Rhubarb Wine

Let the wine experimentation continue! I won't know how this is for 8 months or so, but this way I'll have a reference point for next year for this rhubarb wine. I may make another batch if I can hustle up enough rhubarb - I tasted the leftovers (having learned from the dandelion wine a few weeks ago to add MORE water so as not to come up short) and they are great. A bit beer like, at this stage. Not sweet at all, which I am quite pleased with. 

This time I followed this recipe, which was easy and had useful tips. I think I've been perusing too many possible wine recipes, and I ordered a couple too many things that I didn't need (like yeast tannin powder, which you don't need if you have a black tea bag). Fruit wine that is not grapes needs tannin, which can come from tea. Camden tablets are also highly recommended post fermentation to stabilize fruit wine, prevent it from turning brown, and to preserve the flavor. So. I racked the wine into the carboy about a week ago, which means I will rack the wine into a new one in three weeks. 6 months later I can rack it into bottles, give it one more month, and it's ready. So, January or February. Sooner than the dandelion wine!

One bonus of this one, you start by creating a rhubarb syrup with just rhubarb and sugar. After three days you strain out the rhubarb, add water and yeast, and let it ferment. Which means you have a sweet rhubarb by-product that I could not resist trying, despite my desire/efforts to not consume sugar. I ate some with some plain goat yogurt to cut the sweetness, and it was quite divine. I composted most of it, but it was a little painful. Next time I'll throw a party for my sugar-eating friends to eat up that goodness!

Photos show the cut up rhubarb in a 5 gallon bucket, first plain, then with sugar. This is the syrup making in action! (Under cover of a towel.) I neglected to take a photo of the syrupy finish.

*And again, add even more water than directed because you also lose some in the racking. I am going to add an extra full quart next time. Hopefully that doesn't sacrifice flavor.

Rhubarb-Raspberry GF Crostata

I went through my Ramadan fasting days without eating sugar - I did have dates of course, and some honey, but I didn't eat sweets or ice cream or baked goods (mainly to have more ease for my fast, because sugar creates for me a vaccuous hunger). It seemed fun then to make some kind of special thing for Eid, especially since my rhubarb plant has been particularly robust, sunning itself these days, with some fat stalks. I also had some raspberries in the freezer, and just enough GF flour mix to make this crostata. I used to love pastry making - so this was a fun revisit to using a rolling pin.

In the early days of my food blogging, when I still ate gluten, I made a zucchini gallette (which does look decidedly more stunning - glutenous flour really can do that for you!) It turns out crostatas and gallettes are really Italian and French words for the same thing: a pie pastry folded over itself in a casual, rustic sort of way. Freedom from the pie pan! I could have rolled mine out a little bigger, I grew impatient, and had a smaller, thicker crust and some leftover filling.

The original recipe is from a low fodmaps website, which is a particular anti-inflammatory way of eating that seems to help with several chronic health conditions. It was the only GF crostata recipe I came across, though I could have made one up, I suppose. This recipe was not at all sweet, so I increased the sweetener to half cup (from 1/3 cup), and I modified it a bit because I had frozen berries and added my tapioca starch directly (no added water), which seemed to do the right thickening trick. I ate my crostata with heavy cream and a little maple syrup on top, which was very tasty.

Crostata crust:

1 large egg, cold
3 tablespoons ice water
1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar/sweetener
1/2 (Scant) teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

 

1. Place the flour, sugar, xanthan gum and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade attachment and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse on and off until the butter is cut into very tiny pieces; the mixture should ultimately be a consistent meal texture, like coarse corn meal. 

2. Sprinkle wet mixture over the dry and pulse on and off until dough is evenly moistened, then process on “ON” until dough begins to form in a ball above the blade. Put dough ball in fridge until ready to roll out.

Filling:
1 1/4 pounds (about 4 cups) rhubarb, trimmed, cut into 1/2-1" pieces
6 ounces raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sweetener: sugar, coconut sugar, honey, etc
2 T cornstarch (I used tapioca flour)

1. Stir rhubarb, raspberries and sweetener together in a non-reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until juices begin to exude. Continue simmering until fruit is nice and juicy and a bit tender but not yet soft, about 3 to 5 minutes total.

2. Stir in the cornstarch mixture. Boil for 1 minute, stirring well to combine, then remove from heat. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice to release heat.

3. Position oven rack in upper third of oven. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.

Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to a large freeform round about 15-inches across. Scrape chilled filling into center of dough, leaving a broad 4-inch (10 cm) border. Flip the edges of the dough up and over the filling, leaving the center open. Slip parchment onto a baking sheet pan. Brush dough with a little beaten egg or milk, if desired, and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Cool pan on rack for 10 minutes. Serve crostata warm or at room temperature. 

