PEA SOUP MENU FOR WINTER FUN
This is the perfect time of year to settle in, simmer a pot of pea soup, bake a loaf of rye bread and read a book. Well, that’s what I dream about. I do get the pea soup and bread going, but there is always something that seems to come in the way of cuddling into a blanket and reading a book. Rather, I simmer the soup, bake the bread and read the book while I catch a few minutes on the stationery bike as I try to shake off that five pounds that crawled up around my waist the past few months.
Scandinavians on the other hand, are avid outdoor-sports fans – never mind the cold winter weather. By February, the days have become longer, though not much warmer and with more daylight hours people spend time outside, enjoying ice skating, sliding and cross-country skiing. I love the cross-country skiing, too.
Being the “Martha” of a group, I’m always thinking about what to feed people. I love to have impromptu parties, but need easy ideas for menus. This is one foolproof menu that doesn’t require a lot of last minute attention.
A pork roast simmers with the peas, onions and spices, lending its rich flavor to this rather unusual recipe for pea soup. The idea came many years ago from a friend in Finland. When the soup is done, you simply lift the roast out of the pot and slice it to serve as a topping for open-faced rye bread sandwiches. Add to the menu sliced hot house (from Bay Produce), tomatoes. Norwegian Apple Pie which is more like an apple crisp than pie makes a perfect, simple dessert.
PEA SOUP WITH PORK
2 cups dry yellow Swedish peas
3 quarts water
1 (3 pound) lean fresh pork roast
3 medium onions, sliced
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon dried leaf marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste
Sort and wash the peas and place into a deep soup kettle with the water. Soak overnight. Simmer over medium-high heat for 2 hours or until the peas are softened. Add the pork roast, onions, ginger and allspice. Simmer two to three hours until the pork is tender. Skim fat from the surface. Add the marjoram and salt and pepper to taste. To serve, place the pork roast on a platter and cut into slices. Serve on top of rye bread slices. Makes 6 servings.
FINNISH RYE MEAL BREAD
1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/4 cups warm water (105*F. to 115*F.)
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1-1/2cups rye meal, dark rye, or whole wheat flour
1-3/4 to 2 cups bread flour
In a large bowl, stir yeast and sugar into the warm water; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Add the salt, butter and rye meal and beat until smooth. Beat in bread flour, 1 cup at a time until dough is stiff. Let rest 15 minutes. Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 5 minutes until dough feels smooth and well mixed. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down and shape into a ball. Place loaf on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled. Preheat oven to 375*F. (350*F. for convection oven). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Brush top of hot loaf with butter if desir3d. Cool on a rack. Makes 1 large loaf.
NORWEGIAN APPLE PIE
1 egg
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts
2 small, tart apples, diced (about 1 cup)
Whipped cream for serving
Preheat the oven to 350*F. (325*F. for convection oven). Generously butter a 9-inch pie pan; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients except for the whipped cream until well blended. Turn into the pie pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. To serve, cut into pie-shaped wedges and top with whipped cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Sunday, January 8, 2006
Monday, April 18, 2005
MAPLE SMOKED SALMON
Once a year we fill our freezer with salmon fillets we order from our friend, Dave Rogotzke who commercially fishes Alaskan salmon in June and July. Another of Dave’s projects is making maple syrup from his 5000-tree maple grove just north of Duluth. This makes a wonderful combination! Dave cures the salmon in a maple syrup brine before smoking it over charcoal. The recipe here is a combination of Dave’s and my ideas.
Lest you think this is a very ambitious project, I have to say that it isn’t difficult to make smoked salmon at home, It is definitely worth the effort - but you do need to plan your time so that you can allow 4 hours for the fish to cure. Once cured, you rinse the fish, place it on racks and allow it to dry, refrigerated, overnight. You smoke the salmon on your backyard grill using plenty of wood chips – but only for 20 minutes. Cook it too long and the salmon is dry instead of juicy.
This is what is called “hot smoking” which cooks the fish while it smokes. It works best on a charcoal rather than on a gas grill on which it is harder to control the results. Cold smoking is another process to try someday, but it is more complicated and requires a special grill. Cold smoked salmon remains raw (as in graavlax), and has a smoked flavor.
Hot smoked salmon is delicious served flaked on top of a bagel or toasted bread spread with cream cheese. You might want to try Dave’s favorite way – that is, to cut the salmon into 1-1/2 to 2-inch cubes before curing and smoking. This makes a perfect appetizer to serve with just a toothpick.
MAPLE-SMOKED SALMON
Makes 6 servings
2 pounds salmon fillet, skinned and boned*
1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup pure maple syrup (not artificially flavored syrup)
Cut the fish into 3 to 4-inch pieces crosswise. Place into a glass or ceramic pan. Mix the salt, pepper, allspice and ginger and rub the mixture into the fish. Pour the maple syrup over, coating the top and the bottom of the fish pieces evenly.
Cover and refrigerate 4 hours. If you allow the fish to stay in the brine longer it becomes unpalatably salty. Rinse the brine off the fish, pat dry, and place on a rack over a pan and refrigerate overnight, uncovered, to dry. (If you place the fish on the rack from the barbecue, rub it with oil or coat with nonstick spray so that the fish can be removed easily after smoking.)
Light a charcoal fire and place a drip pan in the center of the grill. Divide the coals evenly on either side of the pan. Place 1 cup of drained wood chips on each side. Rub the grill with oil or coat with nonstick spray and arrange the fish on the rack over the drip pan. Cover and smoke for 20 minutes or until the fish is firm to the touch but not dry. Transfer onto a serving platter to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*If you skin the fillet yourself, save it and make a “salmon chips” from it. Simply brush both sides of the skin with oil – a flavored oil such as dark Asian sesame oil is wonderful. Grill the skin directly over the coals until crackling crisp, 10 minutes per side. Serve at once.
DAVE’S APPETIZER SALMON
Follow the directions for Maple-Smoked Salmon, but cut the fish into 1-1/2 to 2 inch squares before brining. Makes about 24 appetizer servings.
Lest you think this is a very ambitious project, I have to say that it isn’t difficult to make smoked salmon at home, It is definitely worth the effort - but you do need to plan your time so that you can allow 4 hours for the fish to cure. Once cured, you rinse the fish, place it on racks and allow it to dry, refrigerated, overnight. You smoke the salmon on your backyard grill using plenty of wood chips – but only for 20 minutes. Cook it too long and the salmon is dry instead of juicy.
