Rhubarb Pie... you seemed so wrong but tasted so right

First post in a long time... blog I've missed you. I think my two readers have given up on me long ago... So, what has finally inspired me to wax poetic? Springtime and Rhubarb pie.

DOOMED rhubarb pie. This was the pie that wasn't supposed to be. The pie that almost went into the trash, a few times. But tonight (one day old) we dug in, and wow, how did that happen??????

It seemed so wrong....

Went to the farmer's market. Its been so long since we had any fresh fruit in Colorado... those fall apples are long, long gone. I was too eager for the rhubarb. It isn't quite red yet. But I bought some anyway with all the best intentions of making a pie. That was over a week ago, and the pie just didn't happen. Day after day, I looked in wistfully at the rhubarb growing limp and dull in plastic bags.

(Yesterday, Sunday afternoon) House is a mess, no laundry done for the coming week, kitchen filled with dirty dishes, haven't gone for a run all weekend, don't know what to make for dinner. And I'm feeling stressed because tomorrow the work week starts again.

My fabulous husband says, "Relax, let's forget cleaning, why don't you and Ewan make that rhubarb pie you've been meaning to make?"

I protest, "The rhubarb is too old, it won't taste good." He reminds me that baking is for fun (what???)... so I relent, and almost decide to enjoy myself.

But not quite... What else went wrong?

• I decided to make a whole wheat crust with toasted wheat germ, but burnt the wheat germ once, then burnt the second batch, then decided to throw it in anyway.
• When it came time to roll the crust out, I realized that I have left ALL of my pie pans at other people's houses, and all I have is a 9-inch tart pan. Who the hell has heard of a rhubarb TART?? How do you put a top crust on that?
  
• AND of course, cursed with my usual disastrous touch for pie crust, I ended up with a big, dry crumbly, slightly burnt mess. As I'm trying to "roll" out this pile of dust, my son is yelling, "MOMMY, MOMMY, DO YOU WANT THE RED HIPPOPOTAMUS OR THE BLUE HIPPOPOTAMUS? RED OR BLUE? RED OR BLUE? RED OR BLUE?" waiting expectantly for me to take an invisible hippo out of his empty hands.

There weren't tears, but it is possible that a rolling pin got put back in its drawer with slightly more enthusiasm than normal. So... torn between perfectionism and throwing it away, I just threw the whole ugly thing in the pan.

For the filling, I skipped all spices and just used the limp rhubarb, sugar, honey, flour, a pinch of salt and a lot of ginger, probably 1/4 cup.

Then I rolled out the 2nd crust and laid it on top, which is about all you can do with a tart pan that has no edges.

In the oven, the whole thing leaked burnt, caramelized sugar from the top and bottom of the undersized pan.

My hopes were low, I didn't even stay up last night to try it. So, so wrong.

But, it tasted so right....
To make a long story, well, slightly longer by continuing to ramble, we ate the pie for dessert tonight. And I can truly say, it is the best pie I've ever made. Nutty, flaky and flavorful whole wheat crust (with Farmer John's local, completely unrefined flour, of course!!) And let's just say, you had better be able to hold your ginger to enjoy this pie... but after the first slightly, medicinal gingery bite, I couldn't get enough. Interesting, powerful flavors to welcome in Colorado's fruit season.

By the way - JSue, this one is for you in homage to our late night rhubarb strawberry pie last June. I'll never have a piece of rhubarb pie again without thinking of your perfectly expressed sentiment from last year, "What, you're only going to have one piece?"

Daring Bakewell Tart with Fresh Colorado Cherries

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Anyone reading this may have noticed that I've been slacking lately. Yes, it's true. Not for lack of wanting to write - I just have other things going on right now, so my cherished blog has taken a back ... burner, you might say. But I am going to try to keep up with one thing - the Daring Cook and Baker challenges. I am always in the kitchen anyway, so I may as well take some input, inspiration and ideas from others instead of always sticking with the usual suspects.

