Portland Foodie

Rhubarb Cake with Citrus Glaze

Let me start by saying that rhubarb is quite possibly one of my favorite fruit-like vegetables. Sadly, it is often overlooked by modern day gardeners and foodies alike. I have decided to start a one-woman campaign to bring this perennial plant that pops up early in spring and thrives on neglect, back into fashion.

Here are a couple of things you need to know about it from a foodie perspective:

• It is an incredibly tart vegetable that is treated like a fruit
• Only the stems are edible, do not eat the leaves as they are poisonous
• There is no need to peel the stems, just wash thoroughly
• The stems can be chopped and added to recipes or cooked down into a sauce that resembles the texture of apple sauce, then added to recipes
• Surprisingly, its flavor is easily overwhelmed by other ingredients
• Rhubarb is acidic and when made into a sauce and then combined with a base like baking soda, causes a chemical reaction that results in one hell of a leavening agent

I am sure I will think of other tips, which I will include as I write about the various recipes I develop over the harvest season. I have one rhubarb plant, but that thing is huge and gives our family plenty. On Wednesday, I will post my favorite recipe for rhubarb bread.

Rhubarb Cake with Citrus Glaze

You Will Need:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 1/4 cups flower
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
*Rhubarb Compote

1 1/2 cups rhubarb compote*
8 stalks of rhubarb
pinch of salt
4 tbs sugar
juice of one tangerine
gratings from one tangerine
1/2 tbsp butter

Chop rhubarb into half inch pieces and saute over medium low heat. Add butter, salt, sugar and tangerine juice and gratings. Stir frequently, do not let burn or brown. Let it reduce until it becomes the consistency of applesauce, ensure that you have at least a cup and a half for the recipe.Set aside to cool.

The cake recipe is really easy...Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a bundt pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, and vanilla, mix to combine, in a separate bowl, break the eggs and whisk, add a bit of the compote while whisking to temper, add remaining compote while whisking. Then add the mixture to the mixing bowl and mix to combine.

Next add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine. Pour the mixture into a bundt pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

If you want to add a glaze, a really simple confectioner's sugar and tangerine juice combination is divine!

 

"Crustless" Apple Pie

Seems like it was just yesterday when my apples were nothing more than a blossom in their parent's eye..or something like that...the point is, they were just beautiful blooms on the trees in my yard...

And now, they are buckets and buckets of apples...apples everywhere...so many apples, that I am now working on creative apple recipes. Here's the easiest to make, terrifically delicious "crustless" apple pie...I would have called it apple pie filling, but that reminds me of the canned apple pie fillings from the store...and I just don't find those appealing. At all. Seriously.

Soooo, I decided to call it Crustless Apple Pie. Who needs the hassle of making a crust, anyway? So, here we go, you need:

• 4 medium apples, cored, (you can peel if you like, I usually just leave it on)
• 1 Tbs Unsulphured Molasses
• 1 Tbs Brown Sugar
• 1/2 t of Cinnamon
• 1/2 inch of fresh ginger, sliced (no need to peel this, either)
• a quick zest of nutmeg
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1/3 C of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum

Throw this all together in a pot. Bring to a light boil over medium low heat, reduce and let it simmer until the apples are soft, but definitely not mushy. Pick out the ginger slices and serve.

Overripe Bananas and You

Today I noticed that we had three overripe bananas wasting away in the fruit basket. In the past, I have put them in the freezer, thinking that one day, I would use them in baking...And, in fact, I have two of them in there right now.

Today, I was wondering if that was such a good idea...and couldn't remember if I had actually heard that somewhere or if I had made it up...and being the social media maven that I am, I asked my friends on Twitter what they do with 'nana's...A whole "bunch" responded...here's what they said...

@lilgirlbigvoice "Yup, just make sure to peel first otherwise you have to thaw and it's difficult as the banana will be all mushy!" http://littlegirlbigvoice.blogspot.com/

@qponcutie "I freeze them to use later for banana bread.  Works like a charm.  They're black & ugly, but tasty" http://www.qponcutie.com

@gloreebe88 "yes I do this.. great for smoothies too!" http://www.touchlifespirit.com

@stanorchard "throw in ziplock, throw in freezer, bring out and thaw for later use. Easy squeasy." http://stanorchard.com

@sendchocolate "yes, I have done that.  It works.  good for pancakes and muffins" http://casadecruz.blogspot.com/

@catrinarose "Yes, you can freeze your bananas. You can also throw them in your smoothies! YUM!" http://plantwhateverbringsyoujoy.com

@kiyoshipdx   "RE: freezing- I do that all the time (bananas, bread, pound cakes, mikan). frozen bananas are perfect for baking banana bread. Also you can freeze herbs which are not fresh anymore. Especially Rosemary-One of things you never want to put in a freezer is Tofu- It will make it like a sponge." http://donorsresource.org/

@gardenpunk "yep, froze all of the bananas after they were overripe and make baked goods with 'em" http://www.gardenpunks.com

@dineanddish "I do that and it works perfectly!" http://www.dineanddish.net

And, the tweet that started it all...was really about zucchini...@foodietot shreds her extra and freezes...
"Found it a good way to use them up before they go bad. And, faster to bake the muffins later.
http://www.foodietots.com

Wow, lots of people are being thrifty and great stewards of our resources...Next week, I will share one of my favorite recipes for banana cake...I won a blue ribbon in the state fair...yes, I was an adult, yes, I entered it in the state fair, and yes, I really won...

Start freezing those 'nanas!