Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

Every Tuesday we have organic produce delivered to our doorstep from Full Circle Farm.  I originally bought this as one of those daily internet deals.  But, we loved the taste and the quality of everything that arrived so we've kept the weekly delivery going for a couple months.

Today there were three rhubarb stalks in our order.  I have never cooked with rhubarb and always turned down offers of strawberry rhubarb pie or similar as a child.  I'm not sure why especially since my grandma was the one making it all.  But, having this in today's box of produce was a sign that I needed to give rhubarb a fair shot.

I found a very basic strawberry rhubarb sauce recipe on Martha Stewart's website.  Martha recommends the sauce be used on vanilla ice cream and I plan t use it over home made shortcakes for tonight's dessert.  Homemade meaning the shortcake recipe on the side of the Bisquick box.  Never tried it?  You are missing out my friends! (recipe is below)

The finished strawberry rhubarb sauce was sweet and you could taste both of the fruits.  I couldn't eat enough of it either which makes me really regret all those years of refusing to try my grandma's homemade rhubarb treats.

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce, courtesy of Martha Stewart

1 lb strawberries, hulled and quartered

2 rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 c.)
1/2 c. sugar

In a large saucepan, place strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, and 1/4 cup water; bring to a simmer over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb begins to break down, 6 to 8 minutes.

Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Spoon strawberry-rhubarb sauce over scoops of ice cream. (Or with shortcakes as my family did today!)

Bisquick Classic Shortcake Recipe

2 1/3 c. Original Bisquick® mix

1/2 c. milk
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Heat oven to 425°F. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, sugar and the butter until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 6 big spoonfuls*. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

*I like to sprinkle the tops of each unbaked shortcake with sugar before they're baked.

Meyer Limoncello and Lemon Curd

What do you get when you combine 18 meyer lemons worth of peel and a bottle of vodka?  Hopefully a very nice limoncello liquor in about 60-80 days!  I saw an article about limoncello and have always wanted to make some.  Due to the lengthy process, I had to make it today in hopes that it may potentially be ready in time for our Christmas Eve party. I seem to be good at finding 'must do now' projects.

I thought peeling the lemons would be a cinch.  Turns out you 'can't' have any white pith on the skin - just pure yellow.  This is a bit more work being so careful!

By the end of all these lemons I got pretty good at peeling in one continuous strip.

I divided my one 750ml bottle of vodka between 3 jars, then divided the peels evenly between jars.

Turns out I was able to fit all the peels and vodka in to two jars... So much for me dividing the lemon peels in to three pretty, little piles and weighing them (yes, I weighed them)...  The color of the peel in the jar is so vibrant, this picture doesn't do it justice.

I then placed the two jars in a dark and cool place and will check on them in 30 days! At that time, I'll add a sugar mix and another 750ml bottle of vodka and let it sit for another few weeks before giving it a try! Stay tuned and stay patient since this will be a long time in the making!

When I was done making liquor I realized I had 18 lemons remaining.  What to do, what to do!  And I was in the mood to make something with immediate return, instead of the 2-3 month torture of the vodka lemon mix.

I searched the internet for meyer lemon recipes and the one that kept coming up was meyer lemon curd.  The curd is imilar to a pudding and is spread on scones, pancakes, muffins, or used in tart-like desserts.

Eggs whisked in bowl.

Lemon juice heating up on stove.

Whisking sugar in to the eggs.

The eggs and lemon mixture on the stove.

Adding cream, vanilla and salt after mixture has been removed from stove.

Pressing the mixture through a strainer directly in to a jar.

The finished product is a gorgeous lemon yellow (no pun intended).  It's flavor is similar to a semi tart lemon pudding and is amazing on toast, pancakes, and scones.  You must give it a try - especially if you make a batch of limoncello!

Lemon Curd, courtesy of Cooks Illustrated
1/3c. lemon juice, from 2 lemons

2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch table salt

Heat lemon juice in small nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Whisk eggs and yolk in medium nonreactive bowl; gradually whisk in sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until mixture registers 170 degrees on instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to cling to spoon, about 3 minutes (see photos, below).


Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in cold butter until incorporated; stir in cream, vanilla, and salt, then pour curd through fine-mesh strainer into small nonreactive bowl. Cover surface of curd directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate until needed.

Pancakes and Applesauce

This morning we had the urge for pancakes.  Instead of our usual boxed mix I felt like making my grandma's from-scratch pancake recipe.  I still recall my grandma making these pancakes on special occassions... any holiday (orange for Halloween, green for St.Patrick's, pink for Valentine's....), birthdays and any other reason for a yummy breakfast.

I also remember the torture.  The torture of waiting for the egg whites to be beaten and then folded gently in to the batter.  When you're five years old, this is a painful process knowing how good the end result tastes.

The flour, egg yolks, etc are mixed together in a bowl.

The egg whites, sugar and cream of tartare are beaten until stiff in a separate bowl.

Fold in the egg whites to the flour mixture.

