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.

Spring Salad with Asparagus

I am feeling so appreciative of eating fresh food from the garden after such a long winter!! This week I got to have freshly picked asparagus that was about the fattest I have ever seen. It was a little sweeter than the skinny stuff at the store, and totally delicious.

I have not yet made the commitment to grow asparagus (it takes three years for the crown to get established -which sometimes sounds like a long time for precious garden space)!

My Charming Companion has abundant garden space though, with a long standing asparagus patch. And a rule that only asparagus thicker than one's little finger can be cut and eaten (so as not to deplete the plant for next year's crop). Hence the fatty asparagus.

My very tasty dinner salad consisted of, from the garden: steamed asparagus, chives, horseradish leaves, sorrel (lemon-y, sour taste), green onion; and from the store: lettuce, tomato, almonds, and radish. It was all topped off with drizzled olive oil and some lemon dressing (lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, dijon, salt, and pepper).

GF Squash Waffles

Last fall, we were gifted with a big old squash. I don't know what kind it was, but we poked it full of holes and roasted it in our oven. It produced many, many freezer bags of golden mash that I'm still using today. I love my freezer.

This recipe = easy. And it's tasty. And it's gluten free:
2 eggs
2/3 cup cooked squash, mashed up
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup milk of your choices (I use almond milk. Just sayin.)
sugar to taste - omit if you're a syrup fiend
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract (I usually throw in a shot of almond, too), or to taste
1.5 cups GF flour blend of your choice
pinch salt
2.5 generous teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon wheat germ
spices you like: nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom...

Heat up your waffle iron and pull out two bowls: one largish and one not so large. Beat the eggs in the largish bowl and add the squash, butter, milk, vanilla, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour dry ingredients into the egg mixture and, using a spatula, stir to combine.

You know how your iron works, so make your waffles accordingly and serve them with syrup, agave, berries, or whatever knocks your socks off.

Variation: throw some shredded cheddar in after you've poured batter on the iron. Thank me later.

Polenta stuffed peppers

How did today get to be over 80 degrees? I don't know. I do know that I had some peppers that were not going to last too long, and a recipe for stuffing them. So I opened the windows for the as-yet-to-arrive hail storm, and turned on the oven. This recipe would be perfect in the late summer when peppers are ready to pick and the corn is winding down. It is an easier stuffed pepper, is pretty fast, and the green olives in the polenta are amazing.

I found the recipe last weekend while in Iowa City perusing through Eren's cookbooks. This one is from Moosewood's Simple Suppers, which Eren reports is a top fave for easier weeknight recipes. Serves 4-6.

5 large peppers (green, red, orange, yellow)
1 1/2 T olive oil
salt
Polenta:
4 c. water
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. red pepper flakes (I used chopped frozen jalepenos from last summer)
1 c. polenta cornmeal
1 1/2 c. corn kernels
1 T. butter or olive oil
1 1/2 grated sharp cheddar
1/2 c. chopped Spanish olives

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Cut peppers in half length-wise, remove seeds but keep stems. Brush with oil inside and out. Sprinkle with salt. Plave cut side up on an oiled sheet and roast 15 minutes.

In heavy pan, bring water, salt, and pepper to a boil. Add polenta in slow, steady stream while whisking. Cook on medium, stirring often, until thickened. Stir in butter, 1 c. of cheese, corn, and olives. Remove from heat.

Fill peppers with mix, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Put in oven 5-10 minutes. Moosewood recommends that you serve the peppers with black beans (1 16 oz. can) mixed with salsa (1 15 oz. jar) and cilantro (1/4 c).

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

Southwest Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Burgers

Like the chia seed pudding, I delayed posting this recipe because I feel sheepish about its source. But, these are so delicious that I figured I'd swallow my pride and post. Don't judge me, WFDM!

Southwest Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Burgers
2 c. cooked black beans, mashed (I don't go overboard with the mashing because I like some texture.)
Sweet potatoes to equal 2 cups when peeled and cut into small cubes (I used yams the first time and liked the appearance better.)
2 t. olive oil
Salt
3 oz. yellow onion, diced finely
2 teaspoons garlic
3 T. tamari
2 t. ground cumin
pepper
7 oz. cooked rice (I used brown)
1.5 t. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (I used a bit more because I love this stuff!)
1 ounce cornmeal, plus 1 ounce from dredging.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the mashed black beans in a bowl. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes, dropping them in cold water as you cut them. Drain well and toss with olive oil and salt. Spread them out in an even layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Toss occasionally.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until lightly browned. Add the onions to the bowl of beans. Stir in the tamari, cumin, and salt & pepper to taste. Add the cooked rice, sweet potatoes, W. sauce, and 1 oz. of cornmeal. Mix well and adjust the seasonings. Form into patties and dredge lightly in the remaining 1 oz. of cornmeal. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add more olive oil. Add the burgers and brown lightly on each side. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Delicious with Veganise and avocado (or guac!). I make a bunch of patties and put the extras in the freezer (on a cutting board) to solidify their shape. Then I wrap them individually in plastic and freeze in a tupperware. (I do biscuits like this too and it's great--pre-formed!)

Vanilla chia seed pudding

This is a delicious pudding, although it admittedly looks a little gross, hence no photo. But it's a great way to eat chia seeds and makes an excellent snack/breakfast/dessert!

Vanilla Chia Tapioca Pudding
7 cups milk (brazil nut, hemp seed, or cashew)--I didn't have any of these, so I used almond milk. I also used 6 cups because my blender is not 7-cup capacity!
2 T. vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
2 T. cinnamon
1/3 c. agave nectar (you could use much less)
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup chia seeds

Blend all the ingredients (minus the chia seeds) in a high-speed blender and pulse. Place the chia seeds in a large bowl, pour the mixture over them, and begin to whisk. Keep whisking periodically to be sure the tapioca does not clump. It takes about an hour and a half for the tapioca to set. You can adjust the sweetness.

(From the Crazy Sexy cleanse book. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this...but the book does have some excellent recipes.)