Rhubarb Muffins

Since I started growing my own rhubarb, I have collected many recipes to try out.  I have only made a few of them because the few recipes I made went over so well, I didn't need to experiment further.  I had an urge to make muffins one weekend and pulled out a Minnesota cookbook and found this recipe for rhubarb muffins with a crackly topping.  They were cooling on the counter when a friend came over for dinner.  Drawn not only to my cooking, but baking as well, he asked if he could have one on his way out the door.  The answer of course was yes!  They were also shared with my coworkers as they too benefit from my overcooking for a two person household.

Rhubarb Muffins

(adapted from Always Superb by the Junior League of Minneapolis and St. Paul)

Yield: 16 muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together.  Combine 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla in a separate bowl and mix well.  Stir in the flour mixture just until moist.  Fold in the rhubarb.  Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 cup full.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar over the tops of the muffin batter.  Bake at 325 F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from pan to rake for cooling.

Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb!

Two years ago my mom came for a visit and decided that I could not live without rhubarb.  While I was glad to have a fruit which would come back each year and sad that my raspberry bush had died that year as well, I wasn’t all together sure what I would do with rhubarb, let alone two rhubarb plants.  Well now, two years later, the rhubarb is doing great, I have found a lot of recipes using rhubarb and I have added a different variety to my raised rhubarb bed.  All is going well in rhubarb land.

Flaky Piecrust (for one crust, double for a top)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

8 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter

3 Tablespons water

Combine all, but water.  Gradually add water until dough comes together.  Divide dough in half and roll out half.  Place into pie plate and then roll out the top.

Filling:

5 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

Pinch salt

2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Heat oven to 450F.   Toss rhubarb with sugar, corn starch and salt.  Pour into prepared crust and dot with butter.  Cover pie and brush with milk, then dust with sugar. Make two or three slits for steam to be released.  Bake for 10 minutes at 450 F, then reduce heat to 350 for 45 – 50 minutes.

 

What's for dinner?

It is steaming hot outside and yet here I am roasting tomatoes for a scrumptious tomato risotto.  This recipe was taken from: http://www.macheesmo.com.  It is a lovely combination of roasted tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes.  For anyone who loves risotto and tomatoes, this is the perfect dish.  Many people don't like the time-consuming procedure which is risotto, but I simply think of it as solely needing to stir the rice while it cooks.  As long as you are prepared before you start cooking with your stock and perhaps a glass of wine and some conversation, the process is a pleasurable one instead of one that is hard to bear.

In the meantime, I had baked some rhubarb with wine which was a recipe I used from Canal House Cooking.  It tasted lovely and when asked what it was to be used for, I thought eating!  That question led me to figure out how I could incorporate this lovely baked rhubarb into something else just as tasty.  After finding another recipe for a short crust, I baked it all up nice and tasty with a streusel type topping. It turned out wonderful.  The crust tamed down the sweet cinnamon smelling streusel topping which went well with the tart and tangy rhubarb middle.  Yum!