Galette de rhubarbe

Spring means rhubarb, and rhubarb means Galette de rhubarbe, which is just a fancy name for a rustic tart. It's like a pie, but not nearly as fussy. The hardest part is cutting the rhubarb, and waiting for it to bake!

The amount of sugar I used just cut the tartness, so you might want to add just a bit more if you don't like really tart things. We like it to be a bit on the tart side and then we serve it with a good-quality vanilla ice cream, either homemade or Breyers. Serve it warm! It will serve about eight small pieces. The pate brise recipe makes two crusts, so you can either save one for later, or make two at once!

.../...\.../...\.../....\.../....\.../...\.../...\.../...\.../...\...

Galette de rhubarbe

1/2 a recipe of pate brise
2 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb (washed and leaves removed!)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven the 350F

Roll the pate brise into a 9" round. You can cut off the edges to make it look prettier, if you like, but I like mine with as much crust as I can get, so I leave it on! Place the round onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Mix the rhubarb, sugar (or a bit more, if you want it sweeter), flour and a pinch of cinnamon. Toss it all together to thoroughly coat it.

Heap the rhubarb mixture onto the round of pate brise, and gently fold the edges of the dough partially over the rhubarb mixture. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft and the crust is golden brown and crisp.

Serve warm with ice cream.

Ohio Buckeyes

When a group of young choristers from Germany came to visit my area recently, I thought long and hard about what I would give them as a welcoming gift. It finally occurred to me that I should offer what I love most--food! So I contacted local businesses and gathered together our rural county's best tastes--cheese, fresh-pressed cider, and chocolate buckeyes.

I remember buckeyes from my childhood, how my neighbor mixed the big bowl of peanut butter stuff which her daughter and I rolled into little balls. I thought it was magical, how she dipped the peanut butter balls into melted chocolate and they looked just like buckeyes.

Now we make these treats at Christmastime to share with friends and neighbors. They do seem to be time-intensive, but I have a lot of hands to help with the work, so it goes quickly. But as good as these little treasures are, they go quickly, too!

I like this particular recipe because it doesn't call for paraffin.

(8-=_-*-_=-*)..o..(8-=_-*-_=-*)..o..(8-=_-*-_=-*)

Buckeye Candies

3 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 sticks softened butter
2 lbs confectioner's sugar

Mix together. Form into small balls.

For coating: melt 16 oz of melted dipping chocolate. Using a toothpick, dip the balls into the chocolate, leaving some of the peanut butter exposed on top to look like a buckeye nut. Refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sure, chocolate chip cookies are ubiquitous. But there's a good reason for that! When it's a cold night in the bleak midwinter, a warm batch of gooey chocolate chip cookies are just what a body needs to begin to look on the bright side of things. Send the kids to their baths, make your dough, eat a few bites before it pops into the oven, and when the kids come down all squeaky clean and jammied, they'll love you more than ever. As a matter of fact, seems to me they should call 'em "chocolate chip cookie points."

Make sure your butter is softened before you start, and begin with room temp ingredients. I also like to use parchment paper on my cookie sheets for a nice, even baking. At 375F, I find that 11 minutes and 30 seconds is just right for a soft, golden brown cookie.

Don't forget that delicious raw milk!

*.!.*...*.!.*oOo*!*...*.!.*.!.*...*.!.*oOo*!*...*.!.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup light sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth, add brown and white sugars, then beat until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, on at a time, mixing on low speed. Add vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture little by little, mixing just until all of the flour is absorbed. Add the chocolate chips and the nuts, and mix. Drop tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 11.5 minutes at 375F, or until golden brown.

Vanilla Ice Cream

We've tried a lot of vanilla ice cream recipes and certainly none of them have ever been rejected, but once we'd tasted this recipe, we realized we'd never need another. This recipe comes from The New Best Recipe book from the people from Cook's Illustrated, and it's a custard-style ice cream, which means it's made with lots of egg yolks. So if you're in the country and have access to fresh, free-range eggs (and there is a difference, believe me) and raw milk, this recipe is the way to go. We use a hand-crank ice cream freezer because we like for everyone to earn their ice cream, but the same outcome can be had with an electric ice-cream freezer.

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half and scraped out, or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks

Fill a sink or large bowl with ice-water and have a strainer ready over another large bowl that will fit inside the sink or large bowl. Heat the milk, cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the vanilla seeds and pod (if you're not using a vanilla bean, wait until later to add the extract) in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to bread up the vanilla seeds, until steam appears and the milk is warm, about 175 degrees, which takes around five minutes. Do not boil the milk.

Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the beaten yolks, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined. Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan over medium heat amd cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides and the mixture is slightly thickened or measure 180-180 degrees. Do not boil or eggs will curdle. Immediate strain the mixture into the bowl you have ready and set it in the ice-water bath. Cool and stir until it comes to room temperature. Cover, refrigerate, and chill until it gets down to 40 degrees, 3-24 hours.

