Rhubarb Muffin Marathon

Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Muffins

When I was a kid, my uncle had a small rhubarb patch in his backyard. Every spring, my cousins and I insisted on sampling the tart stalks. It was the greatest thing ever, something growing in the backyard we could pick on our own and eat it. Nevermind that none of us actually liked the rhubarb straight out of the yard, we still had to try it; each kid, every single year. I also remember my dad giving us a bowl of sugar to dip our rhubarb in. As a kid, this was AWESOME! Now, as a parent, NOPE!

I do not remember anyone in my childhood actually baking with rhubarb. I don’t even think I knew such a thing was possible until I was grown. My first cooking experience with rhubarb came 5 or 6 years ago when someone that my husband worked with sent some home with him. The whole bunch we were given went straight into some rhubarb crisp because that seemed to be the most popular suggestion I found on the internet.

Since then, my desire to try new things has grown and so has my rhubarb recipe collection. When I say that my collection has grown, I mean it has expanded from dessert to breakfast recipes. We already discussed the Rhubarb Smoothie so now we’re continuing the breakfast spread with muffins.

Banana Rhubarb Quinoa Muffins

Last week I made two types of rhubarb muffins – Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Muffins and Banana Rhubarb Quinoa Muffins. As far as preparation goes, we have two extremes here… The Strawberry Rhubarb ones were quick; only requiring basic muffin ingredients plus the fruit. The Banana Rhubarb, on the other hand… These took more ingredients and more time but it is 100% my fault. I was reading recipes online going “oooo I like that idea, but oh, I like that too… hmm, I bet quinoa would make these more filling... but I have those bananas that I need to use…”

Both muffin varieties turned out delicious. My daughter devoured both types while my son definitely preferred the Strawberry Rhubarb ones. It is hard to say if that was the because of the muffins or because I did the Strawberry ones as mini muffins while the Banana ones were regular size (sometimes, the size of the muffin does matter). A nice little surprise for me was how much I liked the wheat flour in both of these recipes. I am at the beginning of my wheat flour journey so I wasn’t sure going in. In these cases, I feel like the wheat was a perfect complement to the muffins, rather than a “substitution” for white flour.

So, dealer’s choice – nice and simple or sophisticated and complex – either way, both of these muffins are sure to please.

 Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Muffins

(adapted from http://simpleasthatblog.com/2016/04/whole-wheat-strawberry-muffins.html )

3/4 cup rhubarb, diced small

3/4 cup fresh strawberries, diced small

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a regular muffin tin or mini muffin tin (recipe should make roughly 18 regular muffins and 48 mini muffins).

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until fully incorporated. Mix in milk.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in rhubarb and strawberries.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350°F until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 20 min for regular muffins and 12 min for minis). Cool in pan for 5 – 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Banana Rhubarb Quinoa Muffin

(adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/quinoa-banana-bread-regular-or-sugar-free-114492 )

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed

2/3 cup cooked quinoa

2 cups wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 pinch salt

1 cup rhubarb, diced

Crumble Topping:

3/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease regular muffin tins (recipe makes about 20 muffins).

In a small bowl, mix together crumble topping ingredients; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in mashed bananas and quinoa.

In separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Fold in diced rhubarb.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with crumble topping.

Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 – 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Smooth as Rhubarb in Spring

Spring time! I adore spring! Especially by this point, things are green, there’s daffodils, tulips, lilacs and apple blossoms… So much life and new beginnings happening.

You know what else spring brings??? The start of CSA season! Although it is not quite time for full boxes of vegetables, the market at my CSA farm is open and it makes me happy. I’ve already indulged in spinach, spring salad mix, asparagus (oh my goodness!) and now rhubarb.

The only thing I have ever thought to use rhubarb in is Rhubarb Crisp, which is delicious, by the way. But with this fresh stuff so readily available, time to expand my horizons. I have also heard great tales of Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. And since I just started experimenting with homemade poptarts (basically a flat, hearty pie dough stuffed with jam), I anticipate some Strawberry Rhubarb Poptarts will be popping up soon.

In the meantime, I thought I would try out Rhubarb Smoothie. As it turns out, rhubarb is full of good stuff for your health like dietary fiber, protein and a list of vitamins and minerals. I always feel good about adding such things to breakfast and since rhubarb and berries seem to be such great friends… smoothie just seems to fit.

When I made this smoothie, I used plain Greek yogurt (because that’s what I had) but I wrote the recipe using vanilla Greek yogurt… The rhubarb brings enough tartness – the extra “tang” that comes from plain yogurt is just a little much. To overcome that extra “tang” this morning, I simply added more honey and it was great! But I also think the vanilla yogurt will add just the right about of sweetness to make this smoothie almost dessert-like.

This smoothie just sums up spring! It has great color, a touch of sweetness like the smell of apple blossoms, and just enough tartness to make your tongue feel alive. Not to mention how it takes advantage of the fresh spring spinach and rhubarb!

Mixed Berry & Rhubarb Smoothie

(serves 4)

1 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used regular)

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

2-3 handfuls fresh spinach

1 cup rhubarb, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries

3 Tbs chia seeds

1 Tbs honey

Add ingredients to blender in order listed above. Process until completely smooth. Enjoy!

Wrap Replica

Last weekend, our little family took a trip to the “waterpark capital of the world”. I think it is safe to say that we are creatures of habit. We stayed at the same resort, with the same great friends and even went to dinner at the same restaurant that we went to the last time we made the trip. And just like the last time, I found something at the restaurant that I wanted to recreate at home!