Heat up your griddle or frying pan and pour batter on.  Start with a single small pancake (1/4 c. of batter) and test if your griddle is too hot or cold, and adjust if necessary.  You know your pancake is ready for flipping when the edges firm up and bubbles are rising through the batter. 

These pancakes put every box mix to shame.  Tony and I were amazed at the difference between taste and consistancy and have promised to never make a batch of box mix pancakes again.  I realize this is a brave pledge, but the extra effort (maybe an extra five minutes and having to use a hand mixer) is so worth the flavor.  I now know why we all loved grandma's pancakes and appreciate the effort she put in to her special breakfasts even more now.  Thank you grandma for your special recipe that immediatly brought back memories of you in your bathrobe, standing at the kitchen counter, mixing the batter.  I cherish these newly recalled flashbacks.  I felt like a kid again.

And I have my mom to thank for asking my grandma for her pancake recipe and writing it down.  In pen.  My grandma had the knack to write recipes, very lightly in pencil and many of her recipe cards are now hard to decipher.

Grandma Smith's Pancakes, courtesy of Charlotte Smith

After breakfast, our neighbors dropped by with a bag of fresh picked apples from their property in Winthrop.  What a treat!  We discussed the recipe options and Blake was set on fresh made applesauce.

I peeled all the apples and gave B a plastic knife.  He sliced a few apples (with supervision!) but because it is a tough job, I cut the rest while he watched. 

Jodi and B's ApplesaucePlace peeled apple slices (8-10 apples) in a saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup apple juice or water, and a pinch of salt.  Cover and simmer until apples are tender and you can mash with wooden spoon.  Keep an eye on the apples and stir often so the sugars don't burn!  You may find that you need to add a little more sugar depending on sweetness. 

Optional flavor additions....

teaspoon of cinnamon

tablespoon of unsalted butter

Or add both cinnamon and the butter!

Rigatoni with Sausage Sauce

Maybe it was dinner at Il Terrazzo on Monday night, or maybe it is the fall weather settling in.  But today I was in the mood for pasta with a meat sauce.  I found this recipe for rigatoni with sausage sauce at the same time I discovered the roasted sausage and pepper recipe. 

The ingredient list was short and so were the directions.  A win-win for an evening when I'm dealing with a sick little one and an energetic big kid.

Cook the meat just until the pink is gone. 

Remove the sausage from pan and set aside.  Then add the chopped onion, garlic and red pepper flakes.

Add in the tomatoes and then the sausage.

After the sauce has simmered a bit, you toss in some fresh chopped basil.

Dinner is ready!

Rigatoni with Sausage Sauce, courtesy of Isernio's Sausage

Serves 4-6 as a main course.

4 Isernio’s Italian Sausages or 1 lb. bulk roll (pork or chicken, crumbled)

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)

28-oz can Italian style plum tomatoes with juice, squeezed by hand or broken up in skillet with wooden spoon.

3/4 lb Rigatoni pasta or cut pasta of choice (I used 1lb box of Rigatoni)

10 fresh basil leaves, torn

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

4-6 Tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and cook sausages over medium heat until brown. No need to cook all the way through, just cook until browned on both sides.You can also use bulk sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon and cooking until all pinkness is gone, do not brown. Remove meat from skillet and set aside. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet, add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook on medium until the onion is soft, 8-10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. salt and a few grinds of black pepper to taste. Cut sausages diagonally into 3/4" slices and return to skillet. If using bulk sausage, add cooked sausage now. Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to a medium low, just bubbling simmer. Cook sauce uncovered for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.

While the sauce is cooking, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 Tbsp salt to boiling water, add the Rigatoni and cook until al dente, about 12-14 minutes, or according to the package instructions.

Taste the sauce for salt and pepper, and adjust if needed. Drain the pasta completely and place in the sauce. Toss the pasta with the sauce to ensure each piece is coated. Add the torn basil, a drizzle of good olive oil and mix well. Serve immediately with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled. Use your judgment and taste. A larger quantity of sauce will take slightly longer to cook.

Pasta Pomodoro and Veggie Update

Today we're at the cabin and I used a bunch of tomatoes fresh from the garden to make a basic pomodoro sauce. 

All you need are some tomatoes, garlic, and basil.  Toss in some pasta and sprinkle with some grated cheese, and you're ready to eat!  Thanks to the Seattle Times for featuring this recipe earlier in the week.  Click HERE to view.

Speaking of fresh from the garden.  This morning I picked three ears of corn from our yard!  I can't wait to eat these while we're at the cabin.  I've heard nothing beats home grown corn, so I'm excited.

Greek Turkey Burgers

Today I was craving a burger, but with a kick.  I used bits and pieces from a few different recipes and came up with a really great end result.  Highly recommend!  Serve with some fries or boiled or bbq'd corn on the cob and you've got a flavor packed meal.

1/2 c. greek yogurt

1/2 english cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated

2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 c. chopped mint

1.5 lbs ground turkey (or lamb)

2/3 c. crumbled feta cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

red onion, sliced in to rings

tomato, sliced (optional... I'm not a tomato fan)

Mix yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 2 Tbsp mint, with dash of salt and pepper in bowl and set aside.

