Posts filed under 'Sweet Treats'
Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins
Who doesn’t love a tasty tender muffin that’s not too-too sweet for breakfast? I certainly adore such muffins myself though I rarely remember to make them except when I’m expecting company and want to have something a little more unique than the standard bagel and cream cheese fare. Thankfully, Rhubarb Fest is marching onward here at SFTF so I was prompted to search for a good recipe that would both use up some fading stalks and not require a second trip to the store in one day. This batch of Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins had a wonderfully subtle spicy tart flavor, putting them squarely at the top of my list for the next time I want to impress overnight guests.
While I was spooning the batter for these muffins into the tins, I got to wondering what the defining difference is between a muffin and a cupcake. Is it just the presence or absence of icing that divides the two? I mean, could I very well slap a cream cheese frosting on these diminutive rhubarb cake-like desserts and declare them “cupcakes!”, should I be so inclined? Of course this required a little follow-up on my part, the perfect entertainment for me while the muffins baked. Here are the definitions from Dictionary.com.
Muffin: an individual cup-shaped quick bread made with wheat flour, cornmeal, or the like, and baked in a pan (muffin pan) containing a series of cuplike forms.
Cupcake: a small cake, the size of an individual portion, baked in a cup-shaped mold.
Hmmm… no where do they mention the icing. Okay. So, the only thing I can see that sets them apart are the terms “quick bread” and “cake”.
Time to look up more definitions….
6 comments June 15, 2009
Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream
Time for a change of pace, my friendly readers. We’re still in the midst of the Rhubarb Fest in the SFTF kitchen, but I seem to have misplaced the cord I need to download the latest pictures from my camera (eek!) so we’ll dive into the drafts I was holding onto until after the pink-tinged wave of recipes had subsided. Don’t worry. We aren’t going to stray far from the theme of seasonal sweet treats using red-hued local produce. Indeed, Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream is a perfect companion for just about any rhubarb concoction.
I can think of very few things that are more delicious than the combination of juicy just-picked strawberries and cold rich cream. There’s something just downright luscious about it. Every year when strawberry season rolls around again, I hunt down a pick-your-own place and go a little crazy. It’s typically proven to be a rather expensive splurge, but it’s worth it. This year I planted dozens of alpine strawberry plants (Fragaria vesca ‘Semperflorens’) in my garden and in containers around my deck. They haven’t yet produced any fruit this year, though they do have plenty of flowers and buds presently. The glory of the smaller and sweeter alpine strawberry is that it fruits all summer long, not just in June like the more robust and common commercial strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa).
While I await the arrival of my first baby berry, I was happy to chunk up these local strawberries from the farmers market, freezing them with some thick and frothy raw cow’s milk that I brought back with me from my family’s dairy farm. I know that you all probably think of supporting your local farmers all the time by buying your vegetables and fruit from them. I would encourage you (even nearly beg you) to not forget to do the same with dairy farmers who are selling milk and cheese and even occasionally ice cream. Right now the small-to-mid-size family-run dairy farms of our nation are suffering horribly from a crippling price slump in the milk market. My brother, who is trying very hard to keep the farm that’s been in our family for five generations operating, tells me just the basic daily operations of farming are causing him to pretty much hemorrhage money. The only apparent salvation is to sell our farm’s milk (and maybe cheese too) to the public directly and hope that they are willing to buy from us instead of the supermarket. So, please, remember your local dairy farmers too when you’re making your purchases.
13 comments June 9, 2009
Angel Food Cake & Rhubarb Fool
We’ve hit the jackpot again, folks! Another recipe that, should I ever have the good fortune to open a restaurant or become a caterer, would surely be a signature dish and have folks lining up at the door, whispering in reverent tones that they’ve come for the Rhubarb Fool Over Old-Fashioned Angel Food Cake. That and the Roasted Rosemary Potato Leek Soup and the Georgia Peanut Soup and the Honey-Ginger Carrot Parsnip Latkes and the Roasted Root and Ricotta Pizza and the Roasted Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Mash and the Fresh Fig Compote and the Parsnip Spiced Cupcakes with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting and the…. well, you get the idea. I kind of have this all planned out, ya know.