This is what is called “hot smoking” which cooks the fish while it smokes. It works best on a charcoal rather than on a gas grill on which it is harder to control the results. Cold smoking is another process to try someday, but it is more complicated and requires a special grill. Cold smoked salmon remains raw (as in graavlax), and has a smoked flavor.
Hot smoked salmon is delicious served flaked on top of a bagel or toasted bread spread with cream cheese. You might want to try Dave’s favorite way – that is, to cut the salmon into 1-1/2 to 2-inch cubes before curing and smoking. This makes a perfect appetizer to serve with just a toothpick.
MAPLE-SMOKED SALMON
Makes 6 servings
2 pounds salmon fillet, skinned and boned*
1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup pure maple syrup (not artificially flavored syrup)
Cut the fish into 3 to 4-inch pieces crosswise. Place into a glass or ceramic pan. Mix the salt, pepper, allspice and ginger and rub the mixture into the fish. Pour the maple syrup over, coating the top and the bottom of the fish pieces evenly.
Cover and refrigerate 4 hours. If you allow the fish to stay in the brine longer it becomes unpalatably salty. Rinse the brine off the fish, pat dry, and place on a rack over a pan and refrigerate overnight, uncovered, to dry. (If you place the fish on the rack from the barbecue, rub it with oil or coat with nonstick spray so that the fish can be removed easily after smoking.)
Light a charcoal fire and place a drip pan in the center of the grill. Divide the coals evenly on either side of the pan. Place 1 cup of drained wood chips on each side. Rub the grill with oil or coat with nonstick spray and arrange the fish on the rack over the drip pan. Cover and smoke for 20 minutes or until the fish is firm to the touch but not dry. Transfer onto a serving platter to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*If you skin the fillet yourself, save it and make a “salmon chips” from it. Simply brush both sides of the skin with oil – a flavored oil such as dark Asian sesame oil is wonderful. Grill the skin directly over the coals until crackling crisp, 10 minutes per side. Serve at once.
DAVE’S APPETIZER SALMON
Follow the directions for Maple-Smoked Salmon, but cut the fish into 1-1/2 to 2 inch squares before brining. Makes about 24 appetizer servings.
Friday, April 8, 2005
SOUP AND BREAD
SOUP AND BREAD
Maybe it’s the farm girl in me, but a meal of soup and bread is comfort food. Growing up, it was almost always “mojakka”(a Minnesota Finnish stew) and rye bread. I still crave the combination.
Soup and simple bread is food of common folk that encourages conversation and relaxation. Just look into the ethnic foods of any country and you find ideas. Latin American black bean soup matches with cornbread. Indian Mulligatawni with pita bread, or Russian cabbage borscht with black bread are a few examples.
So, pick your menu, bring the soup pot to the table, put the bread on a board, light candles and turn down the lights. Here I’m offering a Southwestern soup and bread combination.
Although it is springtime, evenings are still chilly. What’s more, this time of year is busier than ever. But that doesn’t mean that you have to entirely abandon the idea of entertaining. If you, like I, want something tasty, economical, colorful, and not too time consuming to prepare – just give this soup and bread combination a try. You can make the soup ahead, cool and refrigerate and then reheat it for serving later. It makes a generous eight servings, so if you cook for just two or four, you have soup for more than one meal.
This Southwestern Chicken Tortilla Soup is like one that I enjoyed in Santa Fe in an outdoor café. It was served in wide bowls with the toppings on the side. This is my attempt at copying it. The toppings add color and freshness to the soup.
The Cowboy Beer and Cheddar Bread is my adaptation of a beer bread recipe I picked up last summer when I visited Colorado Dude Ranches. It’s incredibly simple to stir up and is good hot from the oven or sliced and toasted the next day.
SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
You can find dried ancho chilies in the produce section of the supermarket. The chili itself is mild, but the seeds are spicy. The flavor of ancho chilies rounds out the distinctive flavor of this soup.
Makes 8 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons ground chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
1 dried ancho chili
2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts
3 cups frozen whole kernel corn
Garnishes:
2 ripe avocados, peeled, diced
Tortilla chips or strips
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
Chopped fresh cilantro
Shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
In a 4-quart soup pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, chili powder and cumin and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender and mixture is aromatic. Add the chicken stock and ancho chile. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or just until the ancho softens. Remove from the soup, pull off the stem and discard the seeds. (If you prefer a spicier soup, leave the seeds in.)
Put the chile with the diced tomatoes into the lender and process until smooth. Add to soup pot and continue simmering 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Before serving, add the chicken and corn and heat to serving temperature.
Serve the garnishes separately to add to each serving of soup as desired.
COWBOY BEER AND CHEDDAR BREAD
This is a stir-it-up bread that takes just a few minutes to mix. If you bake it in the convection oven, the baking time is reduced by about one-fourth.
Makes 1 loaf
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, any kind will do – even non-alcoholic brands
Butter
Preheat the oven to 350*F. (325*F. for convection oven).
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cheese, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the beer and mix with a fork until all dry ingredients are moistened. Don’t overmix. Spread the dough into a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan. Bake for 40 to 55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean and dry. Brush top of hot loaf with butter.
Maybe it’s the farm girl in me, but a meal of soup and bread is comfort food. Growing up, it was almost always “mojakka”(a Minnesota Finnish stew) and rye bread. I still crave the combination.
Soup and simple bread is food of common folk that encourages conversation and relaxation. Just look into the ethnic foods of any country and you find ideas. Latin American black bean soup matches with cornbread. Indian Mulligatawni with pita bread, or Russian cabbage borscht with black bread are a few examples.
So, pick your menu, bring the soup pot to the table, put the bread on a board, light candles and turn down the lights. Here I’m offering a Southwestern soup and bread combination.
Although it is springtime, evenings are still chilly. What’s more, this time of year is busier than ever. But that doesn’t mean that you have to entirely abandon the idea of entertaining. If you, like I, want something tasty, economical, colorful, and not too time consuming to prepare – just give this soup and bread combination a try. You can make the soup ahead, cool and refrigerate and then reheat it for serving later. It makes a generous eight servings, so if you cook for just two or four, you have soup for more than one meal.
