Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

In Texas, I don't find rhubarb very often, and when I do, it is a small bunch and expensive.  The weekend I came home for July, I found a huge bundle of rhubarb for $1.  Now I have to do stuff with it. I made strawberry rhubarb pancakes with honey buckwheat pancake mix and ginger rhubarb syrup that I bought at the store.  I put cooked rhubarb in the mix and sliced strawberries on top.  They were so good, and they might very well have used up all the rhubarb if I had bought it in Lubbock.  But I bought the rhubarb in Ohio and I used less than half of it. 

I thought about Strawberry Rhubarb vodka, but I was the only one in the house even remotely interested that.  I thought about Strawberry Rhubarb jam again, but I was feeling pretty lazy.  What do I do when I have to use something up and I am lazy?  Crisp!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

1-1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1-1 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb
2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)


3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 stick melted butter

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a small glass baking dish

2.) Slice strawberries and rhubarb and toss with the sugar in the baking dish

3.) Melt butter, add dry ingredients, and mix

4.) Sprinkle on top of the strawberry rhubarb mixture

5.) Bake until bubbly and the rhubarb is soft.  If the top is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with foil.

You can't see the bubbles here, but I had to walk my dog before I took the crisp out so I have no idea: a.) how long this actually baked, b.) what it looked like when it came out, c.) if we put foil over the top because it browned too fast.

My mother thought the crisp was still a little too tart with the two tablespoons of sugar, but I like it tart.  That is the beauty of rhubarb.  However, you can add more sugar than that, if you want.  My mother ate it with vanilla ice cream to cut the tartness...and I never object to ice cream. :-)

Cake Batter Yogurt

Sometimes, I try to be good and not eat ice cream and candy and all the horrible other things I should not be eating.    I tend not to deny myself anything forever, because it only makes me binge on it later.  However, when I have not denied myself anything for a while (meaning I have been overeating and eating unhealthily for a while), I use yogurt as a base to try to assuage my desires for bad things.

I wanted funfetti everything recently.  Still want funfetti everything.  So I made myself some yogurt with the  mix.

Cake Batter Yogurt

1 cup vanilla greek yogurt
2 tablespoons funfetti cake mix
whipped cream (optional)
extra sprinkles to taste

1.)  Mix cake mix into the greek yogurt.  This needs to be mixed well or it will be gritty.  It might not be a bad idea to use a small hand mixer. I was too lazy to do that, but I also don't care if it is a little gritty.

2.)  Fold in extra sprinkles.  I didn't, but it would be lovely :-)

3.) Top with whipped cream and extra sprinkles, if desired.

 Ta da!  Yumsters.

Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon

I was in Victoria, British Columbia for about a week this month.  I ate a lot of fish there and it was AMAZING.  One of the best dishes I had there was a maple glazed salmon burger at the Pink Bicycle.  I devoured that thing.  Seriously.  I think it took me two minutes to eat.  It was a little embarrassing.

Ever since I ate that burger, I have been craving maple glazed salmon.  I bought some Oregon salmon (close enough to BC salmon, I think) from a natural food store here in Lubbock.  However, I knew that "Maple Glazed Salmon" wasn't just maple thrown on top of a salmon steak.  I sought some expert opinion:  my mother's :-)

Here is what we came up with:

Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon

1 salmon filet (about 5 ounces)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
a dash soy sauce
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

I was feeling pretty lazy, so I just threw this on a pan in the oven and baked it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit with a sweet potato for a side.  It would be GREAT grilled either outside or in a grill pan/on a George Foreman.

1.)  Season the filet to taste.  I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  My pepper was Hot Shot, a blend of red and black pepper, so it had an extra layer of flavor.

2.)  Put the seasoned filet in the oven for about 10 minutes (mine was frozen so it took longer).
3.)  Mix together the maple syrup, dijon mustard (I used Jack Daniels mustard because it is awesome), extra virgin olive oil, and soy sauce.

4.) Pour mixture over the salmon filet.

5.) Continue baking until flakey.  My glaze burnt a little around the edges, but I recommend thawing your salmon more patiently if you buy frozen.

I ate it with a salad and a sweet potato.  So good.  It wasn't quite as good as the Pink Bicycle burger, but that may have something to do with the company.

Enchilada Lasagna

Oops.  I have had a bit of a crazy month.  I had a deadline June 1, then I went to Canada for work.  I am back, but I have had trouble recovering;  I am super tired.

I missed some posts, but I do have recipes to share.  This first one I made for a pot luck at work.  It is meatless, too.  I got the idea from a frozen meal I has that made all my coworkers jealous (Chili's Black Bean Lasagna).

Enchilada Lasagna

6 lasagna noodles (no boil)
1 can refried beans
1 can enchilada sauce
1 cup Mexican cheese blend, divided
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 small zucchini
1/2 cup frozen fire roasted corn blend
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons salsa
chopped green onions
chopped olives
Seasoning to taste

1.)  Soak lasagna noodles in warm water.
2.) Spray square baking dish and preheat oven to 425 degrees
3.) Saute onions

4.)  Add zucchini  and saute

5.)  Add frozen corn blend and cook until warm

6.) Season to taste.  You can use reduced sodium taco seasoning, but I used chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle powder, and a red and black pepper blend (hot shot).  I wanted to control the sodium with all the canned products.