Remove and discard vanilla pod. If you're not using a vanilla bean, add the vanilla extract now and stir well. Pour the custard into the ice-cream freezer and churn following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid, at least a few hours, depending on the freezer. We usually wait until the next day to serve it. It will keep up to two days.

Black Raspberry Cobbler

The previous owners of our little cabin in the woods christened the acreage by which it's surrounded "The Thicket" because of the thick growth of brush and cane fruits throughout the woods. All around the cabin grows berries of all kinds, mostly red raspberries, blackberries and black raspberries. Our first year in The Thicket, I was pleased to find that I could fill many baskets with blackberries and black raspberries, and we seized the opportunity to eat as many fresh berries as we could. But we also made Black Raspberry Cobbler, a fabulously delicious treat that we topped with homemade vanilla ice cream.

You'll notice that there are several steps in between which you do not stir your ingredients. Folow these directions and you'll end up with a moist cobbler with a delicately crispy top crust.

++:-~...~oOo~...~-:++:-~...~oOo~...~-:++:-~...~oOo~...~-:++

Black Raspberry Cobbler

1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups black raspberries
1/2 cup sugar

Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 7"x11" baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, 1 cup sugar, flour and baking powder. pour this mixture over the butter but DO NOT STIR.

Pour the berries over the batter and butter but DO NOT STIR.

Pour the remaining sugar over the berries but DO NOT STIR.

Bake the cobbler at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until the crust is browned and set. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Banana Split Muffins

Years ago, Tina, one of my best friends, made these muffins for our family and we were immediately smitten. This recipe is just slightly different from the one she made for us--hers had Miracle Whip and this one has real mayonnaise. Before you shun the recipe because of the mayo factor, notice that the batter doesn't include eggs. The mayo replaces the eggs and makes the muffins deliciously moist. It's a perfect recipe for when you have some of those near-liquid bananas to use. Sixteen-year-old Bard and four-year-old Baby made six batches of these today, giving us enough to eat and enough to freeze for quick breakfasts.

>^..^< === >^..^< ===>^..^< === >^..^< ===

Banana Split Muffins

1 1/3 cup mashed bananas (about 6 medium)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup real mayonnaise, not light or fat-free
1/3 cup drained, chopped maraschino cherries
12 maraschino cherries, cut in half

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine bananas and mayo. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped cherries. Fill greased or paper-lines muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Press a cherry half, cut-side-down, into the top of each muffin. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire cooling rack. Makes one dozen muffins.

Morning Glory Muffins

Years ago when we lived in a bigger city, my dad used to stop by a grocery store that carried delicious bakery items and lots of specialty foods. Every once in a while, he'd bring home a couple of HUGE muffins that were chock-full of delicious things--dates, pecans, carrots, apple, coconut--and I would absolutely dive into their moist goodness.

Now we live out in the country, quite far from any gourmet, whole food or specialty grocery stores. Our local grocer just recently began carrying imported cheeses. Up until then, there were only a couple of cheesehouses nearby that carried gruyere or gorgonzola, even though we live in the heart of cheese country. The days of my dad's gifts of gigantic muffins are gone.

The good news is that it forced me to find a recipe and make my own gargantuan muffins at home.

This recipe is very much like the one my dad used to bless me with, though it wouldn't hurt to add a half-cup of raisins, a mixture of dark and golden. Take the time to chop up these ingredients and enjoy a very substantial muffin you'll be proud of.

OoO...s-l-o*o*O.O.o*o*-w...OoO...s-l-o*o*O.O.o*o*-w...OoO

Morning Glory Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated apple
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a second bowl, combine carrots, apples, coconut, dates and pecans. Stir in eggs, oil and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients; stir until smooth.
Spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

OoO...s-l-o*o*O.O.o*o*-w...OoO...s-l-o*o*O.O.o*o*-w...OoO

You can find more Morning Glory Muffins at allrecipes.com.

Another fascinating food blog:David Lebovitz

When you've mastered your yogurt making, surf on over to David Lebovitz's food blog and check out the recipe for Strawberry Frozen Yogurt. This recipe may even push me over the edge and force me to buy vodka or kirsch, something I've never done.


Photo from David's page.

Real Whipped Cream

Use this whipped cream to top the delicious Simple Hot Cocoa or your favorite hot beverage. Mixing with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer makes the task go much quicker than whisking by hand, but either way, you'll want stiff peaks of cream.

1 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Beat with a whisk until fluffy and firm.

There are OTHERS? Butter Pecan Ice Cream from Simply Recipes

I'm not completely naive. I did realize that other people probably blogged about food. I just didn't realize how many others! And how amazing they all are!