This Southwestern Chicken Tortilla Soup is like one that I enjoyed in Santa Fe in an outdoor café. It was served in wide bowls with the toppings on the side. This is my attempt at copying it. The toppings add color and freshness to the soup.
The Cowboy Beer and Cheddar Bread is my adaptation of a beer bread recipe I picked up last summer when I visited Colorado Dude Ranches. It’s incredibly simple to stir up and is good hot from the oven or sliced and toasted the next day.
SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
You can find dried ancho chilies in the produce section of the supermarket. The chili itself is mild, but the seeds are spicy. The flavor of ancho chilies rounds out the distinctive flavor of this soup.
Makes 8 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons ground chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
1 dried ancho chili
2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts
3 cups frozen whole kernel corn
Garnishes:
2 ripe avocados, peeled, diced
Tortilla chips or strips
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
Chopped fresh cilantro
Shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
In a 4-quart soup pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, chili powder and cumin and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender and mixture is aromatic. Add the chicken stock and ancho chile. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or just until the ancho softens. Remove from the soup, pull off the stem and discard the seeds. (If you prefer a spicier soup, leave the seeds in.)
Put the chile with the diced tomatoes into the lender and process until smooth. Add to soup pot and continue simmering 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Before serving, add the chicken and corn and heat to serving temperature.
Serve the garnishes separately to add to each serving of soup as desired.
COWBOY BEER AND CHEDDAR BREAD
This is a stir-it-up bread that takes just a few minutes to mix. If you bake it in the convection oven, the baking time is reduced by about one-fourth.
Makes 1 loaf
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, any kind will do – even non-alcoholic brands
Butter
Preheat the oven to 350*F. (325*F. for convection oven).
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cheese, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the beer and mix with a fork until all dry ingredients are moistened. Don’t overmix. Spread the dough into a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan. Bake for 40 to 55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean and dry. Brush top of hot loaf with butter.
Welcome to my website!
SALT CAKE
I was about five years old and I had already discovered that it was far more pleasurable to satisfy the wishes of my parents than to rebel. Maybe it was because my mother lost her mother at the age of five. She must have told me the story, though I don’t remember, but for some reason I carried this vision in my mind. I know she told me more about it later in life.
She always referred to “Stepmother” when she talked about the woman who had replaced her mother after her untimely death. “Stepmother never let us into the kitchen,” she would say, “I want my kids to know how to cook.”
So when she said I needed to learn how to bake a cake, I agreed. She took out the big tan crockery mixing bowl with blue stripes round the outside, the wooden spoon, and the essential ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder, flour, vanilla and milk.
The wood stove had been fired up so that the gauge on the front of the oven read “350*F.” It was winter and the stove was always hot and ready for baking.
She scooped an egg-sized sphere of butter and slapped it into the bowl. “About a half cup is right”, she said. Then she poked the butter with the tip of the wooden spoon making indentations that looked like so many commas in a row. This was to soften the butter, she said.
Then she added sugar in twice the measure of the butter, about a cup and stirred it until it was all creamy. She added eggs, two of them, stirring really fast so that the liquid of the eggs was whipped into the butter mixture. She went on to mix in the flour and baking powder, and explained that one teaspoon of baking powder to one cup of flour was the best proportion. Vanilla for flavor and enough milk to make a smooth, pour-able batter and the cake was ready for the baking pan.
“Taste it” she said, “If it tastes flat – add a pinch of salt. We did, and we mixed it in. Then we scraped the batter into the buttered pan and stuck it into the oven to bake until a straw plucked from the corn broom and stuck into the center of the cake came out clean and dry.
I tried to memorize all this. I hadn’t yet started first grade and couldn’t read or write so I couldn’t take notes.
It was some time later and my mother was in labor, not an uncommon occurrence – there eventually were ten of us. Dr. Van Valkenberg (Floodwood’s resident physician) and my father were in the bedroom with her. I wasn’t allowed into the room. The kitchen stove was fired up because they needed boiling water to sterilize stuff. My job was to open the side lid of the wood stove and add a piece of firewood every fifteen minutes or so.
I decided then to bake a cake for “Mummy”.
I took out the bowl and spoon and tried to remember all the ingredients. I mixed the batter as I remembered it. Last of all, I tasted it. It was flat. I added a pinch of salt. Still flat. I added another pinch of salt. Still flat. Finally I was tossing handfuls of salt into the batter and it didn’t help at all. The batter looked good. So I poured it into the pan and put it into the oven. Pondering what could have been wrong when the cake was half baked, I realized that I had forgotten the sugar.
The cake turned out golden and beautiful. It looked good! I proudly served my mother a square. She didn’t say anything about it being salty. She only said that it looked beautiful.
Many years later she admitted that the cake I had made was so salty it made her mouth pucker. That was Mummy - always encouraging and always looking for the best in others.
I was about five years old and I had already discovered that it was far more pleasurable to satisfy the wishes of my parents than to rebel. Maybe it was because my mother lost her mother at the age of five. She must have told me the story, though I don’t remember, but for some reason I carried this vision in my mind. I know she told me more about it later in life.
She always referred to “Stepmother” when she talked about the woman who had replaced her mother after her untimely death. “Stepmother never let us into the kitchen,” she would say, “I want my kids to know how to cook.”
So when she said I needed to learn how to bake a cake, I agreed. She took out the big tan crockery mixing bowl with blue stripes round the outside, the wooden spoon, and the essential ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder, flour, vanilla and milk.
The wood stove had been fired up so that the gauge on the front of the oven read “350*F.” It was winter and the stove was always hot and ready for baking.
She scooped an egg-sized sphere of butter and slapped it into the bowl. “About a half cup is right”, she said. Then she poked the butter with the tip of the wooden spoon making indentations that looked like so many commas in a row. This was to soften the butter, she said.
Then she added sugar in twice the measure of the butter, about a cup and stirred it until it was all creamy. She added eggs, two of them, stirring really fast so that the liquid of the eggs was whipped into the butter mixture. She went on to mix in the flour and baking powder, and explained that one teaspoon of baking powder to one cup of flour was the best proportion. Vanilla for flavor and enough milk to make a smooth, pour-able batter and the cake was ready for the baking pan.
“Taste it” she said, “If it tastes flat – add a pinch of salt. We did, and we mixed it in. Then we scraped the batter into the buttered pan and stuck it into the oven to bake until a straw plucked from the corn broom and stuck into the center of the cake came out clean and dry.
