Rhubarb Shortcake

When spring transitions to summer, that means it's time for rhubarb. When I was a kid, we had a huge rhubarb plant that would grow humongous stalks. Occasionally, my sister and I would pull a stalk and daringly bite into it for the tart rhubarb taste. But they were also pretty good dipped in sugar.

When I saw rhubarb at the St. Paul Farmers' Market, I knew I had to get some. I recently had rhubarb shortcake at a local restaurant so I though I'd try it at home.

Almost any shortcake recipe will do, but this is the one I used. I will say the recipe for the rhubarb is pretty much perfect. A nice tart and sweet rhubarb taste, with only sugar and a little butter. Yum!

Ingredients:

-Shortcake

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream plus additional for brushing
• 1 teaspoon Sugar in the Raw

-Rhubarb

• 1 lb rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Also, lightly sweetened whipped cream

• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

• Lightly butter a baking sheet.

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in cream just until a dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and gently knead together once or twice on a lightly floured surface.

• Roll or pat out dough into a 6-inch square (about 1/2 inch thick). Trim edges with a floured knife and cut into 4 squares. Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with Sugar in the Raw. Bake on baking sheet until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer biscuits to a rack to cool.

• While biscuits bake, cook rhubarb with granulated sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is very tender and falling apart, about 10 minutes.

• Stir together cornstarch, then add to rhubarb mixture and simmer, stirring, until mixture is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

• Split biscuits, then sandwich rhubarb and whipped cream inside them.

 

 

Remember, the leaves of the Rhubarb plant are poisonous, although you'd have to eat a lot.

Technorati Tags: rhubarb,shortcake,recipe,dessert

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Peas on the patio with purple flowers?

Peas aren't really meant for container gardening but there's no hurt trying. With that said, I've gotten a few good pods and it's worth a fresh little treat every other day or so. Not to mention my Jardine's parrot loves them way more than the frozen ones thawed with hot water.

I was also surprised by a pea plant with a unique mutation. It has purple flowers!!!

I did a little research online to see what was up, but then I cam across purple-podded peas. I want to grow those!

Technorati Tags: peas,patio,gardening,growing,pots,planters

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A Trip to the St. Paul Farmer's Market

$23 bucks! That's what I spent for a baguette, red potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, peas, beets, Chinese spinach, broccoli, and fresh honey. Try getting that at the grocery store!

 

It was my first trip to a Farmer's Market and the one in downtown St. Paul did not disappoint. It was busy and you definitely knew what was in season. Nearly all the vegetable stands had potatoes, tomatoes, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and beets. Almost everything there was picked that morning. You could tell the potatoes were fresh, as they're paper-thin skins were peeling. Obviously they were freshly dug up. And can you believe one bunch of beets was just one dollar?

I'll be going back and I can't wait for peppers, corn and melons to start showing up.

Technorati Tags: farmers market,st. paul,saint paul,minnesota,vegetables,organic,in season

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Now That's Just Right!

So here's and article I came across on how to choose the perfect fruit for that next BBQ or brunch or whatever. I love fresh fruit meaning within 2 days of coming from the tree or the vine, I hope this will inspire you to be a little more choosy on your next trip to the store or better yet the farmer's market!

Cheers!

Buy in season. Fruit that comes out of season comes from farther away, and generally lacks the flavor of fruit in season.

1. Use your senses to pick good fruit at the grocery store. The smell, touch and look of the fruit are all important in determining whether you get ripe, delicious fruit or sour, unripe or bland fruit.
2. Search for the fruit you want until you have found it. The less popular fruits may not be in season which can mean that they will not be in the store at that time.
3. Look for mold on the fruit. If you find any do not take it.
4. Check if the color is what it's supposed to be. For example, don't take a green strawberry.
5. Look for bruises and spots that indicate the fruit has been roughly handled and damaged.
6. Smell the fruit. Some fruits have a "ripe" odor, like cantaloupe and honeydew melons. Some fruit may have a sour odor if they are beginning to spoil.
7. Feel the fruit, but do so carefully. Firm fruits like apples and pears should feel firm, but peaches, plums, and other "soft" fleshed fruits should feel slightly soft. If you test it this way, do so carefully as not to damage the fruit.
8. Select fruit that is in a bin or open storage box, not in bulk bags or boxes. The old saying, "One rotten apple will spoil the whole lot," is often true, and you will seldom find a large bag of fruit without at least some damaged fruit in it.
9. Pick the fruit up. If it's heavy for its size, then you have successfully found yourself a good piece of fruit!

Strawberries

1. Smell them. Do they smell like strawberries? Unripe or unflavored strawberries will not have a very strong scent. Ripe, sweet strawberries smell strongly of strawberry.
2. Pick ones of the right color. Strawberries should be a deep red all over. If they are a light red or have some green or yellow on them, they are not ripe and they won't taste good.
3. Taste them. If the grocer allows it, always taste a sample strawberry. This is the single best way to know if you are getting decent strawberries.
4. Choose the right size. Although those giant strawberries look most luscious, it's the smaller berries which can pack the most flavor punch.
5. Buy them during the right season. The best season for strawberries is spring and summer. Strawberries at any other time of the year will lack flavor. Strawberries do not ripen after they are picked.

Grapes

1. Look at the colors of the grapes and stems. The stems of the grapes should be beige to brown, and drying up. Green, full stems mean the grapes are not ripe and they will tend to be sour or tasteless. Also, look for a slight pale-yellow hue on green grapes, while red grapes should be deeply colored with no sign of green.
2. Buy in the right season. Grapes are grown year round in different parts of the world. But, you should avoid the imported grapes from Chile during January-April. Eat U.S. grown grapes during the season of July-December.

