Rhubarb: the best spring tonic!

Jan here, with a confession: I'm deeply indebted to the kindness of strangers.


Well, not really strangers...but someone my husband works with found out I was hankering after some fresh rhubarb, so she sent a sack of it home with him last week.

Mmmm, rhubarb!

I froze a bunch of it, and saved four cups to try a recipe my mother-in-law had given me years ago - Rhubarb Custard Pie.

Doesn't it look delicious?

Well, the pie is a lie.

Something went wrong. I'll keep messing with the recipe (if I can find some more rhubarb), but I won't share it today.

Instead, you'll have to settle for a tried and true recipe my family loves - but no pictures of it. Alas, I have rhubarb, but no strawberries!

Strawberry Rhubarb Delight

Preheat oven to 350°.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen chopped rhubarb

1 cup fresh or frozen sliced strawberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Mix these ingredients together in a large bowl. Fill a 10-inch glass pie plate or a 9-inch square baking dish with the fruit mixture. Set this aside while preparing the topping.

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

Mix the first three ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until crumbly.

Sprinkle the topping over the fruit mixture, covering it evenly. 

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes until fruit is tender and the topping is golden brown.

Serve plain or with fresh whipped cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Delight has been a family favorite since we lived in Indiana - many years ago! And it's so EASY!

To make up for no pictures of the featured recipe, you'll have to settle for a puppy. He's growing up so fast!

Most of my pictures of Thatcher are like this. 

Because if he isn't sleeping, the picture ends up looking like this:

Unless I get someone to hold onto him, but even then it's hit or miss!

But before we go - what is your favorite way to use rhubarb?

"I Can't Even Boil an Egg."

Missy, here. Have you ever heard someone who can't cook say, "I can't even boil an egg."

Well, I admit here and now, that sometimes (about half the time), I can't even boil an egg. I have the worst time with eggs that don't want to peel. The shell sticks and rips away chunks of egg white (my favorite part!).

And I know there's a trick to doing it right. But I NEVER CAN REMEMBER!

So I just got this email the other day from eMeals.com (I still subscribe). It sent me a link to a blog post titled How to Make Perfect Hard-boiled Eggs.

You can read the whole post with some additional helpful tips by clicking the link or the photo. But I thought today I'd share the main thing to remember:

Put the eggs in the pan and cover with water. THEN heat to a boiling. Turn off burner, cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

I have usually boiled the water first, then added the eggs. That's been my problem.

So, I vow, from this day forward, I'll cook hard-boiled eggs correctly, without sacrificing precious hunks of egg white! :)

By the way, I know I blogged about eMeals.com a while back. But I recently changed from the Clean Eating plan to the Slow Cooker plan. I've gotten some fantastic recipes! I'll have to let you know how it goes once I try some.

So...do you have any personal tips for boiling eggs?

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

It started out looking like this ... a bunch of ingredients, helter skelter...

Blueberry Streusel Cake...

And I had a bag of frozen blueberries just begging to be let out of deep freeze.

"Ruthy.... RUTHY!!!"  Their call grew louder and louder as if they knew Bethany saw a recipe for something blueberry-ish on the World Wide Web.

And so I crept to the freezer.

Yes.

The blueberries were hailing me, ready to give up their frost-filled lives for our consumption.

Noble. Strong. Proud.

Blueberries are one tough fruit. Not as tough as APPLES but I won't even GO THERE because I live in apple country, home of the Applefest.

Back to blueberry cake...

Beth made the crumble topping and it was with some skepticism and more than one raised brow at this most recent attempt to domesticate her:



1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 butter softened

Mix together with pastry blender, fork or two knives, criss-crossed.... Mixture should look crumbly, hence the name "crumbled topping".  :)

Well, that just seemed skimpy and I had enough blueberries for TWO cakes so why not double the topping?

So we did.

It didn't look like enough so we made a third (yes, folks, you read it here first!) batch of topping because there's no such thing as too much topping, right?

(This theory is only true in the abstract as shown below)

Cake:

2 Cups flour (I used Softassilk, should have used a heartier flour, OOOOOPS!!!)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk (or sour milk by placing 1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice in 1/2 cup milk and let stand five minutes)

3 cups frozen or fresh blueberries (if frozen, keep frozen despite their pleas!!!)

Preheat oven to 375° unless you think you're smarter than everyone and decide 350° is better. It's not, by the way.

:)

Sorry, had to duck away and eat three of the tiniest chocolate chips ever, just so I don't forget what chocolate tastes like while I'm low-carbing my life to wellness.

Okay, I'm back.