I tried to memorize all this. I hadn’t yet started first grade and couldn’t read or write so I couldn’t take notes.
It was some time later and my mother was in labor, not an uncommon occurrence – there eventually were ten of us. Dr. Van Valkenberg (Floodwood’s resident physician) and my father were in the bedroom with her. I wasn’t allowed into the room. The kitchen stove was fired up because they needed boiling water to sterilize stuff. My job was to open the side lid of the wood stove and add a piece of firewood every fifteen minutes or so.
I decided then to bake a cake for “Mummy”.
I took out the bowl and spoon and tried to remember all the ingredients. I mixed the batter as I remembered it. Last of all, I tasted it. It was flat. I added a pinch of salt. Still flat. I added another pinch of salt. Still flat. Finally I was tossing handfuls of salt into the batter and it didn’t help at all. The batter looked good. So I poured it into the pan and put it into the oven. Pondering what could have been wrong when the cake was half baked, I realized that I had forgotten the sugar.
The cake turned out golden and beautiful. It looked good! I proudly served my mother a square. She didn’t say anything about it being salty. She only said that it looked beautiful.
Many years later she admitted that the cake I had made was so salty it made her mouth pucker. That was Mummy - always encouraging and always looking for the best in others.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Apricot-Almond Danish Pastry
December/January Woman Today
APRICOT-ALMOND DANISH PASTRY
With the passing of Julia, I (and the world) lost a friend, a mentor, an instant, generous, source of information.
I recall the day my sister, Lil, relayed a question to me from her friend who was too shy to ask me directly. This friend had come home from France with fresh truffles, and didn’t quite know how to keep them. I’d never had this problem myself, so I called Julia Child. We chatted a bit first, then I asked the question “what would you do if you had fresh truffles from France, - how would you keep them?”.
“Of course, they do spoil like any mushroom” she told me, and then that she would freeze them, or put them into oil and into the “fridge” although most experts wouldn’t like that idea too much, she said, “but then you have that lovely oil to use”.
Often, I get asked for the recipe I made with Julia in the television series “Baking with Julia”. The recipe was published in the book, “Baking with Julia” written by Dorie Greenspan. This is a perfect time to offer the basic Danish Pastry recipe because if there’s any time during the year when we like to bake special goodies it’s during the Holidays. This is an easy refrigerator version of Danish Pastry. You can use a variety of fillings and shape the pastry many different ways although I have room for only one example here.
Apricot-Almond Danish Pastry
This refrigerator pastry needs to chill overnight, so plan accordingly.
1/4 cup warm water (105*F. to 115*F.)
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 sticks (1/2 pound) cold unsalted butter
Apricot-Almond Filling:
1 cup (packed) dried apricots
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup toasted, chopped almonds
For glazing and baking:
1 beaten egg white
Pearl sugar or sliced almonds
Powdered sugar glaze (1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons hot coffee or water)
For the pastry, in a large bowl, combine the water and yeast; stir to dissolve and let stand 5 minutes until the yeast begins to foam. Add the milk, egg, sugar and salt.
Measure the flour into the work bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place. Slice the butter into the flour, then using on/off bursts with the food processor, cut the butter into the flour until it is in pea-sized pieces. This takes about 8 bursts. Turn into a large bowl. Pour the yeast mixture over and fold the two mixtures together just until the flour is moistened. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
For the filling: Stir the apricots, water and sugar together in a large microwave-safe bowl or a 4-quart glass measuring cup. Put the bowl in a microwave oven and cook at full power for 10 minutes, stirring a few times, until apricots are soft and puffed and have absorbed almost all of the liquid. Turn the mixture into the work bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place and process until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, almond extract and the almonds. Cool. Can refrigerate up to 2 weeks before using.
Lightly flour a work surface and turn dough out onto it. Dust the dough lightly with flour and shape the dough into a rough square with your hands. Roll out to make a square about 16 inches on each side. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Roll lightly to flatten the dough and fold it again into thirds, closing the ends (the dough will now be in a square). Wrap the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes. Roll again into a 16-inch square Fold into thirds again, business letter style. Roll out a second time to make a long, narrow rectangle and fold up again in thirds to make a square. Chill again (to work on it later), or roll out to make a square 20 inches on a side. Cut into sixteen 5-inch squares.
Place a pastry square on the work surface. Spoon a tablespoon of the filling onto the center. Brush the uncovered edges with egg white and lift the four corners of the pastry off the counter and seal in the center of the square. Squeeze the corners together to give them a little pinch and a twist to create a small topknot. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 400*F. (375*F. for convection oven). Let the pastries rise, covered with a kitchen towel for 30 minutes until they look puffy (they will not double).
Brush the pastries with beaten egg white and sprinkle with pearl sugar or sliced almonds. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer onto a cooling rack and drizzle with powdered sugar icing if desired.
Makes 16 pastries
ˇ
APRICOT-ALMOND DANISH PASTRY
With the passing of Julia, I (and the world) lost a friend, a mentor, an instant, generous, source of information.
I recall the day my sister, Lil, relayed a question to me from her friend who was too shy to ask me directly. This friend had come home from France with fresh truffles, and didn’t quite know how to keep them. I’d never had this problem myself, so I called Julia Child. We chatted a bit first, then I asked the question “what would you do if you had fresh truffles from France, - how would you keep them?”.
“Of course, they do spoil like any mushroom” she told me, and then that she would freeze them, or put them into oil and into the “fridge” although most experts wouldn’t like that idea too much, she said, “but then you have that lovely oil to use”.
Often, I get asked for the recipe I made with Julia in the television series “Baking with Julia”. The recipe was published in the book, “Baking with Julia” written by Dorie Greenspan. This is a perfect time to offer the basic Danish Pastry recipe because if there’s any time during the year when we like to bake special goodies it’s during the Holidays. This is an easy refrigerator version of Danish Pastry. You can use a variety of fillings and shape the pastry many different ways although I have room for only one example here.
Apricot-Almond Danish Pastry
This refrigerator pastry needs to chill overnight, so plan accordingly.
1/4 cup warm water (105*F. to 115*F.)
