Strawberry Rhubarb Shortpancakes

 Here's a quick idea for you: instead of time-consuming, heat-up-the-whole-kitchen biscuit baking, thrill your family with strawberry shortpancakes for breakfast! Just make up your favourite pancakes and top with lightly sweetened strawberries and whipped cream.  Or, if you still have rhubarb, make this simple and delicious strawberry-rhubarb sauce!

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

1/2 C. water
1/4 C. Sugar
1 C. chopped Rhubarb
2 C. Strawberries, quartered



 Heat water and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat until mixture boils.  Add rhubarb and cook for 2-3 minutes, until tender.  Remove from the heat and stir in the strawberries. 

I wish I had a picture, but we celebrated my cousin Melyssa's birthday with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sangria.  Just pour 1/4 cup of the strawberry rhubarb sauce over ice in a wine glass and carefully add equal parts club soda and Prosecco (or any sparkling wine) to fill.

Ravishing Rhubarb and Raspberry Pudding Cake

Where oh Where Are You??

I whined last time about the lack of strawberries around these parts.  Truth is, I have had this year's first strawberry shortcake and even made a batch of Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps to pair with strawberries and Dragon's Breath Blue Cheese for a special wedding last weekend (oh my god).  However, today was my day off, and I really wanted to bake up a strawberry-rhubarb something (I thought about it all through my morning yoga class) and there was NOT A LOCAL STRAWBERRY TO BE FOUND.  Granted, it was rainy, miserable berry-harvesting weather.  And I certainly wasn't going to go and do anything drastic like pick my own or anything.  So I hauled out a bag of frozen raspberries, sliced up some lovely pink rhubarb, and tweaked a recipe I found in a Canadian Living cookbook (which, good news,  I won this week having stuffed Molly's Brownie fundraiser ballot box with tickets I was forced to purchase because let's face it I suck at fundraising and it's June and I've given up my thin veneer of being a perfectly organized mother and am even sending my kids to school with *gasp* pre-packaged snacks this week and they're lucky they have clean socks to wear even if they don't match).

Although this was not what I had in mind as I down-dogged and tree-posed, I was more than happy with how it turned out.  Raspberries and rhubarb are a wonderful pair (am I the last to find out?),  so much so that I am now planning to freeze some rhubarb for raspberry season!

I don't know about you, but to me there is no sweeter word pairing than "pudding" and "cake".  Unless it's "summer" and "vacation".  Or "strawberry" and "rhubarb".  But that will have to wait.

Raspberry Rhubarb Pudding Cake
(adapted from Canadian Living Everyday Favourites)

Let's talk about flour for a moment, because this originally called for all-purpose and you know me, I can't help but try to sneak in at least some whole wheat.  But whole wheat flours vary widely in texture and this can have some serious repercussions on the lightness of baked goods.  So I recommend a whole wheat flour that has had some of the bran removed, like Speerville Whole White or President's Choice Organic Whole Wheat Flour.

4 C. Frozen Raspberries, thawed (a 600g package will do nicely)
2 C. Thinly Sliced Rhubarb
1/3 C. Sugar plus 1/4 C. Sugar


Cake Part:
1/2 C. Butter, softened
3/4 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 t. Vanilla
3/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C. All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1/2 C. Milk

Preheat the oven to 350.  Drain raspberries, reserving juice.  In a buttered 8" square baking pan, combine the drained raspberries, rhubarb and 1/3 C. sugar.  In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.  Beat in the eggs.  Combine the flours, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and add to butter mixture alternately with the milk starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Scrape evenly over the raspberry-rhubarb mixture.  Bring the reserved juice to a boil with the remaining 1/4 C. sugar and pour this over the batter.  Bake until the cake is firm to the touch, about 50 minutes.  Serve warm, making sure to top each serving with the raspberry rhubarb sauce underneath.

This 1950s KitchenAid Mixer was my grandmother's

Have faith, this looks weird but it's right!

Last Chance for May

Last day of May.  A spring that was slow to start but has exploded with a big ka-bang!  Every year I vow to do something with the wild elderflowers that grow all around my house.  I've heard you can make them into fritters, but I chose to make this elderflower cordial.  It is lovely in a glass of club soda or champagne, or you can use it as a syrup on pancakes or to sweeten berries.  It's simple to make.  You pick ten bunches of elderflowers, and combine them with 3 cups of sugar, 3 sliced lemons and 2 litres of boiling water.  Then it sits for two days at room temperature.  After that, strain through a fine mesh strainer and pour into jars.  Store in the fridge, or for longer storage, the freezer. 