Mix turkey, cheese, 1 clove garlic, remaining mint, salt, pepper in another bowl.  Divide in to four patties.

Grill patties until done and transfer on to hamburger buns.  Top burgers with sauce and onion and/or tomato slices.

*Make Ahead - you can make the sauce and patties the night before serving.  I think the sauce gets more flavorful the longer it sits.  Just stir it well before serving.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today I am Irish.  I love St.Patrick's Day.  The green beer, the wearing of green, the goofiness, and eating good food.  St.Patrick's Day isn't quite the same once you have kids (compared to college, etc), but that doesn't mean you can't have fun!

I made corned beef, vegetables and cabbage in the slow cooker.  It smelled delicious!  I used a recipe I found at Food Network online.  Click here to view.  The recipe says to add the potatoes at the same time as everything else, and microwave the cabbage.  I recommend adding both the uncooked potatoes and uncooked cabbage wedges when there is about 60-90 minutes left in the slow cooker.  Otherwise, they'll be complete mush.

In the afternoon I made an Irish soda bread.  I'm usually  not a huge fan of Irish soda bread because it seems dry. This Ina Garten recipe had rave reviews so I knew I couldn't go wrong.  Ironically, my friend Jesica has made this recipe many times and loves it.  Instead of using the currants she'll occasionally use dried cranberries.  We plan to eat the leftovers with breakfast tomorrow - its that good.

I need to remind myself to keep my phone away from my cooking area.  Flour is not easy to get out of tiny cracks...

The dough is pretty sticky.

The stickiness requires a good amount of flour on your work surface when you form in to a round shape.

Don't forget to lightly carve an 'x' in to the top of the dough with a sharp knife.  I dipped my knife in flour so it wouldn't stick. 

The finished bread.  It smelled so good it was hard to wait until dinner!  Serve with butter.

After school B and I made green, shamrock shaped cookies. He loved wearing the hat he made at school - he said it helped him bake better.  And I'll admit.  We did not make these cookies from scratch.  We used a box mix, and I have to say they turned out great.  If you're feeling lazy, try Krusteaz's sugar cookie mix.  The box includes directions for rolling cookies (slightly altered with 1/4c. flour compared to their basic recipe).

Dinner time!  The soda bread was amazing and soft.

The corned beef and vegetables were some of the best we've had.  

And what really made the meal?  The horseradish sauce that is included in the corned beef recipe.  Oh my gosh.  To say I loved it is an understatement.  I'm not a fan of spice, but love the sting of horseradish.  It is very easy to make...some of the juice from the slow cooker, sour cream, and horseradish sauce/cream mixed together.  A super tangy kick of a sauce for dipping your meat and veggies, and much better than a squirt of straight horseradish on your plate. 

Happy St.Patrick's Day!  Time for another green beer!

Bolognese Sauce, courtesy of Ina Garten!

Easy. Yummy. Rich.  You must try this recipe. 

Make it in advance (its a quick sauce compared to most).  Double the recipe and freeze some of it for a future rainy day!

Weeknight Bolognese, courtney of Ina Garten

serves 4

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb lean ground sirloin (I used ground buffalo)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried oregano
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 ¼ c. red wine, divided
1 - 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
Kosher salt & black pepper
1 lb dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5-7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more mintue. Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 Tbsp salt, and 1 ½ tsp pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.

While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining ¼ cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and ½ cup Parmesan and toss well.

Serve hot and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Fire Wire and Citrus Sauce

My mom gave us a cool gadget called a "Fire Wire".  Instead of using the wooden skewers for grilling, the Fire Wire is metal and very flexible and long.  It allows a large amount of food to be placed on each, can bend and twist for small grills or ovens, and the loop/handle stays cool.  We've used it twice in the past week and love it!  Only downside is having to take the food off the wire before serving, since each wire can hold up to 2-3 servings. Available online or at specialty kitchen shops and nicer grocery stores in the Seattle area.

While testing out the Fire Wire with huge baja shrimp, I made a really tasty marinade/sauce.  Take about 1/3-1/2 cup orange marmalade and mix in 2-3 tsp whole grain mustard.  I placed the shrimp on the bbq, and after flipping I coated the cooked side with the sauce.  I coated the other side of the shrimp before serving. (sauce will burn due to sugar content, so don't apply before grilling) 

It added a nice citrus kick that wasn't too sweet.  This citrus-mustard shrimp would go great on a salad or even a side of rice for a quick and easy meal.

Say What?

I said, What's This Here Sauce!  I bought this fantastic worcestershire style sauce at the Bellevue Farmer's Market last fall and have been savoring (aka hoarding) every drop.  I have been wanting to buy more but the company's website and phone number is no longer active.  I'm hoping they haven't gone out of business because Mama Bear's What's This Here Sauce is SO good.  I've used it as a marinade and a sauce for chicken and steak.  Two thumbs up!

So if you see it around town you better let me know!