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 sticks (1/2 pound) cold unsalted butter
Apricot-Almond Filling:
1 cup (packed) dried apricots
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup toasted, chopped almonds
For glazing and baking:
1 beaten egg white
Pearl sugar or sliced almonds
Powdered sugar glaze (1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons hot coffee or water)
For the pastry, in a large bowl, combine the water and yeast; stir to dissolve and let stand 5 minutes until the yeast begins to foam. Add the milk, egg, sugar and salt.
Measure the flour into the work bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place. Slice the butter into the flour, then using on/off bursts with the food processor, cut the butter into the flour until it is in pea-sized pieces. This takes about 8 bursts. Turn into a large bowl. Pour the yeast mixture over and fold the two mixtures together just until the flour is moistened. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
For the filling: Stir the apricots, water and sugar together in a large microwave-safe bowl or a 4-quart glass measuring cup. Put the bowl in a microwave oven and cook at full power for 10 minutes, stirring a few times, until apricots are soft and puffed and have absorbed almost all of the liquid. Turn the mixture into the work bowl of a food processor with the steel blade in place and process until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, almond extract and the almonds. Cool. Can refrigerate up to 2 weeks before using.
Lightly flour a work surface and turn dough out onto it. Dust the dough lightly with flour and shape the dough into a rough square with your hands. Roll out to make a square about 16 inches on each side. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Roll lightly to flatten the dough and fold it again into thirds, closing the ends (the dough will now be in a square). Wrap the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes. Roll again into a 16-inch square Fold into thirds again, business letter style. Roll out a second time to make a long, narrow rectangle and fold up again in thirds to make a square. Chill again (to work on it later), or roll out to make a square 20 inches on a side. Cut into sixteen 5-inch squares.
Place a pastry square on the work surface. Spoon a tablespoon of the filling onto the center. Brush the uncovered edges with egg white and lift the four corners of the pastry off the counter and seal in the center of the square. Squeeze the corners together to give them a little pinch and a twist to create a small topknot. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 400*F. (375*F. for convection oven). Let the pastries rise, covered with a kitchen towel for 30 minutes until they look puffy (they will not double).
Brush the pastries with beaten egg white and sprinkle with pearl sugar or sliced almonds. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer onto a cooling rack and drizzle with powdered sugar icing if desired.
Makes 16 pastries
ˇ
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Bumbleberry Pie
Bumbleberry Pie
Fruit pies are American comfort food. Summertime is when the abundance of berries and fruits call for the pie baker to get busy! With the rainbow of fruits and berries before us in June, July and even August, there is no lack of combinations to try.
If you opt to skip baking a pie only because the crust is a challenge, here is a simple recipe for a “press-in" pastry shell. It hardly takes more time and effort than pressing a commercial refrigerated pastry shell into a pie pan. What's lost in flakiness is gained in flavor (not to mention the comfort of knowing what's IN the crust itself!)
When you bake this type of crust, it doesn't shrink or change shape when you need a pre-baked pie shell. For a double-crust pie, I just press half the crumbs into the pie pan, and pour in the filling and top the filling with the remainder of the crumbly mixture.
A while ago I received a request for "Bunbleberry Pie". I had never heard of such a thing, but after some research discovered that this i s a category of pie which mixes fruits and different kinds of berries. I've tested the recipe with a variety of fruit and berry combinations, including blueberries, blackberries and strawberries, with or without rhubarb, with or without apples all with delicious results. Just be sure to have a total of 5 cups of fruit.
The idea of bumbleberries fascinated our grandkids so much that they asked for bumbleberries and cream for breakfast almost every morning. We just combined different berries in a bowl and they were perfectly satisfied! Now I’m thinking – maybe a bumbleberry coffeecake or a bumbleberry cheesecake would be fun. But, here’s the pie for starters.
BUMBLEBERRY PIE
Pastry for a double crust pie, either your own recipe or Press-In-Pastry (recipe follows)
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 small cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blackberries or blueberries
1 cup rhubarb, cut into 1 inch lengths
Water and about 1 tablespoon additional suga r for top of the pie
Preheat the oven to 425*F. Roll or press pastry into a 9 inch pie plate. Stir sugar and flour together in large bowl. Add apples, raspberries, blackberries, and rhubarb. Toss together, and turn into pie shell. Cover with top past ry (either crumb pastry as described in the Press-In Pastry recipe, or with your own rolled-out pastry). Seal the edges. If you use a rolled-out top crust, slash vents onto the top crust, if using crumb pastry, this is not necessary. Bake for 45 minutes, or until browned and filling bubbles. Makes one 9-inch pie, about 8 servings.
MIXED BERRY PIE
1 recipe Press-in Pastry
2 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup fresh gooseberries or raspberries
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup sug ar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Preheat the oven to 425*F. Prepare the filling and press half of the crumbly pastry evenly into a 9-inch pie pan. Combine the berries, almond extract sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl; toss to mix well. Turn into the u nbaked crust. Sprinkle with the remaining pastry crumbles, or press the remaining crumbs together to make a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and using a cookie cutter, cut into leaf, flower or other shapes and arrang on top of the fruit filling. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the filling in the center is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Cool until barely warm or to room temperature before serving.
PRESS-IN PASTRY
2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, or 3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 whole egg
Mix flour and sugar together. Cut in the butter (you can do this in the food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the egg until well blended. Press half of the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan, pushing it firmly to make an even layer. For a pre-baked pastry shell, preheat the oven to 300*F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned. Cool completely before filling.
For a double-crusted, filled pie, pour filling into the unbaked crust. Sprinkle the second half of the pastry mixture over the top. Bake as directed for a double crust pie.
Fruit pies are American comfort food. Summertime is when the abundance of berries and fruits call for the pie baker to get busy! With the rainbow of fruits and berries before us in June, July and even August, there is no lack of combinations to try.
If you opt to skip baking a pie only because the crust is a challenge, here is a simple recipe for a “press-in" pastry shell. It hardly takes more time and effort than pressing a commercial refrigerated pastry shell into a pie pan. What's lost in flakiness is gained in flavor (not to mention the comfort of knowing what's IN the crust itself!)
When you bake this type of crust, it doesn't shrink or change shape when you need a pre-baked pie shell. For a double-crust pie, I just press half the crumbs into the pie pan, and pour in the filling and top the filling with the remainder of the crumbly mixture.
A while ago I received a request for "Bunbleberry Pie". I had never heard of such a thing, but after some research discovered that this i s a category of pie which mixes fruits and different kinds of berries. I've tested the recipe with a variety of fruit and berry combinations, including blueberries, blackberries and strawberries, with or without rhubarb, with or without apples all with delicious results. Just be sure to have a total of 5 cups of fruit.
