I still had a lot of rhubarb left, even after I froze 5 lbs of it. Tonight I made a crumble, using a recipe I adapted from my new Ithaca Farmer's Market Cookbook. For the record, none of the ingredients actually came from the Farmer's Market - it's still too early for strawberries here, the rhubarb was from the roadside stand, and the lemon came from my sadly departed California lemon tree, which toppled over last week and my mom sent me some of the lemons.
Anyway, here's the recipe as I made it.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
3 cups quartered strawberries
3 cups diced rhubarb
3/4 c sugar
dash of cinnamon
zest of 1 lemon
combine and spread on a cookie sheet or glass casserole dish. Heat oven to 350F
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
dash of cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
combine butter and dry ingredients. Rub butter pieces between your fingers until they are very small and are well incorporated into the flour mix. Spread over fruit mixture. Bake at 350F for an hour or until fruit is bubbly.
Mmm. This is definitely my favorite use of rhubarb so far. The house smelled great while it was baking and it was quite tasty, especially when warm. It would've been even better with some ice cream. The crumble didn't solidify quite the way I expected - I'm not sure if I should've mixed it in more with the fruit, or use a different recipe. In any case, this was more of a texture than a taste issue.
Showing posts with label rhubarb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rhubarb. Show all posts
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Rhubarb Extravaganza, Part 2: Old Biddy Rhubarb Cake
The rhubarb fest continues. I bought 2 more bunches of rhubarb on the way back from the airport. Tonight I made a rhubarb coffee cake that I found at allrecipes.com. I'm changing the name, though. The style of cake, although not common in modern American recipes, is well known to me since it is identical to the world-famous Mama Biddy Apple cake = thick cake batter + lots of chopped apples + streusel. My mom used to make it, or had me make it, when she had a lot of apples that she needed to get rid of.
Old Biddy Ruhubarb Cake
Ingredients
* 1 cups white sugar
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup sour cream
* 4 cups diced rhubarb
* 1 tsp vanilla
Streusel
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, salt and 2 cups flour. Stir in the eggs and sour cream until smooth, then fold in the rhubarb. Pour into the prepared dish and spread evenly. In a smaller bowl, stir together the remaining 1 cup brown sugar and butter until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup flour until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake then dust lightly with cinnamon (optional).
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
The recipe was easy to make and baked up exactly as described. I forgot the cinnamon, unfortunately, but it was fine without it. Anyway, it was a moist, almost gooey coffee cake style cake, but wasn't too rich. In taste and in spirit it was very similar to Mama Biddy's Apple Cake. I took it into work, where the grad students polished it off.
Next up: strawberry rhubarb crumble recipe from the new Ithaca Farmers' Market Cookbook.
Old Biddy Ruhubarb Cake
Ingredients
* 1 cups white sugar
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup sour cream
* 4 cups diced rhubarb
* 1 tsp vanilla
Streusel
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, salt and 2 cups flour. Stir in the eggs and sour cream until smooth, then fold in the rhubarb. Pour into the prepared dish and spread evenly. In a smaller bowl, stir together the remaining 1 cup brown sugar and butter until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup flour until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake then dust lightly with cinnamon (optional).
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
The recipe was easy to make and baked up exactly as described. I forgot the cinnamon, unfortunately, but it was fine without it. Anyway, it was a moist, almost gooey coffee cake style cake, but wasn't too rich. In taste and in spirit it was very similar to Mama Biddy's Apple Cake. I took it into work, where the grad students polished it off.
Next up: strawberry rhubarb crumble recipe from the new Ithaca Farmers' Market Cookbook.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Rhubarb Extravaganza, Part 1: Basic Stewed Rhubarb with Lemon and Crystallized Ginger
Yes, it's true. I like old fashioned produce like rutabagas, parsnips, and rhubarb. Now, how does a California girl acquire a taste for those things? Well, my mom is the queen of weird midwestern produce and I picked that habit up from her.
Anyway, it's rhubarb season here in CNY. I saw some a few weeks ago at the farmer's market, but it was $5/lb so I didn't get any. Inspired by this, I bought some plants the next day, but I don't think they'll produce much this year. However, this weekend I noticed a roadside stand outside of Ithaca. It was $3/bunch and you paid on the honor system. I bought two bunches, which was about 6 lbs.
For my first attempt at cooking rhubarb, I made some simple stewed rhubard like my mom used to make. I jazzed it up with some lemon zest and chopped up crystallized ginger.
It tasted just like I remember, except for the addition of the ginger. It also looked like gelatinous vomit, which is also exactly how it's supposed to look. I'll spare you a picture of it. Since it is in many ways similar to cranberry sauce, I served it with some grilled chicken. It was a tasty side dish, but the leftovers will also be good on its own for dessert or with some yogurt for breakfast. If I were paying $5/lb for it, I'd save it for "value-added" dishes like pies or cakes which don't need as much, but for $1/lb I wanted to take a trip down memory lane.
Anyway, here's the recipe.
Stewed Rhubarb with Lemon Zest and Crystallized Ginger
2 1/2 lbs rhubarb, washed and cut into 1" slices
1 cup sugar (or to taste. Next time I'll use less and/or substitute Splenda)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbs water (the rhubarb will sweat a lot so it you don't need to add much liquid.)
2 tbs crystallized ginger, diced. (optional)
In a big pot, cook the rhubarb until it is soft and stringy and the mixture has thickened. Cool and enjoy.
Stay tuned for the next installment of rhubarb extravaganza, where I will make a rhubarb cake or some muffins, or maybe even combine it with some strawberries.
For everything you ever wanted to know about rhubarb and more, go to The Rhubarb Compendium.
Anyway, it's rhubarb season here in CNY. I saw some a few weeks ago at the farmer's market, but it was $5/lb so I didn't get any. Inspired by this, I bought some plants the next day, but I don't think they'll produce much this year. However, this weekend I noticed a roadside stand outside of Ithaca. It was $3/bunch and you paid on the honor system. I bought two bunches, which was about 6 lbs.
For my first attempt at cooking rhubarb, I made some simple stewed rhubard like my mom used to make. I jazzed it up with some lemon zest and chopped up crystallized ginger.
It tasted just like I remember, except for the addition of the ginger. It also looked like gelatinous vomit, which is also exactly how it's supposed to look. I'll spare you a picture of it. Since it is in many ways similar to cranberry sauce, I served it with some grilled chicken. It was a tasty side dish, but the leftovers will also be good on its own for dessert or with some yogurt for breakfast. If I were paying $5/lb for it, I'd save it for "value-added" dishes like pies or cakes which don't need as much, but for $1/lb I wanted to take a trip down memory lane.
Anyway, here's the recipe.
Stewed Rhubarb with Lemon Zest and Crystallized Ginger
2 1/2 lbs rhubarb, washed and cut into 1" slices
1 cup sugar (or to taste. Next time I'll use less and/or substitute Splenda)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbs water (the rhubarb will sweat a lot so it you don't need to add much liquid.)
2 tbs crystallized ginger, diced. (optional)
In a big pot, cook the rhubarb until it is soft and stringy and the mixture has thickened. Cool and enjoy.
Stay tuned for the next installment of rhubarb extravaganza, where I will make a rhubarb cake or some muffins, or maybe even combine it with some strawberries.
For everything you ever wanted to know about rhubarb and more, go to The Rhubarb Compendium.
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