Elderflower Cordial

This time of year, things get a little crazy as I race from one early summer activity to the next.  Flying from the kids' school to work to the grocery store to fitness class to the garden, I sometimes catch myself unaware of what I'm doing right now, too often thinking about what's next and how to cope with it.

Grow Spinach, Grow!!!

 I was in the Cafe kitchen, hurriedly prepping lettuce before a busy dinner service last Saturday.  I had too much to do and not enough time to do it.  An old familiar feeling crept over me, a kind of stressed out resentment.  And then, just as it came, it vanished with this thought: I am doing what I've always dreamed of doing.  And I am alive to do it. 

a Wine Tasting at the Cafe inspired this purchase

Our asparagus is bursting through the ground like mad, despite the fact that weedier asparagus beds never existed.  We moved a few huge asparagus crowns to our main garden, where I hope to take better care of them. 

I mulched this Asparagus right after I took this picture, honest!

 The raspberry canes I planted last year have all multiplied...

And the garlic is already over a foot high.

Last week Rowan and I planted twenty different tomato varieties from Glad Gardens and he sowed a row of broad beans from a free packet he picked up at the local school's Edible Garden Grand Opening.  We still have a long way to go before our garden's finished, but our spinach, kale and Swiss chard are up!

Bonus when you purchase Mushroom Compost at Valley Mushroom

 About a week or more ago I made a pot of tea for a friend from mint in my backyard, and gave her some eggs for a new broody hen of hers to sit on.

In exchange she brought me a jar of Vanilla Bean Rhubarb Jam.  It sat for about a minute on my counter before I had to toast some bread and try it out.  Pink with flecks of vanilla seeds, it looked amazing and tasted even better....

It inspired me to make this dessert.  I had wanted to try out a Panna Cotta recipe based on the recipe in Michael Smith's Chef at Home cookbook and knew it would be lovely with a sauce inspired by the jam.  I made this in two stages:  the Panna Cotta, a sweet custard-like dessert set with gelatin was made one day, and I made the Vanilla Bean Rhubarb Sauce the next.



Panna Cotta with Vanilla Bean Rhubarb Sauce

for the Panna Cotta:

4 C. Milk (whole Milk is lovely, but 1% will do)
2 Packages of Gelatin
3/4 C. Sugar
1 Bay Leaf
2 t. Vanilla (I used a vanilla bean, hence the little black flecks)

 Choose 6 ramekins or teacups to mold your panna cottas in and lightly oil them.
Pour 1/2 cup of the milk into a medium bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over to soften it.   Heat the remaining milk with the sugar, bay leaf and vanilla over medium heat until just beginning to steam.  Pour the hot milk mixture over the gelatin-milk mixture and whisk gently to combine.  Pour into your molds and put in the refrigerator to set for at least two hours, or overnight.

for the Vanilla Bean Rhubarb Sauce:

5 C. chopped Rhubarb (the pinkest you can find)
1/2 C. Sugar
pinch of Salt
1 Vanilla Bean

Place the rhubarb, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.  Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, then scrape all the seeds out with your knife and add them to the pot.  Drop the pod in, too.  Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer (you shouldn't need additional liquid).  After about five minutes, shut off the heat and let the rhubarb cool, then remove the vanilla pod.

To serve,  unmold the panna cotta by dipping the mold into hot water, then run a knife around the edge.  Place a serving plate on top, then flip over.  Add a big spoonful of the rhubarb sauce and maybe some whipped cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch Cheesecake