7.)  Add drained tomatoes.  Turn to low and let simmer.

8.) While the vegetables simmer, add salsa and cheese to the refried beans and warm in the microwave.  You can add some sour cream here too.

9.)  Remove the lasagna noodles from the water and layer them between paper towels to dry.
10.) It is finally time to assemble.  You will start with enchilada sauce (just enough to keep the noodles frim sticking to the bottom).  Top with two noodles.  Add refried beans and part of the vegetable mixture then drizzle with enchilada sauce.  Put another layer of noodles.  Then, add refried beans, vegetables, and enchilada sauce.  Add the final layer of noodles, pour the last of the enchilada sauce and the remaining cheese on top.

11.)  Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes or until bubbly.
12.)  Remove foil, top with green onions and olives.

13.)  Bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown around the edges.

Serve with jalapeno slices, tortilla chips, and sour cream.

Apricot Bran Muffins

Oops.  I skipped a week. In my defense, last week was exceptionally crazy.  I had a deadline June 1, so I pretty much spent the last week working on that.  I was frantic.  However, it is finished (until they give me revisions, which they almost certainly will).  My point is:  I apologize.  I didn't even think about my blog.

However, I do have a lovely, easy recipe for Apricot Bran Muffins that came up because I bought a bag of fresh apricots on sale and they were not very flavorful.  I ate three or four of them and then left them sitting on my counter.

Apricot Bran Muffins

1 package Martha White Honey Bran muffin mix
4 ripe apricots, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
~2/3 cup almond milk

Crisp Topping

1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons oatmeal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

This is really an easy recipe.  I mixed the cinnamon and muffin mix together, then added the chopped apricots and the wet ingredients on top of that.  I mixed it lightly (overmixing makes for tough muffins).

Next, mix the crisp ingredients together.  Divide it evenly among the six (or seven) muffins.

Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin is clean.

I ate these all myself.  I won't even pretend.  They were breakfast and a snack for several days in a row.

Red Velvet Cake

A very good friend got a real job and is leaving the state.  When she invited a group of us over for a last hurrah, I offered to make dessert.  I wasn't sure what I was going to make, but then I saw this recipe for Red Velvet Cake while investigating the difference between white and red velvet cake.

 

 I mentioned the possibility of making it and the response was EXTREMELY positive.  It seemed fitting, since it is a Texas recipe and this is about leaving Texas.

However, I did not want to the exact Adams recipe, because it involved buying several ingredients that I generally do not use.  I am not particularly confident about playing with this type of recipe because baking is more of a science than an art and it can go very, very wrong.  Very wrong.  Luckily, someone else modified the recipe for me at the New York Times.  The Ermine Icing was very intriguing to me. 

Red Velvet Cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons cocoa, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon vinegar and milk to 1 cup)
1 tablespoon vinegar

Ermine Icing

5 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon white vinegar

1.)  Soften butter.

2.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.

3.) Butter and cocoa two or three 9-inch cake pans.  Be sure to get the edges/corners.  Use one of the three tablespoons cocoa.  You can technically butter and flour the pan, or spray it with baking spray, but the outside will have white splotches which is not pretty (but will be covered by icing anyway).

4.) Cream butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, mixing after each addition.  Add vanilla.

5.) In a small bowl, mix the last two tablespoons of cocoa with the red food coloring. Add to the butter mixture.

6.) Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. 

7.)  Alternate additions of the buttermilk and the dry ingredients.  I used about a third of the flour at a time and half the buttermilk.

8.)  Divide the batter evenly between the pans. 

9.)  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes (if you used two pans like me, instead of three, it could take more than 25 minutes). 

10.)  While the cakes are baking, make the cooked flour part of the Ermine Icing.
           a.) Whisk the flour into the milk in a saucepan.  Cook on medium heat (keep it simmering),     
                 until it is a pudding-like consistency.

          b.) Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and salt. 
           c.) Put the mixture in another bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the whole surface is
                 covered.

          d.)  Cool completely.

11.) Cool the cakes in their pans.  COMPLETELY.  I was impatient about this and regretted it after I frosted the cake.

12.)  Continue the icing after the flour mixture has cooled completely. 
            a.)  Cream the butter and sugar.

            b.)  Add the flour mixture in small batches.

            c.) Keep beating the mixture until it is light and fluffy, like whipped cream.

13.) Assemble and frost the cake.  Not when it is hot, like I did, or the frosting will melt in the middle and the cake will shift in transit.  I was very unhappy (but it still tasted wonderful).

I can't quite describe the icing, but it was so good.  It tasted almost like whipped cream.  Lovely.

There were after pictures, but I don't know what happened to them.  If they were here, you could see the destruction that happened as I drove the cake to my friend's house.  It was super disappointing.  However, the cake was NOT super disappointing.  I ate it for breakfast two days later.