I’m starting to think that it might just be easier if they open one of these restaurants closer to where I live. I mean, there were four adults in our little group and I would happily order each of the meals we had for myself; Philly Cheesesteak on Monday, Buffalo Chicken Wrap on Tuesday, Grilled Chicken Bruschetta Salad on Wednesday, and Santa Fe Wrap on Thursday. And yes, I could still go on Friday and have a hard time choosing between the Rueben and El Cubano… It’s not fancy food but sure is delicious!

The meal I wanted to recreate at home was the Santa Fe Wrap. This is what I had ordered for myself and I was still thinking about on our drive home the next day. I’m not even sure which element to start with! This baby had grilled chicken, bean and corn salsa, lettuce, tomato, avocado, dressed with spicy ranch and wrapped in a perfectly warmed tomato-basil tortilla. It was awesome! The awesome-sauce was most definitely the spicy ranch. I searched for a copycat recipe on this stuff because I absolutely love it. No dice on that search but the quest is now on!

So, making this at home, it’s not the same… But it is still delicious, I have zero complaints. I started off with a simple marinade for the chicken. I love marinating before grilling, especially boneless, skinless chicken because it is so easy to dry them out on a grill. Next up, I mixed up a bean and corn salsa. One thing I love about this part is the leftovers! Tomorrow, I can chop a tomato and maybe half an avocado. Toss those in there and grab my tortilla chips; yummy! The last component (other than the “fixin’s”) is the spicy ranch. I went nice and simple by taking my favorite ranch dressing that lives in my fridge and added a finely chopped chipotle pepper with some adobo sauce. It makes some tasty ranch with a nice,

smoky heat to it but it’s not the spicy ranch that I had at the restaurant.

The other thing I missed was the tortilla from the restaurant. I bought tomato-basil tortillas and they have great flavor but they just didn’t hold up. How do restaurants do it? Wrap these babies up so tight without having a blow out? It must be some Jedi skill (I seem to have a little residual May the Fourth nerdiness going on… like maybe a light saber is the best way to slice a wrap too).

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, so other than the need for extra napkins, these wraps turned into a lovely spring meal on the deck. Paired with a cold beer and lime, life is good today!

 Southwest Chicken Wrap with Chipotle Ranch

Chicken:

1 lb chicken breast, fileted

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Salsa:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn

2 Tbs chopped red onion

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 Tbs chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Chipotle Ranch:

1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 cup prepared ranch dressing

Additional adobo sauce, to taste

The Wrap:

4 tomato basil wraps

Lettuce, chopped

Tomatoes, diced

Avocado, diced

Colby Jack cheese, shredded

Place all chicken ingredients in resealable bag. Marinade 4 – 6 hours.

Prepare salsa by combining all ingredients. Allow flavors to blend for at least an hour before serving.

To make chipotle ranch, finely mince (or smash) the peppers. Mix into ranch dressing and add adobo sauce until desired level of heat is reached. Set aside.

When it is time to eat, grill chicken breast over medium heat until internal temperature reaches 160°F. Allow to rest 5 – 10 minutes before slicing.

Assemble wraps and serve.

Sweet Beans a Bakin'

Hello All! Oh, I’ve missed you! I’ve been focusing all the time I can find on my brand-new recipe scrapbooking business – Family Table Scraps – but that is a story for another day.

Today I wanted to talk about sweet beans. I have heard of many recipes for baked goods that call for beans. The most popular is probably brownies but I have also tasted some really delicious salted caramel cookies that were made with navy beans! Honestly, I have never tried making any of these types of recipes until now. Not sure that I really have a good reason for that… I have just never messed much with traditional baked goods.

Here’s the thing though, when you use garbanzo beans and minimal amounts of sugar, it turns into something I find healthy enough for breakfast! I love things like muffins and fresh cinnamon raisin bread for breakfast. But when I started paying attention to how often I make things like that for breakfast and that they are kind of lacking from a nutrient standpoint… Well, it was time for a new and improved option. We are also working on eating less refined and processed sugars and grains at my house. This is where the quinoa found its way in. Not to mention all the dietary fiber and protein in quinoa; perfect for starting out the day!

Still at the top of my priority list is food that tastes good! After reading a handful of bean-based baking recipes, I have so many ideas… I will be busy! But I wanted to start out with something that would have a familiar flavor to my family. I picked carrot cake for this first round. Or maybe I picked that so I could have a little cream cheese frosting... hmm…

Either way, I’m happy to report success! I am totally satisfied with this more sustaining option for a sweet breakfast treat. There’s a touch of fruit, plenty of veggies and just enough sugar to make it feel like dessert. These bars even made a journey out of town with us over the weekend. They were a great make-ahead item – just make sure to store them in the fridge or cooler once you frost them!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars

1 large egg

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

2 medium bananas

3/4 cup quinoa flour (I ground ¾ cup regular raw quinoa in my Vitamix)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup raisins

For the Frosting:

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Splash of milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with tin foil; grease foil.

Drain the chickpeas and add to a food processor along with mashed bananas and egg. Process until completely smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, except carrots and raisins. Mix well. Fold in grated carrots and raisins.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the center rack for 24-26 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 10 - 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

While bars are baking, combine all frosting ingredients; mix well with whisk. Apply icing when completely cooled and then slice into 16 bars.

Store on the counter for a few hours if they seem too moist. Then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.superhealthykids.com/chocolate-chip-zucchini-protein-bars/