Elise Bauer is one of them, with her food blog Simply Recipes . I am completely floored by the sheer number of recipes she has on her beautiful, mouth-watering blog.

Now, I don't want to chase you away, but you really have to go see this post which shares a recipe for butter pecan ice cream.

I can't believe that:

a) We just had our first very cold day after a long, grey, rainy winter, and;
b) I just started reading French Women Don't Get Fat, and;
c) I'll have to run an extra interval...

and I'm still going to pull out the ol' hand-crank ice cream maker and whip up a batch of this. Even though I just stocked up on ice cream when Breyers went on sale at the local market for $2.98 a half-gallon.

I've had my eye on a butter pecan recipe in a little booklet that stares at me from the racks by the check-out line every time I go to the grocery. I will not, I say to myself, pay that much for a little booklet wrapped in plastic so that I can't read the ingredients. I mean, I read labels for everything, so I'm not going to plunk down my cold, hard cash for a recipe whose potentially mediocre ingredients I can't read first!

Now I don't have to.

Thank you, Elise. I'm really looking forward to trying this amazing-looking recipe with our next batch of fresh, real, raw milk.

*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)(*)*(*)*

Butter Pecan Ice Cream
from Elise Bauer on Simply Recipes

An ice cream loving friend was in town this weekend, giving me the perfect excuse to make a new batch of ice cream. This time the flavor is one of my all time favorites, butter pecan. In this recipe the butter flavor comes in the custard base, achieved by browning the butter first before adding the other ingredients.

Ingredients
6 large egg yolks
6 Tbsp butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans

Special equipment needed
An ice cream maker, or a KitchenAid mixer with an ice cream attachment

Method

1 In a medium sized heat-safe bowl (metal, ceramic, or glass), whisk together the egg yolks until well blended. Set aside.

2 Pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and set a medium-mesh sieve on top. Set aside.

3 In a medium thick-bottomed saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter cook it, stirring constantly, until it just begins to brown. Add the brown sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar completely melts.

4 Slowly add the milk, stirring to incorporate. It will foam up initially, so make sure you are using a pan with high enough sides. Heat until all of the sugar is completely dissolved. Do not let boil or the mixture may curdle.

5 Whisk in hand, slowly pour half of the milk and sugar mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly to incorporate. Then add the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk sugar mixture.

6 Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 5-7 minutes.

7 Pour the custard through the sieve and stir it into the cream. Add vanilla and stir until cool over the ice bath. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

8 While the mixture is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Lay out the pecans on a roasting pan in a single layer. Bake for 6 minutes, until lightly toasted. Let cool. Once cool, roughly chop the pecans and set aside. Note, if you want an extra punch to this ice cream, brush the pecans with melted butter and sprinkle with salt before roasting.

9 Once the ice cream mixture is thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

10 Once the ice cream has been formed in the ice cream maker, it will be fairly soft. Fold in the chopped pecans. Put in an airtight plastic container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If it has been frozen for more than a day, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.

Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

An Heirloom Recipe: Tutti-Frutti

The other night while I was making yogurt, my dad happened to remember a recipe that his mother and father used to make, something that involved "some type of whisky" and a lot of different fruits.

"You could put it on ice cream," he said, "and Ma would make cakes out of it. "

It took him a while to remember what it was called, but he eventually remembered that the stuff was Tutti-Frutti.

After a search, I located one recipe, and Dad confirmed that, yes, this is the one.

For the sake of slow foods, I'm publishing the recipe here. It's a really, really slow one...like all growing season long! Dad remembered the recipe while I was making yogurt because he said that when the Tutti-Frutti jar ran low, they'd have to use the remaining sauce as a starter for the next batch.

I'm kicking around the idea of making a batch of this for my dad this summer, if I can figure out what a "sweet" jar is.

Keep in mind if you try this that I have not tested it in my kitchen.

o_-.*.-_o_-.*.-_o_-.*.-_o_-.*.-_o

Tutti-Frutti

Put a pint of brandy into a thoroughly sweet three-gallon stone jar.

Beginning with strawberries, the first fruit of the season, add in succession the various fruits as they appear in market, taking care to choose only those which are choice, firm and fresh.

Add a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit until the jar is almost half full, then use three- quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit.

Stir the mixture thoroughly for several mornings after each addition of fruit and sugar to dissolve the sugar, using for this purpose a wooden or granite-ware spoon and taking care not to mash the fruit.

Cover the jar securely and keep in the cellar or in a cool, dry place.

Use the following proportion of fruit: Two quarts strawberries, one large pineapple, one quart red cherries, one quart yellow cherries, one quart red raspberries, one pint large currants, one quart apricots and prunes, plums and peaches to fill the jar.

Leave the berries whole, cut the pineapple into suitable pieces for eating, seed the cherries, pare the apricots and peaches and cut into halves or quarters, and stone the plums and leave whole.

From lovetoknow recipes.