So, I apologize ahead of time if this entry seems like I phoned it in. (Actually my husband took the camera out of town, so I did actually phone it in). Some people might think that shorter entries are better...what do they know.

What was I talking about? That's right, Bakewell Tart. This tart consists of a slightly sweet, shortcrust pastry, spread with a thin layer of jam and topped with a golden puffy layer of frangipane. Check out the hosts' blogs for an interesting history of this dish.

As cherries are in season in Colorado, and delicious right now, I decided to attempt homemade cherry jam. I was a little worried that I didn't have fruit pectin* on hand, a common ingredient in many jams (I read a lot of labels). I decided to risk it and followed a pectin-free recipe on Jasmine's blog for a simple blackberry jam, subbing cherries for the blackberries. Although delicious, the jam unfortunately never set. It would have made a delicious sauce for something else (a frangipane tart, perhaps?)

The frangipane (a sort of dense custard of eggs, powdered sugar, butter and ground almonds) was easy to make and delicious.

The verdict on the crust? Hmm. I must have missed something in the instructions, or my jam (sauce) was simply too wet for the crust, because the cooked tart had a soggy and almost completely uncooked crust, while the frangipane on top was close to overcooked. I think a simple fix for this would be to blind bake the crust before filling and baking again.

But a soggy crust can be ignored - I have suffered through many a mediocre crust before... All in all, I enjoyed this challenge, especially getting to use the seasonal fruit. The almond taste definitely brought out the cherries and vice versa. I will make this again with the blind bake modification. Thanks to Jasmine and Annemarie for a very original suggestion.

* Pectin is a gelling agent that occurs naturally in many fruits (apparently not cherries) and is sold in various extracted forms, usually having been obtained from apples and/or citrus peel.

Crispy, Delicate Apple Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

When I first read the challenge, I couldn't actually remember what a strudel was. Apparently, it consists of a gently spiced apple and raisin filling, rolled in a crispy, flaky dough. As I read further, I thought, "this really IS daring." Instructions like "gently stretch and pull the dough", it "will become too large to hold", and "stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet wide and 3 feet long, it will be tissue thin by this time" were beginning to worry me. Anyone that remembers my many unsuccessful attempts at pie crust probably knows why - a Daring Baker I may be, but a gentle, delicate baker, I am not.

Well, I guess this must have been beginner's luck ... I found the instructions and tips provided by the hosts to be spot on. I had no trouble stretching the dough, and the final product was so thin you could see through it.

This dough seems completely foolproof. It was malleable, elastic and smooth. I can't remember exactly how I did it, and hey, anyone up for some fun should try it out for themselves anyway. All I can say was that it was incredible to work with. I stretched it over my arms, over a counter, moved it around on the sheet I used to cover the counter, lifted, pulled, dangled, swung, and coaxed this dough. It was tactile, experimental but ultimately easy and successful. Like play-dough for food snobs!

And the result was delicious. I simply can't believe such a flaky, buttery dough can be made by hand. Oh yea, the apples inside were pretty good too. For the full recipe, check out either Linda or Courtney's blog above.

Almond Biscotti and Hazelnut Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

So this month was my first month of joining The Daring Bakers for a worldwide baking experiment. What am I talking about? Each month, a group of daring bakers all cook the same recipe, pre-chosen by one host, on the same day and then write about it. This month's challenge, as I said, was to make cheesecake with your own personal twist ... any variation you could devise.

I struggled with this one for a few weeks. I wanted to do something besides the obvious chocolate or berry accompaniments, especially since berries are out of season. I finally settled on a mixed nuts theme.

I skipped the graham crackers in the crust (in keeping with my avoidance of processed foods, I can't bring myself to buy one baked good to make another), and instead decided to search for a dry, crispy cookie with a similar texture to a cracker. Turning to one of my favorite cookbooks, I found Anise-Almond Biscotti from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food.