 

Bonus rhubarb cordial recipe (courtesy of Hilary): I also made a half batch of this cordial (gin/rhubarb/orange peel), which requires a month or so of sitting before it is ready to drink with some grand marnier and soda water. If it is good I'll post about it later! 

 

Rhubarb Shortcake (with almond flour biscuits)

It's been a long time since I posted. I don't know if I am going to post regularly or not, but I made some delicious shortcake this week and I want to preserve the recipe. There has been much change afoot. I am back in my southside house and am working to make it more homestead-ish. Bit by bit. I keep staring at the yard space trying to figure out how to convert more of it to garden. 

I read a couple of books recently about a woman who lives in the Taiga in Russia. It's unclear if the story is fiction or not, but I enjoyed them and they are making me even more intrigued about my relationship to my garden and plants. She talks about how walking barefoot in your garden (among other things) shares information about your body and what it needs so that as fruit/vegetables grow, they will take in that information and pick up from the universe/the earth the optimum blend of energies for you. She says that the food cultivated in this way can give you the very things you are needing for your wellness.

I have no idea if this is "true" or not, but I've been going out each morning to greet my seedlings/plants, and have even more appreciation for the things that I grow and then eat. It makes me feel happy and grounded. And in this time of change, that feels like a welcome companion.

I have just one rhubarb plant, but it loved all this rain and the bright sun and is bigger than I've seen it before. I don't think any of it was harvested in the past two years, and there were several fat stalks for me to pick. With just the one plant, it feels quite sacred! I made rhubarb shortcake in honor of my dear friend who is now making her way to California, where she will spend the summer. She and I had near weekly Sunday dinners for the past 8-9 months, and yesterday was the last until she returns. I also got to share the shortcake with my sisters and my dad: none of us have been in a room together more than a couple of times in the past 5 years. None of us are taking for granted that it will happen again. Rhubarb shortcake as present moment awareness: change, loss, and love.

The rhubarb compote is not one I've made before - I used raisins and fresh ginger. With the biscuit it became almost ginger-bready, a little spicy. These biscuits are also my favorite gluten-free/paleo biscuit yet. They were delicious.

Rhubarb Compote (a la Martha Stewart)
2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup raisins
1 cup packed light-brown sugar (or sugar substitute)
2 tablespoon peeled minced fresh ginger
2 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is soft (about 6-8 minutes). The rhubarb will quickly let out moisture, so no need to add extra water.

Almond Biscuits (from the Nourishing Home) makes 8
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp butter, melted (or melted coconut oil)
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp milk or coconut milk
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda and salt.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter (or coconut oil) and honey, until smooth. Add the coconut milk, eggs and vinegar, whisking together until well combined. Using a spoon, stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly combined.
3. For quick and easy drop biscuits: Drop biscuit dough by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, placing the biscuits approximately two-inches apart,
4. For classic-style rolled-looking biscuits: Scoop a large spoonful of batter into your hands and roll into a ball about the size of an apricot. Then place the dough balls on baking sheet and gently flatten using the palm of your hand.
5. Bake about 15 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

For shortcake: Slice biscuit in half. Spoon compote on top of bottom biscuit, and sandwich between biscuit halves. Top with either whipped cream or coconut cream. (This is all especially good fresh and warm, but the biscuits also refrigerate well.)

Rhubarb Lemonade (sugar-free)

I had meant to post this recipe much earlier in the summer during rhubarb season.  But, as usual, the summer has been flying by and I am just getting to it.  My rhubarb plant, as you can see, was huge this year.  So, I had been on the hunt for a recipe to use all of this wonderful rhubarb, one without sugar.  I stumbled upon a post that mentioned rhubarb lemonade and it sounded like a great idea.  This is the concoction I came up with, which is basically rhubarb and lemon juice.

I love picking things from the garden and immediately using them in a recipe.  It is the joy of my summer.  Here is a bunch of rhubarb I pulled just last week.  I figured that since we got such a late start with the growing season this year it would still be good, even on July 10th.

Rhubarb Puree Ingredients:

4-6 cups Rhubarb- chopped

juice from 3-4 lemons

1/4-1/2 cup water

In a large pot combine rhubarb and water.  Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it softens.  Add the lemon juice and cook for a few more minutes.  Let it cool before pureeing with a hand blender.  Put in jars to cool in the fridge over night or longer.  Now you have a wonderful rhubarb puree.  I use the puree to make a cool ice drink in the Vitamix, or high powered blender.  Combine a few spoonfuls of the puree with ice, a little water and about 6 drops of Stevia.  Process until smooth.  I like to serve this with fresh strawberries to add an extra sweetness.

Enjoy a cool summer treat!

