Rhubarb Raspberry Crisp

I love springtime at the farm! Fresh asparagus. Yummy crisp greens. And rhubarb. Luscious rhubarb. It may be one of my favorite fruits because it reminds me of my childhood. I had a friend that had a rhubarb plant in her yard and we would break off fresh stems, dip them in sugar and devour. Rhubarb will always be the taste of early summer for me. So you can imagine my delight when I picked up my CSA share from Little Ridge Farms, only to see nice long green and red stalks of rhubarb. Last week I made rhubarb risotto in my attempt to try something new - and it was DELICIOUS! This week, I wanted to go back to the basics. I had a bag of raspberries in the freezer - also from Little Ridge - and I thought I would make a crisp. Best. Decision. Ever.

R2 Crisp

4 C rhubarb, cut into 1" pieces
2 C raspberries
1 1/3 C whole wheat flour
1 C sugar
1 t cinnamon
1 C brown sugar
1/4 t nutmeg
1 C rolled oats
1/2 C butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. In a large bowl mix together rhubarb, raspberries, 1/3 cup of flour, sugar and cinnamon. Dump into baking dish and spread evenly. In another bowl mix together brown sugar, oats, nutmeg and remaining flour. Add in butter and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of fruit evenly. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Rhubarb Risotto

Nothing says spring in Maine like fresh rhubarb! We got some from our CSA last week and I've been trying to come up with a creative way to use it. I like pies and muffins, but I thought there is just so much more that can be done with it. I did some quick searching and found some recipes for a sweet Rhubarb Risotto. Heaven!!! Of course, many of you know my deep obsession with Risotto, so of course, I had to try this. However, my husband decided it was his turn to try his hand at cooking - a first. So glad he chose Risotto to pop his cherry. I served this up with a nice simple salad of greens and apples, with cheddar cheese and a honey lemon balsamic dressing I made; and a 1/2 an ear of corn tossed in a lemon butter. Perfect springtime meal.

Rhubarb Risotto
(serves 4)

1 1/2 C arborio rice
1/2 onion, chopped
2 T butter
1 3/4 C white wine
3 C almond milk (or any type of milk)
1 C rhubarb, sliced into 1" pieces
1/4 C sugar
1 lemon, squeezed
1/4 C parmesan cheese, fresh grated
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper

In a small saucepan warm milk over low heat - do not let boil or it will curdle. In another saucepan add rhubarb, sugar, 1/2 juiced lemon and 1/4 C white wine. Cook over medium heat until it breaks down into a compote. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add onion, cook until translucent, for about 2 minutes. Add in arborio rice and toss thoroughly with butter and onion mixture, and cook 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of wine to the rice and stir continuously until evaporated. Repeat process with a half cup of milk at a time until rice is al dente (this will probably take all 3 cups, but test often). When rice is done, add in salt, pepper, rhubarb compote, the other half of the lemon, juiced, butter, and the parmesan cheese. Stir thoroughly and serve hot off the stove.

Black Bean Soup & Vegan Quesadillas

We got a pantry share from Wolf Pine Farms this year, and it was the best $125 I have ever spent. I got beans, jams, pickles, flours, applesauce, and so much more. The beans were the kicker for me. We eat a lot of beans in this house since we're vegetarian and we need our protein, but I'm not a fan of canned beans. Dried beans from the store can take eons to cook, though. Fresh beans from the farm, however, do not, so getting 10 pounds of black, kidney and pinto meant a whole lot of yummy, and dare I say quick, meals. I tend to cook up a bunch when I'm cooking them, so I can make several things from them. Last week I made a tortilla pie with black and kidney beans, then I took the remaining few cups and set them in the fridge, pondering daily what I wanted to make with them. Yesterday it came to me - black bean soup! And what better to go with the soup then quesadillas? Alas, being vegan meant getting crafty with these, but I managed, and this was quite the yummy & fulfilling meal.