Other than the nutty modifications listed below, I followed the recipe exactly.

I used a 9" springform pan, and heeding the warnings about leakage from the water bath, I layered the inside of the pan with about 4 layers of aluminum foil.

The verdict? The cake was definitely as good as or better than restaurant cheesecake - smooth, creamy and fresh instead of the usual soggy and grainy texture common in so many. The mixed nuts worked well together, and the unsweetened hazelnut topping provided a pleasant contrast to the sweetness of the filling. In the end, it may be a little rich for my tastes, but if it's cheesecake you're after, Abbey's recipe is more fabulous than infamous.




The full cheesecake recipe is on JennyBakes blog.





My modifications

1. Amaretto is the optional liqueur in the filling.
2. Substitute crumbs of Anise-Almond Biscotti for the graham crackers in the filling.
3. Top with 1 cup of toasted, coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes in a 350⁰F oven. Let nuts cool. Rub between two rough towels to remove as much skin as possible (you'll never get it all). Crush the nuts in a large mortar and pestle, chop or pulse in a food processor to get a coarse, irregular mix. Press the nuts into the top of the chilled cheesecake.
   

Anise-Almond Biscotti (from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food)

*(about 40 cookies - I don't recommend it, but you can halve the recipe if you only want enough for the cheesecake)

• 1 1/2 c. whole almonds
• 2 1/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp aniseed
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 c sugar
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.

On a baking sheet, toast the almonds in the oven for 5 minutes, let cool and then coarsely chop.

Combine in a bowl the flour, baking powder and aniseed.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until themixture forms a ribbon. Stir in the flour until just incorporated and then gently fold in the almonds.

On a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, form the dough into two 3-inch wide loaves, 3 inches apart. Smooth the loaves with damp hands. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Lower oven temp to 300⁰F. Cut the loaves into 1/2 inch thick cookies and place cut side down on 2 baking sheets. Cook for 10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

(Finally Enough) Chocolate Mousse Cake

I've been analyzing some pretty serious topics lately (free-range pigs, raw milk). Weighed down by the endless list of thought-provoking issues I'd like to discuss, I need a break. What better diversion than joining in the fun for Poornima's first event on the Tasty Treats blog TASTY TREATS....: Announcing... "For the Love of Chocolate!!"

Let's step back for a moment to discuss the topic of desserts, specifically chocolate ones. We have a love/hate relationship. I love to eat chocolate desserts, but I am always left feeling either unsatisfied or guilty. If I eat enough to satisfy my intense dark chocolate craving, I feel just a bit guilty. If I stop at what most might consider a reasonable quantity, well, that's just not chocolatey enough.

So for this dessert, I had one requirement, and one requirement only. Blow me away with the richest chocolate dessert I'd ever had. Well, I think this one comes pretty close ... Nothing fancy, just a LOT of rich, dark chocolate.

From one of my favorite cookbooks, Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cookery Course, here it is. Two layers of light, airy chocolate, separated and covered by a thick coating of heavenly, dark, rich, smooth ganache. I'd say there is only one special technique to this recipe... buy good chocolate. I used Callebaut Bittersweet. At about $10/pound (and this recipe uses half a pound), it's not cheap, but really, is there any better use for five dollars than a killer chocolate cake? No contest.

Garden Cafe Chocolate Mousse Cake

Cake

• 3 organic eggs
• 250 g (8 oz) caster sugar
• 6 Tbs water
• 110 g (4 oz) white flour
• 25 g (1 oz) unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder

Ganache

• 300 ml (1/2 pt) heavy whipping cream
• 225 (8 oz) really good dark chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 190⁰C/375⁰F.

Line the bases of two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper, then butter the bottom and sides and dust with cocoa.

Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks and sugar for two minutes. Blend in the water. Whisk until firm and creamy, about 10 minutes. I strongly recommend using a mixer because this does take a while. Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder.

