Five Spice Rhubarb Chutney
It’s good to have friends and even better to have friends that graciously share their rhubarb and kitchen. My friend Lauren harvested the rhubarb for this recipe from her garden on Indiantown Island in Maine. Then she turned me loose in her kitchen. The chutney would be a natural with lamb or duck, but we loved it with slices of crusty fresh-baked French bread and crumbly slices of the cheddar-like ”City of Ships” Cheese from Maine’s Hahn’s End Artisan Cheese.
Five Spice Rhubarb Chutney
Adapted from Cooking Light, May 2008
Ingredients
1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
2 cups rhubarb, 1/2” dice
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced (spice wimps should remove the seeds)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup dried currants
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tspn. salt
3/4 tspn. Asian five spice
Preparation
- Combine all ingredients except the Asian five spice in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add Asian five spice and simmer until thick, about 15 minutes.
Makes 2 cups.
Double Chocolate Cookies With Thin Mints
Yup, it’s a cookie in a cookie. I found an orphaned box of Thin Mints in the back of the freezer. The next time our nieces and neighbors hit us up to buy Girl Scout cookies, I’ll be ordering extra Thin Mints.
Double Chocolate Cookies With Thin Mints
Ingredients
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tspn. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tspn. baking soda
1 tspn. salt
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted
1 sleeve Thin Mints Cookies, roughly broken into chunks, not crumbs
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (bittersweet or semisweet)
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Combine unsweetened and semisweet chocolates and melt using a double boiler.
- Beat butter and sugars on high for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add vanilla and continue mixing for 30 seconds.
- Reduce mixer speed to medium and add eggs one at a time.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and add the melted chocolate. Beat for 30 seconds.
- Add flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Beat on low until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Stir in the Thin Mints chunks and chocolate chips.
- Scoop evenly portioned amounts of dough (about 1/4 cup in size) onto ungreased cookie sheets, allowing three inches between cookies.
- Bake for 16 – 20 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. They will look shiny and gooey in the cracks that formed during baking. When in doubt, under-baked cookies are tastier than crispy, over-baked ones.
Rhubarb Ginger Preserves
I love rhubarb. I love strawberries. But…I don’t like them together.
There, I said it.
Finding good rhubarb recipes that don’t include strawberries can be challenging. The recipe for these preserves is one of my very favorites.
Rhubarb Ginger Preserves
Adapted from Christopher Kimball’s The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook.
Ingredients
One pound rhubarb, about 4 cups, cut into 1/2” dice
1 cup granulated sugar
3 T fresh ginger, minced
Preparation
- Bring ingredients to boil.
- Reduce heat to medium. Simmer 20-25 minutes, until mixture reaches 215 – 220F.
Makes two cups.
Six-Seed Whole Grain Soda Bread
This crunchy soda bread, inspired by Heidi Swanson’s version at 101cookbooks, was oven-ready in under ten minutes. I substituted a combination of teff and whole wheat flours for the spelt with delicious results. Try it warm from the oven smothered with fresh avocado and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Blueberry Coconut Cardamom Granola
I make several variations of this recipe, but the blueberry and cardamom combo is my reigning favorite. Try it with any combination of nuts, seeds, spices, and fruit – just keep an eye on the proportions. Consider dried cherries with pecans, apricots with Asian five spice, dried figs with sesame seeds and cinnamon and….
Blueberry Coconut Cardamom Granola
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s New York Times recipe.
Ingredients
6 cups rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
3/4 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pepitas
1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn ground cardamom
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 – 3/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1 1/2 cups dried blueberries
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients except for the dried fruit. If the sweetener is too viscous, consider using heat to thin it a bit. Otherwise, it will take a long time to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
- Place on a large jelly roll pan or two small pans.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until light golden brown.
- Remove from oven and add blueberries.
- Let cool completely then store in an airtight container.
Mark suggests storing the granola in the refrigerator. I store mine in the cabinet. It stays fresh and crunchy for up to a month and maybe longer, but ours never lasts that long!
Oatmeal Fig Bread
This bread is easy, healthy and delicious. What more could you ask for?
Oatmeal Fig Bread
Adapted from EatingWell.
Ingredients
2 T plus 1 cup oatmeal, not instant
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (all purpose works too.)
2 1/4 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn baking soda
1 tspn salt
1/2 – 3/4 cup dried figs, roughly chopped
1 cup nonfat yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
3/4 cup skim milk or soy milk
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Coat the inside of a 9”x5” loaf pan with cooking spray. Evenly sprinkle one tablespoon of the oats over the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and figs in a large bowl.
- Whisk together yogurt, egg, applesauce, honey, and milk.
- Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining oats.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
- Remove warm bread from the pan and allow to cool completely on the wire rack before slicing.
Arugula, Pistachio and Orange Blossom Salad
This was inspired by a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi’s yummy, new, all-vegetarian cookbook, Plenty. The light and refreshing salad is a perfect way to enjoy the first arugula of the season.
Arugula, Pistachio and Orange Blossom Salad
Ingredients
2 cups young arugula
2 T of your favorite fresh herbs, roughly chopped (I used tarragon and Thai basil.)
3 T good olive oil
1 T lemon juice
1 tspn orange blossom water
salt and pepper
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, lightly toasted and coarsely crushed
2 T orange peel preserves (optional)
Preparation
- Combine arugula and herbs in a salad bowl.
- Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, orange blossom water, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the dressing over the greens just before serving.
- Sprinkle the pistachios and orange peel preserves on top.
- Toss gently.
Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookies
Christina Tosi’s kitchen sink cookies are downright addictive. And they are a great way to use up any sweet and savory odds and ends orphaned in your pantry. I added more mix-ins than the original recipe suggested. My first batch was delicious, but the cookies were very flat. For the second batch, I increased the flour by 1/4 cup. It did the trick – goodbye flat cookies.
2 cups potato chips
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup toasted and salted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup M&Ms, sprinkled on top of each cookie
Bob Vivant 