Black Bean Soup
(serves 4)

1/2 C onion, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
2 T garlic, minced
1-3 T olive oil
1 t cumin
3 C black beans (mine were mixed with kidney beans)
4-6 C stock/water/broth (start with just 4 cups, and add more if needed as it cooks)
1/2 C salsa
1/2 C tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C corn
1 t salt
1/2 avocado
2 T nutritional yeast


Heat oil in large pot over medium heat until hot. Add onion, peppers, cumin and garlic and stir to coat all veggies with oil. Cook for 10-15 minutes, add oil if you need to so it doesn't burn. When this is nice and cooked down, puree in the food processor and add back to the pot. Add in beans and liquid and stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer and add in salsa, tomatoes, corn and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, adding more liquid if needed. The next step is based on preference. I pureed the whole soup because I like it creamy, but you can either leave it chunky, or puree half the soup. Whatever suits your taste. Top with avocado and nutritional yeast.

Vegan Quesadillas
(serves 4)

4 large flour tortillas
1/2 C tomatoes
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 C nutritional yeast
1/4 C flour
1 t salt
1/8 t dry mustard
1 t garlic minced
1 C water
2 T vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
Salsa

In a pot add nutritional yeast, flour, salt, mustard and garlic and whisk until well combined. Add in water and butter and heat over medium heat, whisking until well combined. Cook until boiling, then remove from heat and set aside. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Spread 1/2 the cheese on a tortilla and place in pan. Sprinkle in 1/2 the tomatoes and 1/2 the avocado and press a second tortilla over the top of it all. Cook for a few minutes until the bottom is browning, then carefully flip over and cook a few more minutes. Repeat the remaining two tortillas, cheese and filling. Cut these quesadillas into 8 slices each and serve 4 to each person with a bowl of soup and lots of salsa.

Peanut Butter Seitan Curry

In our attempt to try out new foods, we have gone Vegan. Well, by we I mean me - everyone else in the house can eat what they want, but seeing as though I do the dinner cooking, they eat vegan at least once a day. Last night was just the kiddos and me, and I was craving peanut butter and curry....of course, when am I not craving curry, right? So I set to work and pulled out all the things in the cupboard and fridge that might go with this. And I pulled out the chicken flavored Seitan I had gotten at the Natural Market....I'm not a huge fan of replacing meat with fake meat, but sometimes it helps with the oldest kid, who tells me often "I can eat what I want, it's my body." Which is true, so I try to give him all the information he needs to make informed eating decisions (even though I will never win out over hot dogs). So fake meat makes a once a week visit to our menu, for his sake.

Peanut Butter Seitan Curry

serves 4

1 package Chicken Seitan
1 red pepper, diced
1 onion, sliced into thin strips
2 carrots, quartered and sliced
10 white button mushrooms, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 C nuts (mine were curried cashews)
2 T coconut oil
1/2 C peanut butter
1/4 C soy sauce
1 T chili sauce
1 T minced ginger
1/4 C coconut milk
1/2 C water
fresh ground pepper
1/2 T curry powder
1 T arrowroot
2 T water

Melt coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add in Seitan and saute about 5 minutes, until it starts to brown a bit. Add onions, peppers, and carrots and saute until soft. Meanwhile, whisk together sauce ingredients - peanut butter, soy sauce, chili sauce, ginger, coconut milk, water, pepper and curry powder. Add in mushrooms and cook 1 minute. Dump into pan and stir thoroughly to coat veggies and seitan. Cook for 5 minutes. Mix arrowroot and water together and dump into pan and stir thoroughly. Toss in tomatoes and nuts. Serve over brown rice, adding extra chili sauce if you like it spicy.

Quiche Casserole

Apparently I have a bread fetish. I went to the store today and bought a loaf of bread, a bag of bagels and some wraps. But it doesn't end there. I came home and realized I had a baguette in my bread basket already. When I went to put it in the freezer, I was surprised to find a bag of bulky rolls and some onion rolls. I don't even remember buying those! Of course, it doesn't stop there. All year long I keep all my odds and ends bread pieces and make a killer stuffing for Thanksgiving. That's a whole lot of bread hanging around in my house....Now what to do with it.

