Rhubarb Crumble Bars (a.k.a. Rhu-Barbara Bars)

After getting over my apprehension about rhubarb, I wanted a way to make it portable. Pies are too much work. Crisps are best warm, straight from the oven. Hmmm. What about a fruit-filled bar cookie? I adopted this Classic Date Bar date bar recipe from Epicurious and replaced the date filling with rhubarb for a tidy, tasty snack you can pack in your lunch. My Dad dubbed these “Rhu-Barbara Bars” after me. Thanks Dad!

Tart rhubarb filling sandwiched between cinnamon-oatmeal crumble makes for a delightful bar cookie.

6 stalks of rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2-3 tablespoons of sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8×8-inch metal baking pan.Put chopped rhubarb in small saucepan. Top with 2 tablespoons of sugar, and add a few tablespoons of water to cover the bottom of the saucepan. Heat on high to boil. Then reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, 10-20 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool and stir in vanilla extract. (Compote should be tart but not mouth-puckering. Add an extra tablespoon of sugar if necessary.) 

Combine flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in large bowl stir to blend. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or blend with fingertips until combined. Press half of oat mixture evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Spread with rhubarb compote. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture. Bake until brown at edges and golden brown and set in center, about 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into 16 bars.

Serve cold as a bar cookie, or warm with vanilla ice cream.

Strawberries and Cream Salad with Almond-encrusted Chicken

The strawberries I bought at the Lawrenceville Farmers Market were so much more fragrant and flavorful than the ones from the grocery store, so I didn’t want to hide them in a dessert. This salad spotlights them in the main course. It also used up the spinach, arugula and mesclun greens that were starting to bolt in my garden.

Serves 4

1 cup sliced almonds
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed  
1 egg
1 lb of chicken tenderloins (or 4 small chicken breasts)
Salad greens for 4 people
1 pint strawberries
4 ounces of goat cheese 
2 green onions, chopped
balsamic vinegar 

Crush almonds with the back of a spoon. Combine on a small plate with thyme and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into egg. Then roll in almond mixture. Arrange chicken on lightly oiled baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes. (Larger or thicker pieces will take longer.)

While chicken is baking, divide salad, strawberries and goat cheese among 4 plates. Top with chicken, sprinkle with green onions and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

(If you’d prefer to grill the chicken, roll the goat cheese into balls and then roll in almond-thyme-garlic mixture.)

Wedding Soup with Dandelion Greens and Endive

This hearty soup would be good to make on a leisurely weekend afternoon, when the aroma wafts through your house, whetting the appetite of everyone who smells it. Not on Tuesday night when you’re trying to get dinner on the table, talk on the phone with your mom and do a few loads of laundry in between chopping greens and rolling meatballs.

Beth, my sister and tonight’s guest eater didn’t complain that dinner wasn’t ready until 10. But she sure scarfed it down. (And I noticed later there were gnaw marks on her arm.)

It seems there are as many ways to make wedding soup as there are people who make it. I looked at several recipes online before creating my own:

Wedding Soup with Dandelion Greens and Endive

Wedding Soup—the pasta sank to the bottom

For the soup:
1 bunch dandelion greens, chopped in large pieces
1 head of endive, chopped in large pieces
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken stalk
1 quart (4 cups) water 
1 parmesan rind or a cup of grated parmesan
1 cup acini di pepe or other small, wedding-soup-appropriate pasta 

 

There are only so many ways to entertain yourself while rolling tiny meatballs. Making a pyramid is just one.

For the meatballs:
1 pound ground turkey, chicken or beef
1 small onion, chopped finely 
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
chopped fresh parsley, to taste 
dried Italian seasoning, to taste
dried hot pepper flakes, to taste 

 

Simmering the greens

Combine broth and water in large pot. Add cheese, and bring to simmer. Add greens and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, combine all meatball ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or your hands. Roll in half-inch balls if you have the patience. Mine increased in size with my appetite.

After you’ve finished with the meatballs and the greens have simmered for half an hour, add the pasta and cook for 9 minutes or according to the package instructions. Gently add the meatballs with about three minutes of cooking time last—these go last because they cook in no time. Note that if the onions aren’t chopped finely enough, they’ll escape into your soup.

When the meatballs are done, it’s finally ready!

Beth, tonight's guest eater, enjoys the soup

Besides the taste, one of the best things about this soup is leftovers. After our late-night dinner, we had enough for four lunches, and more to freeze for a rainy day.

Sesame-soy Salmon with Bok Choy and Oyster Mushrooms

Sesame-soy Salmon with Bok Choy and Oyster Mushrooms

Sesame-soy Salmon with Bok Choy and Oyster Mushrooms

6 stalks bok choy, bottoms sliced thinly, like celery, tops shredded, like lettuce

1 cup oyster mushrooms, chopped in bite size pieces, discard stems

3 cloves garlic, slice thinly or pressed

chopped ginger

sesame seeds

1lb salmon

soy sauce

sesame oil

green onions

 

Prep first four ingredients.

Drizzle salmon with soy sauce and press with sesame seeds. 

Coat iron skillet or saute pan with sesame oil. Saute bok choy bottoms, garlic and ginger until bok choy is translucent (like onions), add mushrooms, add tops and cook until slightly wilted. 

In the meantime, cook salmon in hot oil, sesame-side down (skin up) for 3-8 minutes depending on thickness of salmon and desired level of doneness. 

Layer veggies over soba noodles; salmon over the veggies. Garnish with green onions.

Cinnamon-cabernet Rhubarb Compote

Cinnamon-cabernet Rhubarb Compote with Vanilla Yogurt

Rhubarb intimidates me. It’s not physically stronger or more intelligent (that I know of). It’s not particularly attractive. Nor is it frightening like a horror film—although its leaves are toxic.

Rather, it just seems difficult. There aren’t many ways to prepare it, and it requires overwhelming amounts of sugar to be palatable.

Joe King of Joseph P. King Farm in Valencia, PA, gave me some pointers on rhubarb

Joe King, of Joseph P. King Farm helped me overcome my apprehension today at the South Side Farmers Market. He said his kids eat rhubarb raw. Whether or not that was a marketing ploy, it worked. I bought a bundle.

Once home, I tasted the tip of a raw rhubarb stalk. It didn’t have the acidity of a lemon, but it was almost as sour.

The rhubarb prepares for a steamy evening

Joe suggested boiling it until it fell apart and then adding lots of sugar to taste. I remember having this as a kid—super sweet, stringy applesauce. Not bad, but I wanted something with more of an adult flavor. Lucky for me, I just happened to have some red wine…

The rhubarb cooks

Cinnamon-cabernet Rhubarb Compote

Cinnamon-cabernet Rhubarb Compote
Serves 2

5 stalks of rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup of Cabernet or other red wine
2 scoops of vanilla yogurt or ice cream

Put chopped rhubarb in small saucepan. Add sugar, cinnamon and wine. If wine doesn’t cover the bottom of the saucepan, add more until it does. Heat on high to boil. Then reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally. Add more sugar or cinnamon to taste. After 20-30 minutes, rhubarb should dissolve into a thick pulp. Divide and top with yogurt or ice cream. Enjoy the hot-cold, sweet-tart sensation.

Note: ingredient amounts are approximated. If you have more rhubarb, use it! Just add more sugar, cinnamon, and wine to coat the bottom of pan.