The idea of bumbleberries fascinated our grandkids so much that they asked for bumbleberries and cream for breakfast almost every morning. We just combined different berries in a bowl and they were perfectly satisfied! Now I’m thinking – maybe a bumbleberry coffeecake or a bumbleberry cheesecake would be fun. But, here’s the pie for starters.
BUMBLEBERRY PIE
Pastry for a double crust pie, either your own recipe or Press-In-Pastry (recipe follows)
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 small cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blackberries or blueberries
1 cup rhubarb, cut into 1 inch lengths
Water and about 1 tablespoon additional suga r for top of the pie
Preheat the oven to 425*F. Roll or press pastry into a 9 inch pie plate. Stir sugar and flour together in large bowl. Add apples, raspberries, blackberries, and rhubarb. Toss together, and turn into pie shell. Cover with top past ry (either crumb pastry as described in the Press-In Pastry recipe, or with your own rolled-out pastry). Seal the edges. If you use a rolled-out top crust, slash vents onto the top crust, if using crumb pastry, this is not necessary. Bake for 45 minutes, or until browned and filling bubbles. Makes one 9-inch pie, about 8 servings.
MIXED BERRY PIE
1 recipe Press-in Pastry
2 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup fresh gooseberries or raspberries
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup sug ar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Preheat the oven to 425*F. Prepare the filling and press half of the crumbly pastry evenly into a 9-inch pie pan. Combine the berries, almond extract sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl; toss to mix well. Turn into the u nbaked crust. Sprinkle with the remaining pastry crumbles, or press the remaining crumbs together to make a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and using a cookie cutter, cut into leaf, flower or other shapes and arrang on top of the fruit filling. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the filling in the center is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Cool until barely warm or to room temperature before serving.
PRESS-IN PASTRY
2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, or 3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 whole egg
Mix flour and sugar together. Cut in the butter (you can do this in the food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the egg until well blended. Press half of the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan, pushing it firmly to make an even layer. For a pre-baked pastry shell, preheat the oven to 300*F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned. Cool completely before filling.
For a double-crusted, filled pie, pour filling into the unbaked crust. Sprinkle the second half of the pastry mixture over the top. Bake as directed for a double crust pie.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Rhubarb time again
It's that miracle again. We know it's spring when we begin to get excited about rhubarb.
One day it looks like there's nothing alive out there. A couple days later a pinkish knob pushes through the ground, and in a day or so, leaves appear. A week later (we're talking Northern Minnesota here in the middle of May), the stalks are six inches long.
Just when I thought my rhubarb was getting a good start, my neighbor and friend, Carol Settergren, is already giving it away! And now, the end of May, rhubarb season is in full swing. The rain hasn't hurt the rhubarb at all; it's crisp and there's enough for juice and pie and all kinds of desserts.
Rhubarb, this first fruit of the season, is riddled with contradictions. Botanically it's a vegetable, a member of the buckwheat family. It thrives in areas having cold winters and dry soil.
Those who love rhubarb, love it. Those who don't, don't. Another of its contradictions, the plant itself is both delicious and toxic. The thick, fleshy, celery-like stalks are edible -- the leaves and the roots contain toxic oxalic acid.
Somebody told me that if you have any weeds you'd like to kill, just cover them with rhubarb leaves -- although I haven't managed to get rid of comfrey that way. The leaves have even been used for cleaning aluminum pans and tanning animal hides.
Even those who don't particularly love rhubarb often grow it for its looks. It will grow almost anywhere in good soil or poor, with no attention. A real ``no brainer'' for landscaping, because it makes such a nice, green filler, hiding the contact zones around outhouses and barns. Some people line their driveways with it.
Rhubarb, which is native to Siberia, was brought to this country in the 1700s. It became known as ``pie plant,'' indicating the way the plant is most frequently put to use.
Today it is commercially grown in California, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Washington, although Utica, Mich., calls itself ``Rhubarb Capitol of the World.''
About growing rhubarb
The best way to get successful plants is to get a root from a neighbor, a local farmer or a nursery. These roots will have acclimated themselves to the local climate. Plant or divide rhubarb roots in the early spring -- for us that means anytime in May or June. Don't expect to harvest rhubarb until next year.
When you first plant rhubarb, it needs a lot of water until it establishes its long tap root. After that, it doesn't require care or attention at all, although the best fertilizer is one that is high in nitrogen (the best is ``manure tea''). When seed stalks and flowers develop, cut them off from the base of the plant as soon as they appear and discard them.
Harvesting rhubarb
Pull rather than cut the stalks from the plant. The county extension service recommends that you do your harvesting before July 4. (Do it quickly before you head off to the parade!) After the Fourth of July, rhubarb becomes coarse and dry. The plants also need time to recover for the next season's harvest.
Rhubarb lovers sweet on that tart
Pucker up, rhubarb lovers: You know how sour it can be, so make sure you've got lots of suger in the canister before you start cooking.
Keep in mind that the green variety tends to be more tart than the red variety. Select the thickest, lushest stalks for cooking. Pull off any strings, if you like, but it isn't necessary to peel them.
When I have an abundance of rhubarb, I usually cut it up, layer it with sugar in my Finnish steamer -- the ``mehu maija'' -- and make rhubarb juice. It's wonderful served hot, but it also makes a delicious punch simply mixed with ginger ale and poured over ice.
Rhubarb Juice in the Finnish juicer ("mehu maija")
Trim leaves and ends of the rhubarb stems and wash the stalks. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces; measure. Put the rhubarb into the perforated steaming basket and set it over the juice kettle. Add 1 to 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar for every 20 cups of rhubarb. Fill the water kettle and place over high heat. Heat until water boils and steaming begins.
Steam will rise into the rhubarb, and as it cooks, clear juice will drain into the pan. Open the drain tube to drain the juice. Refrigerate juice or drain into hot, sterilized canning jars, top with canning lids and process in a boiling water bath to seal. Yield varies with the juiciness of the rhubarb.
And if you don't have a mehu maija to call your own, you still can easily make Rhubarb Juice.
