer lived to be 101 years old. She passed a few years ago, but will long be remembered and missed by me. She was the one who taught me to cook and bake. We lived on a dairy farm, that she and my grandpa had lived on when they were raising their three sons, one of them being my dad. When I was 5 years old, my grandparents moved into town to retire, so, my family moved into the farm.  Even though they moved to town, you would find them back in the barn at 5 o'clock, every morning, helping my dad milk the cows. 

I was so fortunate to see my grandma every day.  She was there when I left for school, in the morning, and then when I got home, until the cows were milked at 5 PM. When she wasn't teaching me how to cook and bake, her true love, we would have tea parties.  One of my favorite recipes that we would make every spring was rhubarb crunch.   Today, I still have some of the original rhubarb plants from my great-aunt's farm, which I use in my crunch.

Grandma was always out in the garden with her wide rimmed bonnet. Rhubarb Crunch was one of my favorite desserts and reminds me of her whenever I make and eat it.  She tended to our garden and lives on in our hearts. She was always there to share my problems and joys and I miss her dearly.



Thoughts:
1 C. flour
1 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. oatmeal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. butter, melted
4 C. rhubarb, diced
1 C. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 C. water
1 tsp. vanilla


Putting the Memory Together:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8" x 8" pan.  Mix flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon and melted butter until it forms a crumble mixture.

Pat half of the mixture in the pan, reserving the other half for the topping.

Dice rhubarb.



Top the mixture with rhubarb pieces.


In a saucepan over medium/low heat, combine sugar and cornstarch until mixed well.  Add water and vanilla.

Cook in pan over medium/high heat until thick and clear, stirring occasionally.

Pour hot mixture, evenly, over rhubarb.


Top with remaining crumb mixture.


Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.


Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whip cream and think of grandma out in the garden with her wide rimmed bonnet.


Full Recipe (print version)
Thoughts:
1 C. flour
1 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. oatmeal
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. butter, melted
4 C. rhubarb, diced
1 C. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 C. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Putting the Memory Together:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8" x 8" pan.  Mix flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon and melted butter until it forms a crumble mixture.  Pat half of the mixture in the pan, reserving the other half for the topping.  Dice rhubarb.  Top the mixture with rhubarb pieces.  In a saucepan over medium/low heat, combine sugar and cornstarch until mixed well.  Add water and vanilla.  Cook in pan over medium/high heat until thick and clear, stirring occasionally.  Pour hot mixture over rhubarb and top with remaining crumb mixture.  Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whip cream and think of grandma out in the garden with her wide rimmed bonnet.