Summer Garden Update

The garden is coming along very well, considering the cold and rainy weather we have had so far.  The big bush in the back is the enormous rhubarb.  I don't have a way to eat any of it this year, but I am hoping to give some away to friends and neighbors.  It is a shame to let it go to waste.  

June 8th- the garden is looking green

The large section with the white blossoms is the strawberry patch.  There are a few tiny green berries starting to form, much to my excitement.  It won't be long until the first picking arrives!  The green beans are in front.  They are nice and hardy.  The two raised beds are new this year.  I have zucchini, spaghetti squash, carrots and assorted herbs in them.  The carrots took a long time to sprout up, but they are coming in little by little.  It is really sweet to see their little tufts appear.

I don't have a recipe today, but I am excited about my garden and wanted to share.  I am on the hunt for a fun new recipe to use when my strawberries arrive though.  It won't be long.  

Happy Summer!  

Slow Cooked Rhubarb and Cider Pork

Oh what a delightful long weekend filled with delicious food and gardening. I went nettle harvesting for the first time and got TONS of nettles, planted most of the rest of the garden, read a bunch (Prairie Silence, the memoir of a gay woman from North Dakota), and did some visiting. The garden is looking to be in tip top shape - especially with the rain. It makes everything so green, and the soil so rich and brown!

My Charming Companion resting in the garden aisle

Rhubarb!

There will be an upcoming nettle post to go through the steps of collection and cooking, but first I want to share this recipe for pork and rhubarb. The sauce is lovely - and ultimately could also go on a pork chop in a simplified version - it is delicious and ingenious to use the rhubarb as the tangy substance for a barbeque sort of sauce. Yum. Which of course means that there was also a healthy dose of apple cider and honey, to offset said tangy-ness. Luckily I still have some frozen pints of apple cider from a family friend's apple pressing party two years ago. I have yet to find a way to eat rhubarb without lots of sweet in there - I guess it is just too tart to eat as a savory dish.

The pork roast turned out delicious, and it was super fun to use some of the beautiful rhubarb stalks from the garden. The pork cut I was using was actually a cut from a thigh, so it was not as fatty as a pork butt or shoulder roast - those would be best, but the thigh worked fine. My cut had no skin, which her original recipe calls for. The standard pork shoulder or butt sold from local farmers in Minneapolis seems to be sold without skin, so I changed the recipe to instead utilize tin foil. The recipe is from "Odd Bits" a cookbook I wrote about earlier that I thoroughly enjoy and hope to own one day. This was my first recipe attempt, and it went swimmingly.

Pork and sauce, served with wild nettles!

Slow Cooked Cider and Rhubarb Pork
6 pounds, bone-in pork shoulder
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 T lard
2 c sweet apple cider
1 sweet apple, cored, peeled and chopped
8 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
4 cloves garlic
2 dried chilis (I used 2 t chili flakes)
2 fresh bay leaves
1 pound rhubarb, trimmed
2 T honey

1. Remove shoulder from the fridge about an hour before cooking.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pat the shoulder dry and season with salt and pepper (not too much or the drippings will be too salty). In a heavy casserole or dutch oven, heat 1 T of lard (or bacon fat) over medium heat. When the fat is hot, brown the shoulder on all sides. 1 T of lard should be enough since the shoulder will release more fat as it cooks; if not, add a bit more fat only as necessary.
3. Transfer the browned shoulder to a plate. Tip off any remaining fat, then pour the cider into the pan. Bring to a boil, and stir with a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom. Remove the pan from the heat and add the apple, cardamom, garlic, chili, and bay leaves. Return the shoulder to the pan with any juices. Cover the meat with tin foil to trap the steam within the casserole (this is what the skin would be doing if you had some skin!) Cover the dutch oven or casserole with the lid, transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours.
4. Check the meat -it should start to soften. Remove the inner tin foil layer, but keep the pan covered and return to the oven for another hour or so, until the shoulder is very tender.
5. Meanwhile, cut the rhubarb into 1 1/2 inch pieces and set aside. Transfer the shoulder to a serving platter (cover with foil to keep warm). Strain the liquid through a sieve (this is worth it to get the spice bits out! I didn't do it and wished I had...) into a large glass measuring cup and let stand 5 minutes (presumably to skim off the fat that will layer on the top - I did not do this). You should have about 2 cups. Skim off the fat and set aside for another use. Pour the cooking liquid back into the pan and place on high heat. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until the liquid reduces by half. Stir in the honey, then lower heat to a simmer. Add the rhubarb, and cook just until tender, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Carve (or tear!) the pork into slices (or hunks) spoon over the rhubarb sauce, and serve.
Yum!

Crispy Paleo Pancakes

Crispy Cakes

I've been looking for some ways to spice up my diet, since I tend to eat the same things day after day.  I have been experimenting with different pancake recipes, and this one is very simple and can be customized in all kinds of ways to suit your preferences.