Just as the first really hot days hit the Valley, so winds down the rhubarb. It sends up tall white flowers that quickly turn into brown seed pods. Meanwhile, the main season strawberries are just about hitting full peak. That little window in early to mid June is the Strawberry Rhubarb Season. Strawberries make rhubarb less puckery, rhubarb makes strawberry more intense, and the whole combination is rich and complex and just plain cussing delicious.
My mom and I just polished off an entire amazing quart in the time it took to drive from the stand into town. I have heard that strawberries naturally whiten teeth, but mine were pretty red. I wouldn't recommend using them as rouge or lipstick either, although my skin does have a refreshed and invigorated feeling.
Well, the word around here is that next week, folks picking strawberries will be making more per hour than I ever hope to. For many kids around here, picking strawberries is a lucrative first job. I did it, too. For one morning. My entire picking career netted me $15, which I don't even remember collecting. Strawberry picking involves bending down and picking fast. It's a buggy, sweaty, back-breaking kind of job, the kind I don't much go for.
I'll be in the kitchen making this Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch Cheesecake.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch Cheesecake Serves up to 12

Crust:
3/4 C. flour
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. oats
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 C. butter
Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until well combined. Reserve 1 cup crumbs in a separate bowl. Press remaining into a 9 or 10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Pretty Pink Filling:
4 C. Rhubarb, sliced
1 1/2 C. Strawberries, sliced
3/4 C. sugar
Bring to a boil in a wide pan and cook until juices have evaporated and mixture is the consistency of chunky jam.

Cheesecake Part:
1 lb. cream cheese
1 C. sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 eggs
2 C. sour cream
1 T. cornstarch
Combine in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over crust into pan. Place rhubarb filling by spoonfuls on top. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350, until center barely jiggles when pan is gently shaken. Cool and then refrigerate overnight.

Rhubarb

On the drive down the North Mountain, I can see a whole field of rhubarb that lies untouched. Every year I watch the giant flower stalks emerge, turn brown, and wither away until the next spring. I have climbed over the barbed wire fence that rings the field and stealthily picked huge bunches. Shaded by a parasol of rhubarb leaves, I snuck back to my car, threw the whole thing into my trunk and zoomed off to my Cafe kitchen. Since then, I have found out who owns the field and can now pick, without looking over my shoulder, for just 20 cents a pound. Rhubarb can often be found in a neighbour's yard, on roadside tables and in stands, and at farmer's markets. Pick the slenderest, reddest stalks for the prettiest results and dirty looks from other customers. Rhubarb is inexpensive and versatile. It keeps for weeks wrapped in plastic in the fridge, and freezes very well just chopped up and thrown in a bag. It is also unbelievably sour! Fairly large amounts of sugar are required to soften its bite, but this can be reduced by mixing rhubarb with other sweeter fruits. Strawberry is the classic rhubarb partner, but I also love raspberries with it, or even apple.

For years we served Wild Salmon at the restaurant, pan seared and topped with this simple and delicious chutney. It lasts for months in the fridge, and is good wherever chutney is used: as a topping for Curries, in a little dish beside a platter of Cheese and Crackers, or on a Chicken Sandwich.

Rhubarb Chutney

1 ½ C. Diced Red Onion

1 T. Grated Ginger

1 T. Oil

1 C. Dried Cranberries

1 C. Sugar (we use Just Us!)

1 C. Cider Vinegar

½ C. Apple Cider

½ t. Cardamom

½ t. Ground Coriander

½ t. Salt

4 C. sliced Rhubarb

Saute the onion and ginger in the oil until onions are softened. Add the remaining ingredients except rhubarb and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then add the rhubarb. Cook until rhubarb has softened and broken down and chutney has thickened somewhat. It will thicken more as it cool.

My sister Meagan is a master Crisp Baker. On Sunday, she brought this amazing Rhubarb Crisp to my potluck. The recipe is adapted from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe.

Rhubarb Pecan Crisp

6 C. sliced Rhubarb

1 C. Raspberries or sliced Strawberries (optional)

1 T. Unbleached all-purpose Flour

¼ C. Sugar

Toss the rhubarb with the flour and sugar until fairly evenly coated. Place in an ungreased 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Place the raspberries on top. Use the same bowl for the topping:

¾ C. Rolled Oats

¼ C. Oat Bran (or Wheat Germ)

1 T. unbleached all-purpose Flour

1/8 t. Salt

2 T. (packed) Brown Sugar

¼ t. Cinnamon

3 T. minced Pecans

3 T. melted Butter

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients with a fork or your fingers until uniformly moistened. Crumble the topping mixture over the fruit and pat into place. Place the pan on a cookie sheet and bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes, until browned on top. Cool for 15 minutes before serving (with Ice Cream, if you're lucky!)