Rhubarb Juice
3 cups rhubarb, cut in 1/2-inch pieces (1 pound)
5 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
Combine rhubarb, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool, then pour through a fine sieve and chill. Refrigerate up to 1 week. Sweeten to taste and serve alone, or mix with ginger ale or lemon-flavored soda. Makes 5 cups.
Rhubarb Creme Brulee
6 cups rhubarb, cut in 1/2-inch pieces (2 pounds)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange rhubarb in an even layer in the baking dish and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Scoop the rhubarb into six (3/4 cup) individual ovenproof dessert dishes or eight (1/2 cup) custard cups. Sprinkle each with granulated sugar.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and vanilla. Heat the cream to simmering. Whisk the cream into the egg yolks. Pour the cream mixture over the rhubarb, dividing the mixture equally. Place into a larger pan and add enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the dishes.
Loosely cover with foil and bake until set, about 50 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack. Just before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar evenly over each custard and caramelize with a blowtorch, moving evenly back and forth just over the sugar until it's evenly melted. Or you can caramelize the sugar under the broiler. Set the dishes 2-3 inches from the heat until the sugar is evenly melted. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Ginger Rhubarb Compote
5 cups fresh rhubarb, sliced 1/2 inch
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
Whipped cream
Combine the rhubarb, sugar and ginger in a 2-quart glass baking dish, cover and microwave at HIGH power for 5 minutes until rhubarb is tender; stir. Taste. Add more sugar to taste. Serve with whipped cream. Makes 6 servings.
Here's a recipe from my friend Carol Settergren -- a three-layer dessert consisting of a crust, a custard-like filling and a fluffy meringue on the very top. This luscious, light-as-air wonder will serve a crowd.
Aunt Minnie's Rhubarb Fluff
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut up
5 cups rhubarb, cut 1/2 inch
6 eggs, separated
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup undiluted evaporated milk
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with nonstick spray. In a bowl or in the food processor, combine the flour, sugar and butter together and process or blend using a hand mixer until the butter is completely blended into the flour. Press the dry mixture firmly into the bottom of the cake pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until layer is firm to the touch but not browned.
Spread the rhubarb pieces evenly over the baked crust. Mix the egg yolks with 2 cups of the sugar, salt, evaporated milk and 6 tablespoons flour. Pour over the rhubarb evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the rhubarb layer is set.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar. With beater going at high speed, beat in the remaining 3/4 cup sugar until stiff.
Spread over the rhubarb layer. Sprinkle with the coconut. Bake for 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Makes 12 to 16 servings.
Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups rhubarb, sliced 1/2 inch
4 cups strawberries, sliced
1 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch baking dish. Combine the sugar and cornstarch; add the rhubarb and strawberries and toss until fruit is coated. Spread evenly in the baking dish. Combine the rolled oats, brown sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon until crumbly. Sprinkle over the rhubarb and strawberries. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 servings.
Carol also makes the old favorite apple pie squares with rhubarb replacing the apples, adding a bit more sugar. I tried it and we loved it.
Rhubarb Pie Squares
CRUST:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powdefr
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or 1 cup lard
1 egg, separated
2/3 cup milk
FILLING:
1 cup cornflakes, measured before crushing
5 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix in the butter until butter pieces are about the size of peas. Mix the egg and the milk and pour over the dry ingredients. Toss with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Gather the dough into a ball and divide into two parts.
Roll dough out to fit into an 11-by-15-inch jelly roll pan. It may be easier to roll out dough to fit half of the pan at a time. Sprinkle evenly with the crushed cornflakes. In a large bowl, mix the rhubarb with the sugar and cinnamon. Spread the mixture evenly over the pastry lined pan. Dot with the butter.
Roll out the remaining dough and fit over the filling, sealing the edges all around the pan. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Spread the egg mixture evenly over the top crust of the pie. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until the pastry is browned.
While it bakes, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice until icing can be drizzled. Drizzle over the top of the baked squares. Cool. Cut into squares to serve. Makes 12 to 16 servings.
The crunchy and sweet topping on these tender muffins balances the tartness of the rhubarb. This recipe comes from my rhubarb-loving sister-in-law, Kathie Luoma.
Kathie's Rhubarb Nut Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh rhubarb, cut in 1/2 inch dice
TOPPING:
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil, egg, buttermilk and vanila. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the rhubarb. Scoop batter into the muffin cups. Combine the brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over the tops of the muffins, dividing equally. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or just until a skewer inserted into a muffin comes out clean and dry, or until the muffin feels firm in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Makes 12 muffins.
One day it looks like there's nothing alive out there. A couple days later a pinkish knob pushes through the ground, and in a day or so, leaves appear. A week later (we're talking Northern Minnesota here in the middle of May), the stalks are six inches long.
Just when I thought my rhubarb was getting a good start, my neighbor and friend, Carol Settergren, is already giving it away! And now, the end of May, rhubarb season is in full swing. The rain hasn't hurt the rhubarb at all; it's crisp and there's enough for juice and pie and all kinds of desserts.
Rhubarb, this first fruit of the season, is riddled with contradictions. Botanically it's a vegetable, a member of the buckwheat family. It thrives in areas having cold winters and dry soil.
Those who love rhubarb, love it. Those who don't, don't. Another of its contradictions, the plant itself is both delicious and toxic. The thick, fleshy, celery-like stalks are edible -- the leaves and the roots contain toxic oxalic acid.
Somebody told me that if you have any weeds you'd like to kill, just cover them with rhubarb leaves -- although I haven't managed to get rid of comfrey that way. The leaves have even been used for cleaning aluminum pans and tanning animal hides.
Even those who don't particularly love rhubarb often grow it for its looks. It will grow almost anywhere in good soil or poor, with no attention. A real ``no brainer'' for landscaping, because it makes such a nice, green filler, hiding the contact zones around outhouses and barns. Some people line their driveways with it.
Rhubarb, which is native to Siberia, was brought to this country in the 1700s. It became known as ``pie plant,'' indicating the way the plant is most frequently put to use.
Today it is commercially grown in California, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Washington, although Utica, Mich., calls itself ``Rhubarb Capitol of the World.''
About growing rhubarb
The best way to get successful plants is to get a root from a neighbor, a local farmer or a nursery. These roots will have acclimated themselves to the local climate. Plant or divide rhubarb roots in the early spring -- for us that means anytime in May or June. Don't expect to harvest rhubarb until next year.