Combine all dry ingredients.

 Cream egg and butter and vanilla extract.

Alternately add buttermilk and flour to the creamed mix, beating after each addition. Fold in blueberries.

Spread the batter in greased 9" x 9" pan. Bake at 375° for 50-60 minutes...

"Z-Z" was on clean-up committee that day:

Here's the cake, pre-oven:

(Remember we doubled the batch here? And added extra topping? And then put it in a 13" x 9" pan? And then reduced the oven temp to 350°????)

So mine didn't come out PICTURE PERFECT.

I'm not even sure where that picture is, I probably burned it in protest!!!

Sigh.

Stinkin' Yankee know-it-all!!!

(hunts through files, searching for pic of blueberry catastrophe!!!)

Nope, can't find it. Well, suffice to say that my topping SANK below the cake like a Cat In the Hat story... and the blueberries stayed on the bottom while the cake (what there was of it) rose to the top. So it was more like a blueberry cobbler/crisp than anything resembling a cake.

Was it good????

Oh my stars, it was delicious!

But it was NOT PRETTY!!!!

:)

I blame her, actually. I actually have to pause and take care of this sweet baby now and again!!! Isn't she precious?

Party Food!!

Hi everybody!!  The Fresh Pioneer is back and I needed to make some finger food for a party recently. Someone else had already snagged the veggies and dip, so what was a girl to do???

 

 

 

 

 I thought about an antipasto plate, but the last time I tried that, it was really expensive and no one ate any of it. I got to munch through two pounds of mozzarella balls marinated in olive oil and herbs. Yay, me!

 

  Maybe if I were Martha, I would have known that antipasto wouldn't fly in our little cowboy town. Live and learn.

So, I decided to make some yummy sausage balls I remember my college roommate making wayyyyy back in the good days. I mean, those days when I could eat twenty of these and not get heartburn or gain five pounds. The good days are gone. Don't ask me how I know this to be true.

 

Now, my roommate was from.... Can you guess?? :D  I'd been to the South before I met Gail, but I hadn't actually known any Southern people. We all know you can't have the South without Southerners. Those accents! The history! That food!

Awesomely delicious sausage cheese balls. (I don't think that's the real name, but we'll go with it.)

2 lbs good breakfast sausage.
4 cups Bisquick mix
2 pounds good sharp cheddar

MIX.

We have a local organic cruelty free meat provider. (I wondered about that cruelty party, because... the pig is dead. And we're gonna eat it. But apparently it has to do with the before-the-killing part.)

 

I had to go buy some of this. Who knew you could make so much with Bisquick??

                 Grated sharp cheese. YUMMY. I could just eat this whole plate.

Mold into two-inch balls and cook at 350F for about 10-15 minutes. Ours cooked really quickly, so check them after ten by cutting one open to make sure the pork sausage is no longer pink.

They look a little weird and lumpy but they are amazingly SOFT and full of flavor! I think you can dip them in some of those fancy mustards, but I prefer the standard plain ol' hotdog mustard.
    So, quick and easy and cruelty-free (no Bisquick was harmed in the making of this finger food).

In other news, I got an old dresser and was determined to bring it back to life.

Here it is, alligatored with age. Solid oak, super cheap yard sale item. Can it be saved???

I got one drawer stripped and added gloss. I like the way this is going....

But then, tragedy! Something had stained the bigger drawers, only two of them and only halfway. So when they were stripped, they looked... awful. Not clean. Not the tiger oak I was expecting. *SOB*

Miss Hilton Steele gave me good advice (as always) and told me to troll Pinterest. And two tone furniture kept popping up. Would it work??

So, taking a leap of faith (Wheeeeee!) I started. Cream colored, easy to distress, chalk added paint.

I really loved that tiger oak on the side and was so glad to be able to preserve a little of it!

And then I searched for a two days on all the knob sites. Who knew there were so many beautiful creations?? Glass, pottery, brass, wood, antiqued iron birdies... My head was whirling...
Then I remember I had a whole bucket of knobs I picked up at a garage sale. There might be something.... And there was! Big brass knobs, perfect for little hands!

 

I have another writing project happening so I'll see you writer types at the 1k1hr group! (Like that tumbler picture? Yeah, that's me on the left, with the fireworks...)

Until next time, my friends!

 

 



Party Planning 101

Tex here, and while I still may not be doing a whole lotta cookin', that's about to change. There are par-tays on the horizon. The first is this weekend with my son's graduation party. Next weekend I'm hosting a bridal shower for my daughter. Then there's the big kahuna--the wedding. You know, like the biggest party ever.

