It's a Rhubarb Kinda Day - Recipes Ahead!

This has been the week of cooking and baking - it's been great fun! I love to cook and bake when I have the time, and since I finished school last week and I can't go to work this week because they shut the University down due to the G20, I've had lots of time! I really wish I had more time for baking during the school year (I think it would be a great stress reliever) but then I wouldn't have time to sew and that would not be fun at all!

On Monday, I made a peach raspberry pie following the recipe found here, although I substituted in my own pie crust recipe and did a sugar sprinkle on the top crust instead of the egg and milk wash.

Please ignore the dreadful pic, it was taken with my Blackberry after the pie had already been hacked into - notice the saran wrap from having been in the fridge. It turned out really super yummy and is now all gone!

Yesterday I made rhubarb syrup and vegetable lasagna - there are no pictures of the vegetable lasagna and really you don't need me to pull the leftovers out of the fridge; I think one picture of a half-eaten pie should suffice! The rhubarb syrup is excellent and is basically just a simple syrup with rhubarb thrown in during the cooking stage.

So far we have mixed the rhubarb syrup with soda water for a nice fizzy, refreshing drink (please ignore the Toronto Maple Leafs glass, and yes those are my glasses, not Alex's! I should get some pretty glasses for pictures like this!), but we have plans to spoon some over ice cream and we did end up mixing it with a little vodka later on in the night (after already consuming some chardonnay with our lasagna). Would you like the recipe? Yes? Okay!

Rhubarb Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup rhubarb (washed and dried) cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/4 cups water

1 cup sugar

Directions:

-Put all ingredients into a saucepan and stir. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.

-Once mixture has boiled, turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the rhubarb is soft and the red colour has bled in.

-Strain liquid out using either a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Discard leftover rhubarb mash (unless you want to make my next recipe), and allow liquid to cool.

-Pour liquid into resealable airtight container. Will keep in the fridge for one to two weeks.

In the picture you see above I have actually doubled the recipe (i.e. 2 cups rhubarb, 2 1/2 cups water, 2 cups sugar) and ended up with syrup enough to fill the mason jar with a bit left over to make my first drink.

Today I made Blueberry (and a little bit of) Rhubarb Muffins - this is where the left over rhubarb mash comes in! The extra rhubarb mash can be used here, but I have been told it is also good eaten on its own or over ice cream (which I will try since I still have some left).

No word of a lie, these are probably the best muffins I have ever made! Alex is very happy since blueberry muffins are his favourite and he liked the rhubarb too - win win!

Blueberry (and a little bit of) Rhubarb Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt 

3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 cup salted butter (if using unsalted, up the salt in the earlier mention), melted

1/4 cup rhubarb mash

1/4 cup milk

2 large eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 pint (about 2 cups) fresh blueberries

Directions:

-Heat oven to 400F (making sure rack is in the middle) and line 12 muffin wells. 

-In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt being sure to break up any lumps.

-In a medium bowl mix together sugar, melted butter, rhubarb mash, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.

-Throw blueberries into flour mixture and toss to coat. Add wet mixture to the flour-blueberry mixture and stir until just mixed (there may still be some lumps, but do not overmix).

-Fill each muffin well completely (it will seem like a lot, but trust me it works) and sprinkle tops with extra sugar.

-Bake for about 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool and enjoy!

Mmmm, yummy! Okay, I've got to get back to sewing now so let me know if you make any of these recipes and enjoy!