For those of you who are avoiding wheat and other flours, nut butter is a great alternative.  It can be used in place of flour to make pancakes, cakes, brownies, and a host of other baked goods.  Nut flour is also a good option.  In a few weeks when I can start eating nut flour I will try out some recipes.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp nut butter- cashew or almond both work well
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp butter, ghee, or coconut oil
dash of sea salt
1 Tbsp honey (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl- a fork works well for breaking up the nut butter, which can be sticky.  Heat butter, ghee, or coconut oil in a pan and cook away.  Be careful not to burn the cakes, they don't bubble up like regular pancakes, so keep an eye on them.  To make the pancakes crispy put them in the oven or toaster oven on 350 for a few minutes.

Now comes the fun part- figuring out what delightful things to put on top of these crispy cakes.  I top mine with some rhubarb compote I whipped up, which is just rhubarb cooked down with a little water, lemon juice, and a few drops of stevia for sweetness.  You could also top them with maple syrup, honey, fruit, yogurt or something savory such as cheese, meat, roasted veggies, or anything you would put on a cracker.

Jane

Rhubarb Popsicles

It may be no secret to some of my fellow bloggers that I have been pining for another rhubarb plant this summer. Well, I finally got one (thanks Butter Nut!) AND another friend allowed me to pick some of her already-well-established rhubarb. It's been too hot for me to be motivated to make a crisp lately, so I've been looking for other dessert-y, rhubarb-y options. Enter: rhubarb popsicles. I'll say it again. RHUBARB POPSICLES! I found this recipe over on food52 and decided to try it out on company tonight in lieu of crisp.
I snuck one out of the ice cube tray in the freezer and they're delightfully tart and creamy. Hooray for popsicles!

Ingredients
1/1/2 C rhubarb
1/2 C sugar (I used honey, and I would use less next time)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/1/4 C whole milk yogurt

Cook down the rhubarb, lemon juice and sugar (honey) until it's tender and falling apart (10-15 min). Let it cool, then mix with yogurt and more sweetener to taste. Pour into popsicle molds, ice cube trays, or whatever suits your fancy. Freeze. Eat.

Raspberry Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding

Raspberry Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding (recipe adapted from Tartelette blog)

3 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup raspberries

1/2 cup lemon juice

4 tbsp honey

2 cups small pearl tapioca (not instant)

5 cups milk

1/2 cup honey

2 tsp vanilla

pistachios for garnish

In a large saucepan, combine the raspberries, rhubarb and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add honey, and stir briefly. Cover and let cook for about 10 min. Check and see if there is a lot of liquid left, if so, cook uncovered until very little liquid remains. Cool to room temperature and then divide equally into 12 jars or other vessels.

In another large saucepan, combine the tapioca, milk and honey over medium high heat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and let cook until tapioca becomes translucent (30-40min). Add vanilla. Cool to room temperature and add to raspberry/rhubarb mixture and top with pistachios, if you'd like.

Gingered Rhubarb Curd

I was looking for a way to use up the last of the rhubarb that we had in the freezer from the garden last year and I found this recipe for Gingered Rhubarb Curd from a blog called Apt. 2B Baking Co, you can link to the original through the title of the post. There are lots of delicious baked goods and the pictures are gorgeous. I don't recommend looking at the blog when you're bored at work and starving already, it just won't help.

I made the curd and then made some mini biscuits and whipped cream. But the curd would also be completely delicious served with just a spoon. It's that good. So good that you don't even have to have the whipped cream. Or the biscuits. I mean it.

For the Gingered Rhubarb Curd

3/4 pounds rhubarb (about 6 stalks)
1 inch piece of peeled ginger
1/4c water
1/4c sugar (I used brown sugar)
4 egg yolks
1/2c sugar
zest from one lemon
2t lemon juice
3T butter, cut into chunks

1. Wash rhubarb and trim as little off the ends as possible. Cut rhubarb and ginger into 1-inch chunks.
2. In a small saucepan, heat rhubarb, ginger, 1/4c sugar, and water. Cook on medium heat until the rhubarb falls apart and there are no whole pieces left, adding water by the tablespoon if rhubarb sticks to the bottom of the pan.
3. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture, then put through a fine mesh sieve over a clean bowl
4. Put egg yolks, butter, remaining sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in the bowl of a double boiler and whisk to combine. When the sugar has dissolved, add the rhubarb puree by the spoonful, to temper the eggs. Continue stirring the mixture with a rubber spatula over the double boiler until it thickens, about 5 min.
5. Remove from heat and strain the curd to remove any lumps. Cover the curd with plastic wrap and chill completely before using.

yield about 2 cups, you may want to make extra because it is crazy good