First, party planning--at least for a special occasion--takes some thought. Are you kidding me? I don't have time to think these days. But I forced my brain cells into over time.

For the grad party, we're talking some adults and LOTS of kids. And since this grad is a boy, my train of thought went to those carnivore-esque hollow legs. That meant there had to be meat on the menu. Hamburgers? Done it. Sloppy joes? He doesn't like them. Rolling my eyes, I glanced at my smoker.

Ah-ha!

Barbeque!

That's the ticket. I'll smoke several pounds of brisket. You can see how I do that here.

Now if we're having barbeque, then we gots to have at least one traditional side. For me, that would be potato salad. But grad-boy has no sense of taste. He doesn't like potato salad. Mashed potatoes? At every meal. But put 'em in a salad and, well...you get the picture. So I'll rustle up some pinto beans. Which works out better for me anyway. I simply put everything in the pot, and let the stove do all the work while I work on other stuff. Hmm...I would have sworn I shared my bean recipe, but I can't find it anywhere. Guess that's a post for another day.

Aside from all the barbeque fixins--bread, onion, pickles, and jalapenos--we'll round things out with a veggie tray, chips, salsa, maybe some guacamole, and chocolate cupcakes.

A manly meal if I ever saw one.

So now we shift gears to the feminine crowd of a bridal shower. A brunch no less. Do guys even do brunch?

Since the brunch isn't until 11, I thought some people might be more interested in lunch, so I wanted to cover all the bases.

I knew I wanted to make these Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes I saw on a certain Food Network show. And since my daughter's colors include blush and pale yellow, I thought they'd be perfect. But cupcakes don't exactly scream brunch. In reality, they're just calling to me:-)

In the end, the menu rounded out with quiche (not sure which kind yet), a strawberry-spinach salad , vanilla scones, and a fruit tray (with that totally awesome dip that only consists of cream cheese and marshmallow cream. Who knew that those two ingredients mixed together would only make the fruit a formality? Gimme the bowl of dip and a spoon:-). Another one of the hostesses is whipping up some chocolate-raspberry treats that will bring the whole menu together. Yum!

Okay, so I've told you about my party plans, how do you put together a menu for your next shindig? Consider your guests (or guest-of-honor). What do they like or dislike? Any allergies? My son-in-law-to-be is allergic to almonds. There will be no almond paste or almond extract in anything at the wedding.

Now that you have the menu, how do you want to serve? Buffet style (my personal preference) or sit-down meal? Is it casual or do you want things a little more formal? The grad party will definitely be informal--buffet, yes, but with school colors. red and black.

The shower will also be a buffet, but with a shabby-chic aura. Crystal and burlap. Flowers. Tones of yellow and blush.

As always, you want to keep the senses in mind. You want a treat for the eyes, music that fits the mood of the party. For the shabby-chic theme, I might have some bluegrass or dulcimer music playing softly in the background. What are your guests smelling when they walk in the door? Bleach? Roasted garlic? No, you want the fragrance to fit the mood. Whether it's the smell of the food or a candle, make sure the aroma doesn't detract or offend.

You're turn now. What do you think about when you're planning a party? Tell me about the last party you threw.

The Incredible, Edible, Storable Egg!

Confession time: I love eggs.

Boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, in custards, cakes, souffles or quiches...I love eggs.

And June is the perfect month to talk about eggs, because if you own chickens, your egg production is about to overwhelm you. What do you do with all those eggs?

First of all, lets talk about the elephant in the room. Those of us who have been around for awhile have been told that eggs - especially that horrible yolk - is one of the worst things you can eat for your health.

Guess what? The studies have been redone, official guidelines changed, and nobody bothered to tell us - the innocent consumer.

It turns out eggs don't have the cholesterol numbers we were once told (some attribute it to different diet for the hens), but more importantly, eggs supply too many good nutrients to quit them cold turkey...or chicken.

Egg yolks are excellent - and easily absorbed - sources of Vitamin D, the B Vitamins, protein and important enzymes. They are a perfect choice for a healthy diet.

Most medical people recommend no more than one egg per day for a healthy person. That means in one week you can have a boiled egg diced and added to your salad one day, a couple scrambled eggs for breakfast two other days, and a veggie frittata for supper one night.

You can read all about the health benefits of eggs here, here, here, and here.

Second, with all those choices on the grocery shelf, what kind of eggs should you buy? After all, look at that refrigerator section! Cage-free, organic, white, brown, all-vegetable fed, medium, large, extra large...and if you're in a place like Whole Foods, you might even find free-range.