Peaches

1. Smell them. Again, if you walk by a whole bin of peaches or nectarines and don't smell anything, they will be flavorless. A peach should smell like a peach.
2. Feel them. Peaches should give slightly when you squeeze them. They should not be hard as a rock.
3. Look. Peaches should be yellow with good amounts of red.
4. Buy in season. Peaches are in season mid-May to mid-August. You can ripen peaches in a paper bag. According to the fruit devotees at Produce For Better Health Foundation, peaches emit ethylene gas during ripening. This natural ripening hormone speeds up the process of turning those hard-as-rock peaches into sweet-as-candy delights. By putting the peaches into a loosely closed paper bag, the ethylene gas surrounds the fruits, helping with the ripening process.

Watermelon

1. Thump the watermelon and listen for a hollow sound. Scratch the skin with your thumbnail. Is the rind white just under the green skin? It's ripe.
2. Observe the colors. Watermelon should be medium to dark green. Light green means it's not ripe. 

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Chicken Carbonara Recipe

Yep, it's fattening!

Carbonara comes from the Italian word, “carbone,” which means coal. But there’s a mystery behind carbonara. Some think it was named for coal miners who loved the dish. Others say it was originally made over a charcoal fire, while some say it’s named because of the specks of pepper throughout. Whatever the explanation, just count on loosening your belt.

The core ingredients for traditional carbonara are pancetta, a mixture of cheeses, eggs, and freshly cracked black pepper. We Americans add cream to our carbonara, making it much more rich than the Italian version. There are tons of versions of this recipe. So here’s mine. It’s not exactly the traditional version, as it has no egg, but it’s good and certainly fattening.

I first learned this recipe while working at a small restaurant in Garden Valley, Idaho, called Danskin Station. People traveled 50 miles from Boise to experience the scenic drive and have a nice dinner. From soft-shelled crab sandwiches to Rib-eye steaks on a mesquite grill, it had some great food you certainly couldn’t find at the dive restaurants in the area. I started working there at 15-years-old as a dishwasher and finished until I graduated high school as a cook. The people were fun, and the food was great. What more could you want?

Ingredients:

4 strips bacon, cut in pieces.

About 4 oz. angel hair pasta (1/3 of a 12oz box)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbs. pepper

2/3 c. (heaping) shredded parmesan

1 1/2c. cream

1. Cook pasta according to directions and strain.
2. cut 4 strips bacon into pieces and cook until crispy. Remove from heat and reserve the bacon drippings in the pan. Use slotted spoon to remove bacon and set in a paper towel lined bowl. Set aside. 
3. Cut two chicken breasts into medium-width strips, then cut cross-wise, into thin chunks. On medium heat, add chicken breast to pan and sprinkle with black pepper. Cook until no longer pink. 
4. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Quickly pour cream into pan with chicken breast. Add the bacon and sprinkle with parmesan. And add the pasta.
5. Toss together in the pan, until combined and the cream has thickened.
6. Serve as an entrée for two, or as a side. I could eat the whole thing in two different sittings. Is that bad?

 

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: chicken,carbonara,recipe,cream,bacon,fattening,pasta,meal

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Adventures in Butterscotch

So I'll admit, I've never really thought of butterscotch pudding beyond the box. But I decided to try some for dessert at a new restaurant called Brasa Rotisserie on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul, MN. It's actually the second one in the Twin Cities but it's also on my way to work, which is convenient.

I decided to try making it at home by scouring the internet and found a simple enough recipe to try. It's pretty good, but reminded me more of vanilla pudding than butterscotch. After a little more research, it looks like the best recipes carmelize the brown sugar and butter instead of just mixing it in as this recipe calls for. But either way, if you want to ditch the box and try making pudding at home, this is a nice and easy recipe to try.

Butterscotch Pudding:

3 cups whole (full fat) milk

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch (corn flour)

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 large egg yolks

2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Garnish: Lightly sweetened whipped cream and butterscotch chips

Directions:

In a large (heatproof) bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the milk until you have a thick paste. Set aside while you heat the milk.

First, rinse a medium-sized heavy saucepan with cold water and then shake out the excess water. Doing this step prevents the milk from scorching or so they say. Then pour the remaining 2 1/2 cups of milk into the saucepan and bring just to a boil. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to avoid scrambled eggs, until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the pudding mixture to a clean large, heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla extract.

Pour into 4 bowls or large ramekins. As you pour there may be lumps toward the bottom of the pan so try to avoid those. The pudding can be served warm or if chilling, press plastic wrap onto the surface of the warm puddings to prevent a skin from forming. If you like the skin, simply leave the pudding uncovered until cooled, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The puddings can be made a day or two ahead of serving. Garnish each pudding with a large dollop of softly whipped cream.

Makes 4 servings. But stay tuned as I plan to try a recipe that requires carmelization of the sugar.

Technorati Tags: butterscotch,homemade,pudding,scratch,recipe

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Coconut M&M's

Sounds like summer is bringing some unique flavored candy. Coconuts M&M's are supposed to hit store shelves this summer. So how do they get the coconut in them? Well don't expect any. It's all flavoring in the solid milk chocolate. You can find an insightful review here.

UPDATE: I had a chance to taste these from my local Walgreens, and I have to say I’m not a fan. It tastes like fake coconut instead of the real thing.

Technorati Tags: m&m,coconut,candy,summer

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