Rhubarb - Love it or Hate it

Rhubarb has become one of my favorite fruits lately. And, not just me, rhubarb is seeing a revival in popularity with foodies and many recipes are found now. Rhubarb is actually an a ancient plant, but was used for medicinal purposes, mostly in Western China, until sugar became more common. Since it is very tart and sour without sugar, I can understand that! Warning labels for rhubarb might be: The medical purpose was as a laxative. The leaves are toxic, do not eat those.

Rhubarb is one of those plants, like a tomato, that grows as one food group and is eaten as another. Rhubarb grows as a vegetable, but is classified as a fruit because of the way we eat it. You can buy rhubarb fresh in the grocery store now, look for flat stalks that are deep red and not limp. Don't peel it, just wash and chop into pieces. Or, for an easier prep, buy it frozen. I recently bought a 14 pound box of frozen rhubarb through our church and we are enjoying many recipes with it, including this favorite - Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie. Rhubarb has sometimes been called 'pie plant'.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon butter
Pastry for double pie crust

In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and ground nutmeg. Add rhubarb pieces and sliced strawberries, toss gently to coat fruit. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare and roll out pastry. Fit half the pastry into a 9-inch pie plate and trim. Pour fruit mixer into crust. Dot with butter. Place top pastry over filling, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top of pie to allow steam to escape.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Makes 8 servings.

Pancakes & Petals

Do tulip petals make you think of pancakes? Well, in a way these spring flowers remind me of a special pancake. A year ago my sister-in-law and I visited Pella, Iowa for the Tulip Festival. Pella is a small town south-east of Des Moines that has a big celebration with parades, street washing, costumed wooden shoe dancers, and - tulips, to commemorate their Dutch heritage. Many years ago I visited the Netherlands and since then tulips have been a favorite flower.

After S-I-L and I toured the replicate of a Dutch flour mill, we asked the miller for a recommendation of which of the many street vendors to choose for lunch. His quick answer was the Kiwanis wagon with Poffertjes. We weren't sure what that was, but he was very positive in his recommendation and said they were served with strawberries, so it had to be good.

Well, it turns out that Poffertjes are small, puffed pancakes with a light, spongey texture. Typically they are served with powdered sugar and butter. Ours with strawberries and powdered sugar were delicious.

Recently, my daughter was describing a unique pan a friend of hers had gotten for a wedding gift. It was a aebleskiver (danish) pan or a poffertjes (dutch) pan for small puffed pancakes. We checked on-line at our favorite gourmet kitchen store and found it also had a unique price tag! But, while we were shopping the outlet stores in Allen, Texas, we found a similar pan for $9.99 - in the 'as seen on TV' section! At that price, we both had to get one.  The pans are of cast iron and look like a small skillet with 7 little bowls or indentations for the pancakes.

So, we've been enjoying poffertjes/puffed pancakes. An easy recipe is the Aunt Jemina pancake mix one. 1 cup of mix, 3/4 cup of milk, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 egg. Melt a little butter in each indentation and pour in about a tablespoon of batter. Cook just like pancakes, when it is done on one side, flip it over in the indentation and the batter on the top will now cook on the bottom. It helps to have a wooden skewer to turn the pancakes.

For extra yummy treat, put a dollop of Nutella in the center of the dough as the bottom first cooks. - Yummm - like chocolate pancakes! Or add your own filling such as apple pie filling or applesauce. And, as I mentioned before, puffed pancakes are good with fresh strawberries or other fruit.

Someone asked me how many of these you could eat - the answer is 7. At a time, anyway. That's the number of indentations in the pan!

Hats Off Luncheon

The recipes of this post are the ultimate in food and friends - great selections of both! My most favorite women's organization hosted a lunch last Saturday for 5 other like groups from other towns. The theme of the day was "Hats off to Kansas Women" and we celebrated famous (and not so famous) women from Kansas history and present. Did you know that the "Cow-chip lady" (the photograph in many history books about pioneer life that shows a woman standing beside a sod cabin with a basket of cow chips to use as fuel) was one of Kansas' first professional photographers? She actually took the picture of herself. I think she had the help of a friend instead of a 5-second time delay feature on the camera.

Since we were featuring Kansas women we wanted to also feature Kansas food. In Greenwood County that means BEEF! The beginning course was a cold peach soup - peaches can grow in Kansas, but maybe not the ones of that day's meal. The main course was a Tenderloin and fruit salad.  To start the day, we had served quick breads (Kansas wheat) and a Ginger-Orange Mocktail punch (these fruits don't grow in Kansas, but it was a good and easy punch).

Recipes are here to share, thanks to my good friend who is former FACS teacher.

Ginger – Orange Mocktails

            Preparation time: 5 minutes

            Serves: 25 (1 cup servings)

 Stir together:

1 (89 oz.) container orange juice

1 (2-liter) bottle chilled ginger ale

1 (46 oz.) can chilled pineapple juice

      Serve over ice.

Peachy-Keen Soup

 Serves 4

 1 pound frozen peaches, coarsely chopped

1 ½ cups orange juice

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

3  tablespoons orange blossom honey (or other type of flower honey)

1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon diced candied ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom

Garnishes: fresh peach slices, honey

        In the container of a blender, combine frozen peaches orange juice, yogurt, honey, lime juice, ginger cinnamon, and cardamom; process until mixture is smooth. Garnish with fresh peach slices and drizzle with honey, if desired. Serve immediately.

We served the cold soup in plastic tumblers that were set in tulip shaped cupcake papers from JoAnn's Fabric store. It looked very festive and spring-like. 

Tenderloin, Cranberry, and Pear Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

            (preparation time 25 minutes)

            serves 4

 4 beef tenderloin steaks, cut ¾ inch thick (about 4 ounces each)

½ teaspoon course-grind black pepper

          Honey Mustard Dressing  (or you can use a purchased Honey Mustard Dressing)

½ cup prepared honey mustard

2 to 3 tablespoons water

1 ½ teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon coarse-grind black pepper

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 package (5 ounces) mixed salad greens

1 medium red or green pear cored, cut into 16 wedges

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

¼ cup crumbled goat cheese (optional)

salt, as desired

       Season beef steaks with pepper. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot Place steaks in skillet; cook 7 to 9 minutes for medium-rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally.

2.     Meanwhile, whisk Honey Mustard Dressing ingredients in small bowl until well blended. Set aside. Divide greens evenly among 4 plates. Top evenly with pear wedges and dried cranberries.

3.     Carve steaks into thin slices; season with salt as desired. Divide steak slices evenly over each salad. Top each salad evenly with dressing, pecans, and goat cheese, if desired.

Tip: to toast pecans, spread in single layer on metal baking sheet. Bake in 350-degree oven 3 – 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. (Watch carefully to prevent burning). There are ways to toast pecans in the microwave, they burn very quickly so it's worth the extra time to heat the oven. Set aside to cool. 

Our special lunch was served on members' china settings upon tables decorated with hats and other ladies' accessories.We were fortune to be able to host this event in the newly renovated historical hotel. It was a wonderful day of friendship and visiting and a time to recognize our heritage as Kansas women. 

Blending Blogging

My first attempt at blogging! After writing a weekly news column on foods for 39 years while working as an Extension agent, I'm still thinking of ideas after a year of retirement. I enjoy food and sharing ideas with family and friends. Of Food and Friends will share ideas, recipes and reflections on buying, preparing, and enjoying food for health and happiness.