My first choice source for eggs would be my own backyard...

My dream chicken coop!

...but, alas, my city doesn't allow backyard chickens. :(

So I go with my second choice - I buy from a local rancher. The eggs are wonderful, and I know his chickens roam freely during the day, and are also fed a high quality chicken feed.

My third choice is natural eggs from vegetarian-fed hens found in the refrigerator at the store. But only if I have to.

This is why - an egg's nutrition depends on how the hen is raised and fed. You can tell how much nutrition a hen has been getting by the color of the egg's yolk.

The darker yellow the yolk, the more nutritious the egg. And do you see the difference in the egg whites in the picture? The backyard egg on the right has a yolk that is firmer, not watery. Another sign of a more nutritious egg.

But now, back to the subject at hand. It's June and the hens are laying like...well, like someone told them to get those chicks hatched now so that they'll be big and healthy once winter rolls around again. That means lots and lots of eggs!

You have two choices when faced with that many eggs: store them or use them!

My supply of eggs on June 1!

So first, we'll store them.

There are several way to store eggs, but the easiest is to freeze them.

Freeze the amount you'll use at one time - usually two eggs - and plan to use them in baking. Use fresh eggs for eating because freezing will affect the taste and texture somewhat.

Don't freeze eggs in the shell. Break them into a bowl and stir them with a fork just enough to mix the yolk and white together.

Put the eggs into a freezer container, label, date, and use within a year.

Another way to do it is to freeze the eggs in ice cube trays and store the individual cubes in a freezer bag. Two cubes = one large egg (approximately).

When you're ready to use the eggs, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.

That took care of a dozen! We'll keep a couple dozen for using over the next couple weeks, but that leaves us with an extra half dozen...so let's get cooking!

What can you cook that uses a lot of eggs? Here are a few things I thought of: custard, cake, egg noodles, pies (lots of them!)....

What is your favorite way to use eggs? I'll make a big pot of tea (over ice for those in the south), and let's chat!

Thatcher at 9 weeks. Don't you love those ears?

Real Women Wear Aprons

I was on my vacation this week, visiting my dad, and pumping him for WWII stories about his family.  My uncle was a pilot during in the Pacific. Memorial Day is special in our house because Uncle Billy Rhea did not make it home. 

But my visit also meant no cooking. What would I share with you all? With all Dad's stories, I spent my down time fantasizing about what it would be like to live during WWII. Would I be a Rosie the Riveter or would I be down on the farm, providing food for the war effort?  Not an easy choice. Women still had to do it all when it came to cooking, unless they lived in a boarding house!  

Put me on the farm! I have to cook the way my grandmothers did in the years leading up to WWII.  Pure and simple, due to my allergies. But it was messy cooking, what with frying chicken and making blackberry jam, chopping tomatoes and creaming corn for canning.Did I mention I am known for spilling things on myself?  My cooking and eating are not graceful ventures! Oh, the clothes I have stained. Got any good remedies for getting out chocolate and mustard? Put them in the comments.

How did my stylish relatives cope? Laundry meant back breaking work. They had to keep what clothes they had in good condition because there were fabric shortages and money still wasn’t flowing after the Depression. But they had a secret weapon: aprons, truly extraordinary aprons.  I know, because I inherited my great-aunt’s collection.  She created aprons with flair!   

These are some of my favorite inherited aprons. Every one is hand done with lots of details.

I may write WWII romance but I am not a total fan of the fashions of the day. Shoulder pads. Recycled suits due to fabric shortages. Cork, yes, and wood shoes. But, thanks to my great-aunt, I am an apron-obsessed woman. I now stalk thrift stores, ebay and Etsy for unique creations.  Aprons were one way women got to be creative with a small amount of fabric.  And my friend Mary Jo is a kindred spirit.  So we created a Real Women Wear Aprons board on Pinterest. Click here to see our board. 

Interesting sidelight: Our board has followers in their twenties and thirties due to the “New Domesticity” movement. Emily Matcher has spoken about it and written a book, Homeward Bound, about how younger women are doing things the old-fashioned way of their grandmothers. Their parents may have tossed aside the cookbooks or the knitting needles but these young women are picking them up in vast numbers. My daughter loves to bake and decorate. Others are crocheting or canning or raising chickens. All this interest has led to a resurgence in apron production and high prices on vintage aprons!  I am sitting on a goldmine!

I think it is wonderful others are learning what Mary Jo and I already know…Real Women Wear Aprons.  Even ones that aren't messy chefs and eaters like me! I imagine our grandmothers are having the last laugh.