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to stiff peaks, then fold them very gently into the yolk mixture.

Divide the mixture between the two pans and bake for about 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Meanwhile make the ganache. Put the cream in a heavy, non-reactive saucepan and bring it almost to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir or whisk until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk until just stiff enough to pipe. Do not over-whisk or it will curdle and separate.

Sandwich the cakes together with the ganache. Spread the rest over the tops and sides of the cake.

Sit back, admire your creation, and then dig in. I recommend two slices for the beginner.

Nature's Perfect Power Bar - cashews, chocolate and apricots

I am what you might call a mildly enthusiastic runner and biker. A few years ago, I would have classified myself as very enthusiastic, and I was about as regimented as it gets. Part of my regimen naturally involved "power" food.

I was into it all - the gels, the bars, the energy drink. I timed workouts meticulously such that I consumed just the right number of calories at just the right intervals in just the right proportions.

You're probably thinking that this doesn't sound very consistent with my philosophies on eating local, natural food. Well, it isn't. And as the years have passed and I've become more interested in really understanding what I'm eating, I don't feel comfortable buying or consuming these little processed energy units.

So what's the alternative? Make my own of course!

My requirements - a combination of quick and slow burning carbohydrates, some salt, a little protein and fat all wrapped up in a neat package. I could carry a banana, a piece of whole wheat bread, some nuts and a few chocolate chips in the pocket of my cycling jersey, but that isn't quite the level of portability I'm hoping for.

Geez, I always do these long, long intros and then finally get around to the point. Basically, my husband and I have been trying to find the perfect natural power bar recipe.

I like the way oatmeal cookies go down - they seem to stay with you, without giving a sugar rush, and they carry other ingredients without breaking down. So this is where we started.

After experimenting with a few different recipes and even more variations, we've finally come pretty close.

As a coincidence, I just came across the following event on the Tasty Treats Blog:

TASTY TREATS....: Announcing Let's go Nuts about Cashew Nuts!!

Thanks for giving me the inspiration to write it down, Poornima!

So while we haven't finished our quest, and I will have to confess that none of these "power cookies" have actually made it onto a ride or a run, they have become a weekly feature in our house.

Here they are, modified from a recipe in King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. A little sweet, a little salty, filling but not greasy or heavy, chewy but sturdy enough to hold together in a pocket (as previously mentioned, though, this theory is untested). Delicious AND healthy!!!

One final note/confession... my husband is actually the baker on these great cookies. I'm the happy consultant and consumer.

Nature's Perfect Power Cookie (modified from Nutty for Oats Cookies) makes 24 cookies

• 1/3 c. smooth peanut butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/8 c. (2 3/4 oz) dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 c. (1 3/4 oz) rolled oats, ground for 30 seconds in a food processor
• 3/4 c. (2 5/8 oz) rolled oats
• 3/4 c. chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. roasted, salted cashews
• 10 dried apricots

Preheat the oven to 3750F. Grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

Soak the apricots in hot water for a few minutes, then drain and slice thinly.

Cream the peanut butter, butter and sugar in a medium bowl until lightened in color. Mix in the vanilla and egg. In a separate bowl, mix both types of oats and the baking soda, then mix this into the wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips, cashews and apricots. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets.

Bake until the cookies are just set and beginning to brown around the edges, about 13-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the pan.

Variations: Any combination of additions can be used as long as it adds up to about 1 and a half cups. We've used raisins, dried cranberries, coconut, and walnuts. They're all good, but the apricot, chocolate, cashew combination is definitely the best.

Homemade Ice Cream

So maybe I've been a little too Gung Ho about this blog. The three people reading it may have noticed that I skipped last night because, if you've been paying attention, you'll notice I update every other day, except last night I didn't. My last entry was three days ago, and that one wasn't even particularly noteworthy. I pride myself on verbose, boring, painfully accurate entries, and in the last one I just bitched about Thin Mints. Anyway, the effort required to maintain my normally high standard of quality is taking its toll. This weekend, I felt burnt out. I couldn't think of what to write about, so I skipped.