Tonight I took the baguette and sliced it thin and lined a casserole dish with it. Bam, a crust for quiche. Since anything with eggs is a staple quick dinner for us in our house, I knew this would be a hit. I served it up with some yummy potatoes and those bagels. Success.

Quiche Casserole 
(serves 4)

1 thin baguette, sliced thinly
2 T olive oil
6 eggs
3/4 C milk
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C spinach, chopped

1 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 t salt
pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a small glass casserole dish with 1 T olive oil. Make sure to get all up on the sides. Take the baguette slices and line the casserole dish with them - bottom and sides - not overlapping. Put in oven and bake for 10 minutes, until bread starts to brown. Meanwhile in a skillet, heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic and saute for 5 minutes until carrots are soft. Toss in spinach and cook 1 more minute. Add in parsley and mix thoroughly, then remove from heat. In a large bowl whisk eggs until thoroughly mixed, add in milk and whisk quickly until well combined. Stir in cheeses, sauteed vegetable mixture, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture into casserole dish and put back into the oven for 30 minutes, or until toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let sit on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes until it has cooled and set.

Enjoy!!

Cauliflower Curry

I crave curry ever day. I love the smell of it. The warmth as it slides down my throat. The lingering flavor on my tongue. When I was pregnant with my oldest, I ate curried chicken several times a week. Oddly enough, my kids never really got into it. Until last night. My brother had given me some cauliflower, and even though it's not in season and I wouldn't normally buy it, I couldn't turn down a gift. Since cauliflower this time of year is bland, I knew I had to do something with it that would give it flavor and oomph. A quick perusal of my root veggies and spices, and I knew it was a curry night. The flavor of this curry was so good and mild that my oldest had two bowls of it - this NEVER happens.

Cauliflower Curry
serves 4

1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled & sliced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 4oz can tomato sauce
1/2 C stock/broth/water
1 T oil
1/2 t tumeric
1 1/2 T yellow curry (depending on how spicy you like it - this was just warm, but my curry is old)
salt & pepper
sour cream
brown rice

In a large deep pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Add potatoes and cauliflower and stir to thoroughly mix all veggies together. Keep cooking, stirring often, over medium heat just until potatoes start to brown a bit. Add in tumeric and curry and stir to coat everything. Let cook for 2-3 minutes to open up the full flavor of the spices. Add in coconut milk, tomato sauce and water. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and drop down to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir thoroughly before serving over brown rice with a dollop of sour cream. YUM!

Not Your Mama's No-Bakes

As I kid my favorite cookie ever was a no-bake. In fact, even as an adult, they are hands-down my favorite sweet treat. I hardly ever make them because they are so loaded with sugar, but a few times a year I bust out some peanut butter, chocolate and oats action. And now that I think about  it, these cookies must be where I got my obsession with all things chocolate and peanut butter - those two flavors are pure perfection on my taste buds.

That being said, this recipe stemmed from another recipe I saw the other day - kale chocolate clusters. I realized I had been missing out on a whole area of kale appreciation. I still have a few bags of frozen kale from last summer and I should use them up before my summer CSA starts up. Originally I was going to replicate these cluster cookies, but I didn't have dried cranberries. Then it came to me - No-Bakes!! Thus, my sneaky chef version of my favorite cookie, was born.


Not Your Mama's No-Bakes

1C white sugar
1 C dark brown sugar
1/2 C milk
1/2 C butter
3 T cocoa
1 t maple flavoring
2/3 C peanut butter
2 C quick-cooking oats
1/2 C frozen kale (mine had been boiled for 3 minutes then frozen)
1/2 C shredded coconut

In large pot melt butter with sugars, milk cocoa and maple flavoring. Whisk and bring to a boil. Boil this mixture hard for exactly two minutes, no longer! Remove from heat and stir in oats and peanut butter. Quickly process kale in food processor until minced. Mix into cookies with coconut until well incorporated. Drop onto wax paper and let harden. Devour.