When you first plant rhubarb, it needs a lot of water until it establishes its long tap root. After that, it doesn't require care or attention at all, although the best fertilizer is one that is high in nitrogen (the best is ``manure tea''). When seed stalks and flowers develop, cut them off from the base of the plant as soon as they appear and discard them.
Harvesting rhubarb
Pull rather than cut the stalks from the plant. The county extension service recommends that you do your harvesting before July 4. (Do it quickly before you head off to the parade!) After the Fourth of July, rhubarb becomes coarse and dry. The plants also need time to recover for the next season's harvest.
Rhubarb lovers sweet on that tart
Pucker up, rhubarb lovers: You know how sour it can be, so make sure you've got lots of suger in the canister before you start cooking.
Keep in mind that the green variety tends to be more tart than the red variety. Select the thickest, lushest stalks for cooking. Pull off any strings, if you like, but it isn't necessary to peel them.
When I have an abundance of rhubarb, I usually cut it up, layer it with sugar in my Finnish steamer -- the ``mehu maija'' -- and make rhubarb juice. It's wonderful served hot, but it also makes a delicious punch simply mixed with ginger ale and poured over ice.
Rhubarb Juice in the Finnish juicer ("mehu maija")
Trim leaves and ends of the rhubarb stems and wash the stalks. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces; measure. Put the rhubarb into the perforated steaming basket and set it over the juice kettle. Add 1 to 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar for every 20 cups of rhubarb. Fill the water kettle and place over high heat. Heat until water boils and steaming begins.
Steam will rise into the rhubarb, and as it cooks, clear juice will drain into the pan. Open the drain tube to drain the juice. Refrigerate juice or drain into hot, sterilized canning jars, top with canning lids and process in a boiling water bath to seal. Yield varies with the juiciness of the rhubarb.
And if you don't have a mehu maija to call your own, you still can easily make Rhubarb Juice.
Rhubarb Juice
3 cups rhubarb, cut in 1/2-inch pieces (1 pound)
5 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
Combine rhubarb, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool, then pour through a fine sieve and chill. Refrigerate up to 1 week. Sweeten to taste and serve alone, or mix with ginger ale or lemon-flavored soda. Makes 5 cups.
Rhubarb Creme Brulee
6 cups rhubarb, cut in 1/2-inch pieces (2 pounds)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange rhubarb in an even layer in the baking dish and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Scoop the rhubarb into six (3/4 cup) individual ovenproof dessert dishes or eight (1/2 cup) custard cups. Sprinkle each with granulated sugar.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and vanilla. Heat the cream to simmering. Whisk the cream into the egg yolks. Pour the cream mixture over the rhubarb, dividing the mixture equally. Place into a larger pan and add enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the dishes.
Loosely cover with foil and bake until set, about 50 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack. Just before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar evenly over each custard and caramelize with a blowtorch, moving evenly back and forth just over the sugar until it's evenly melted. Or you can caramelize the sugar under the broiler. Set the dishes 2-3 inches from the heat until the sugar is evenly melted. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Ginger Rhubarb Compote
5 cups fresh rhubarb, sliced 1/2 inch
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
Whipped cream
Combine the rhubarb, sugar and ginger in a 2-quart glass baking dish, cover and microwave at HIGH power for 5 minutes until rhubarb is tender; stir. Taste. Add more sugar to taste. Serve with whipped cream. Makes 6 servings.
Here's a recipe from my friend Carol Settergren -- a three-layer dessert consisting of a crust, a custard-like filling and a fluffy meringue on the very top. This luscious, light-as-air wonder will serve a crowd.
Aunt Minnie's Rhubarb Fluff
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut up
5 cups rhubarb, cut 1/2 inch
6 eggs, separated
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup undiluted evaporated milk
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with nonstick spray. In a bowl or in the food processor, combine the flour, sugar and butter together and process or blend using a hand mixer until the butter is completely blended into the flour. Press the dry mixture firmly into the bottom of the cake pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until layer is firm to the touch but not browned.
Spread the rhubarb pieces evenly over the baked crust. Mix the egg yolks with 2 cups of the sugar, salt, evaporated milk and 6 tablespoons flour. Pour over the rhubarb evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the rhubarb layer is set.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar. With beater going at high speed, beat in the remaining 3/4 cup sugar until stiff.
Spread over the rhubarb layer. Sprinkle with the coconut. Bake for 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Makes 12 to 16 servings.
Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups rhubarb, sliced 1/2 inch
4 cups strawberries, sliced
1 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch baking dish. Combine the sugar and cornstarch; add the rhubarb and strawberries and toss until fruit is coated. Spread evenly in the baking dish. Combine the rolled oats, brown sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon until crumbly. Sprinkle over the rhubarb and strawberries. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 servings.
Carol also makes the old favorite apple pie squares with rhubarb replacing the apples, adding a bit more sugar. I tried it and we loved it.
Rhubarb Pie Squares
CRUST:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powdefr
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or 1 cup lard
1 egg, separated
2/3 cup milk
FILLING:
1 cup cornflakes, measured before crushing
5 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix in the butter until butter pieces are about the size of peas. Mix the egg and the milk and pour over the dry ingredients. Toss with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Gather the dough into a ball and divide into two parts.
Roll dough out to fit into an 11-by-15-inch jelly roll pan. It may be easier to roll out dough to fit half of the pan at a time. Sprinkle evenly with the crushed cornflakes. In a large bowl, mix the rhubarb with the sugar and cinnamon. Spread the mixture evenly over the pastry lined pan. Dot with the butter.
Roll out the remaining dough and fit over the filling, sealing the edges all around the pan. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Spread the egg mixture evenly over the top crust of the pie. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until the pastry is browned.
While it bakes, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice until icing can be drizzled. Drizzle over the top of the baked squares. Cool. Cut into squares to serve. Makes 12 to 16 servings.
The crunchy and sweet topping on these tender muffins balances the tartness of the rhubarb. This recipe comes from my rhubarb-loving sister-in-law, Kathie Luoma.
Kathie's Rhubarb Nut Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh rhubarb, cut in 1/2 inch dice
TOPPING:
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil, egg, buttermilk and vanila. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the rhubarb. Scoop batter into the muffin cups. Combine the brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over the tops of the muffins, dividing equally. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or just until a skewer inserted into a muffin comes out clean and dry, or until the muffin feels firm in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Makes 12 muffins.
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