But today’s post is all about this slightly messy and tremendously rich and tasty glass full of goodness. Within it nestles angel food cake made with gorgeous farm fresh eggs from my friend E’s chickens layered with freshly whipped cream and stewed rhubarb that still has its tangy bite to balance the almondy sweetness of the airy cake cubes. It’s the whipped cream and stewed rhubarb that make up the “rhubarb fool”, a term that is decidedly British. If you’re feeling foolish for not knowing what a fruit fool is, stop on over at Joy of Baking and get the details.
Now, I have to tell you a story. Pull up a chair and get comfy if you haven’t already. You see, I really wanted to name this dish “Rhubarb Slop”, but I figured it wouldn’t sell to the masses nearly as well. But in my mind, this style of dessert will always be “slop”. Huh?!?
9 comments June 4, 2009
Rhubarb Fest: Sorbet
It’s been interesting, picking recipes for this Rhubarb Fest. There’s bushel loads of recipes for strawberry rhubarb this and strawberry rhubarb that. The rhubarb always seems to be thrown in just because, well, maybe people were getting tired of just plain strawberry or they were a little intimidated with rhubarb standing on its own ruby red feet, er, stalks. Do you know what I mean?
Truth be told, while I really do love those juicy berries, if I had to pick between having rhubarb or strawberries for a summer, I’d pick the rhubarb. It’s no doubt in large part for the memories it drums up of my grandmother’s big old patch in her garden, though there were plenty of strawberries in that garden too. I also really enjoy the tart ting and pink blush rhubarb brings to every dish it enters. But not everyone does, as demonstrated by D’s latest remark, something along the lines of it tasting medicinal.
But wait! Lest you stop reading right there, let me assure you that this Spiced Rhubarb Sorbet is the best kind of medicine – delicious, mysteriously creamy (though not a drop of cream went into it), low in fat, and the perfect pick-me-up after one has spent a hot morning power washing the deck, among other things. Don’t let the Pepto-Bismol pink put you off. That’s where the resemblance to medicine ends, I promise.
The notes of the spices play delicately and quietly next to the powerful crescendo of rhubarb in every bite. This is not a sorbet for the rhubarb skeptic, that’s for sure. I personally can’t stop eating it; the taste and texture are just downright addictive. But, should you be not quite the Number One Fan of rhubarb (sorry, that coveted titled is already taken by yours truly anyway), I’m absolutely certain substituting strawberries for half of the rhubarb and cutting back the sugar to just a cup would yield a seriously scrumptious sorbet too.
7 comments May 30, 2009
Let the Festivities Begin!
Guess what? Today the blog turns TWO! Part of me feels like this blog has been with me forever while the other part of me can’t believe it’s been two whole years already! I adore writing and photographing for these delicious posts, and I can’t thank you all enough for coming around to indulge my creative fantasies. In honor of this special occasion, I’m launching Rhubarb Fest here on the blog — an outright barrage of recipes for one of my favorite ingredients of all time and a beautiful one to boot!
We’ll start off the pink-infused festivities and the third year of SFTF with this delightful recipe for Candied Rhubarb and Kumquats, which are basically Part II of the Chocolate Pavlova recipe in the last post. Now, while the rhubarb is most definitely a local and very seasonal ingredient, you may be bulking at the idea of kumquats showing up here on SFTF. While this dainty citrus is indeed often an import, I gleaned mine from a lovely group of trees grown indoors where I work. I have also recently acquired a baby kumquat tree of my very own and hope it will put on fruit by next year. These trees, which remain rather small and bear the fruit that reminds me of sour gummy worms, are very easy to grow as glorified houseplants that take their summer vacation out on the patio or deck. I’d encourage you to look into getting one if you like citrus but wish you didn’t have to buy it in from far away.
Back to the star of the show though. This rhubarb is part of a bunch I got at the Headhouse Farmers Market. Stored wrapped in an ever so slightly damp paper towel in a sealed ziplock bag, rhubarb will keep for a week or two, maybe even more, in the fridge. It makes for wonderful warm sauces, jams, compotes, cakes, pies, “fools”, muffins, and even savory toppings for chicken. This candied version is one of my favorite preparations to date.
9 comments May 25, 2009