But I was in the kitchen. Well, actually, first I was on the phone with my sister (writer, pie-crust maker):

"Saw the Thin Mints post. It was good."

"What do you mean? It was really short and I just complained about Thin Mints. I didn't even do a proper analysis of the dangers of partially hydrogenated fat."

"Yea, too bad about that. It was funny. All the others are too long."

"Are they boring?"

"The chicken ones are."

"Oh. Really? I find that topic fascinating." Quick side note, I found a neighbor around the block that keeps 8 chickens in his yard. I've been making detours when I take my son on wagon rides so that we can watch them. They're really weird animals. Seeing them alive, I am not quite sure I'm comfortable with the idea of eating them. Ok, focus...

"What are you going to do next?"

"I was thinking of making profiteroles."

"Why? That is totally off-topic."

"Huh? No, my blog is about buying and making non-processed, natural, local food. This is an attempt at making a challenging dessert that you'd normally buy. Besides I want to try it." About a year ago, I became obsessed with making profiteroles. I hunted all over town for a large, non-plasticy pastry bag and the right size tip. By the time I found it, I was so bored with the whole project that I forgot about them. Ok, back to the conversation.

"Are you going to make your own ice cream?"

"Uh.... definitely."

"How? Did you get an ice cream maker?"

"No, why would I need one? I was just going to stir it myself in a bowl of ice"

"Please, please tell me you're kidding"

Ok, here is where I have an interesting entry about how I attempted to make ice cream the old school way, with 2 bowls, some ice and a spoon. My sister convinced me that I was crazy to try it without some equipment. So I thought, well I'd better acquire more equipment to postpone the fictional profiterole project, and I went hunting for an ice cream maker.

As luck would have it, KitchenAid makes an attachment for their mixers. Sweet! I definitely had to have it.

I realize that this seems in contradiction with my attempts to be non-consumerist, buy local, etc. I do definitely try to keep my material purchases to a minimum. Except I have a little bit of an issue with kitchen equipment. There are certain completely useless things I'll never buy (e.g. a garlic press - I'm a purist, I mince it with the side of a knife), but an insulated ice cream bowl and paddle for my KitchenAid mixer was just too tempting.

And holy cow is homemade ice cream good. The first night I made vanilla (with a drop of brandy), and the second night I made chocolate.

I probably shouldn't plagiarize the recipe I used (from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food), but here is a link to a similar recipe. Hers has about two more egg yolks, but is otherwise pretty much the same.

I was completely amazed, once I started processing it in the bowl, it only took about 15 minutes to thicken.

I will say that, given how much ice cream I eat, seeing how much sugar and cream go into it is a little depressing. All these years, I'd been using selective hearing to ignore the "cream" part of ice cream.

Anyway, it was delicious, although perhaps a bit heavy. My husband accidentally bought a bunch of table cream for the first batch, which wasn't called for in the recipe. I may try making some ice cream with that instead of the heavy whipping cream. I'm sure it'll turn out less creamy, but it might be a bit lighter.


A few final thoughts on making homemade ice cream. Apart from the equipment purchase, it is definitely worth the effort.

First, it really wasn't much work at all. I made the custard style, which means you slowly cook the egg yolks, sugar and half and half together. Of the two common varieties (the other is just cream, sugar and milk mixed together), this is the harder one, and it still only took about 20 minutes to make the mixture.

I took the first batch I made to a friend's for dinner. She decided to have a taste test and compare it to two local ice cream brands she had on hand. My ice cream was richer and much, much smoother. The egg yolks are what add the richness - flavor you definitely can't get from store-bought, although I don't think I will always be in the mood for something so rich, so I plan to try the other style as well.

The only downside is that I now have six egg whites waiting to be dealt with (3 per batch). Any suggestions?