Strawberry Rhubarb Dessert Bars

We noticed this year that we had rhubarb growing in our front yard. It seems that our dogs used to run through that part of the garden so that the plant never really grew.   But sadly, our older dog died last year and we have a new puppy who can't really play in the front yard yet since she tends to run across the street to greet everyone. So, no dogs in the front yard means we now we have a rhubarb plant! The funny thing is, the first time we made this recipe, our puppy, who also doesn't know yet NOT to get up on the dining room table, licked the pan clean of about one-third of this dessert!

Strawberry Rhubarb Dessert Bars

1 ½ cup fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1-inch pieces

1 ½ cup fresh strawberries, sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

For crust:

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 ½ cup quick oats (no instant oats)

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed ¾ cup butter, softened

½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt

Drizzle:

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar 1-2 tablespoon milk or lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Grease the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan.
2. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon juice in a 2-quart saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8 to 12 minutes or until fruit is tender. 
3. Combine cornstarch and granulated sugar in a small bowl, and then mix into the fruit mixture. 
4. Keep cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil (approximately 1 minute). Continuer boiling until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. 
5. Combine all crust ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat on low speed, scraping bowl often, for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture is crunchy.
6. Set aside 1 ½ cup of crust mixture.
7. Press remaining crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread fruit filling over crust, and sprinkle evenly with reserved crumb mixture. 
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Cool completely. Then drizzle the mixed ingredients for the drizzle on to the bars. Cut into bars.

Honey and Salt Caramels II

Although we love the taste of the previous caramel recipe posted, this one tends to make a caramel that is not as soft and holds up better to the warm weather.  You have a number of great local beekeepers to choose from when buying your honey including Knight Family Honey, Clifford Family Farm, and Slide Ridge Honey.  I made a batch of these this week to take to Slow Food Utah's Honey Bee Festival where a few of the girl and boy scouts were helping with the event. They were a great hit with everyone and since I received a number of requests for the recipe, I decided to post it on the blog. The most difficult part of the process is individually wrapping each caramel in waxed paper.

As for the local honey producers, Clifford Family Farm also sells pork, beef, eggs and produce which we buy either at Caputo's or at the Downtown Farmer's Market. Check out the Ricotta and Pork Meatball recipe posted previously.  I also bought some Honey Vinegar from Slide Ridge Honey which I think Bianca will absolutely love! -----Bianca's Mom


Ingredients:

4 tablespoonfuls butter, cut into pieces
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream (use Winder or Meadow Gold)
1/2 teaspoonful Redmond Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoonful real vanilla extract.

1. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper, letting the edges hang over the side of the pan. Spray with cooking spray or generously coat with butter.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Add the honey, sugar, and heavy cream. Stir over medium heat until all the sugar has melted.
4. Clip your candy thermometer to the side of the pan making sure the tip of the thermometer is in the mixture but not touching the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until temperature reaches 248 degrees F.  Remove immediately from heat.
5. Quickly stir in vanilla and salt carefully since mixture will bubble up. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle on additional salt if desired.
6. Let cool. Lift out of pan and then cut into squares and individually wrap in parchment paper or waxed paper.

Squash Blossom Fritters

This is one of my Nonni's recipes from way back. My Mom says she remembers her Nonni Bianchi (this is where I got the name Bianca) making these out of the zucchini blossoms from her garden. It was one of my Mom's favorites growing up. She says that when she didn't have a garden, she would never get to have these since no one sold the blossoms.  That has changed and you can now buy these blossoms at the Downtown Farmers Market. My Mom says that her Nonni used to pick the male flowers or the ones that wouldn't produce the fruit since she wouldn't let ANYTHING go to waste. You just need to leave the male blossom on long enough to fertilize the female blossom or else you won't get any zucchini! You can tell the difference since the female blossom will always have a small, growing squash at the end. Of course, if you don't want a TON of zucchini, go ahead and use the female blossom, too. I hear you need to get to the Market early if you want some of these blossoms, or at least that is what the farmer at Sadee's Pride Natural Produce told me so...get there at 8am.

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoonfuls baking powder

3 eggs

1 cup water

10-12 coarsely chopped squash flowers (rinsed, stem and pistil trimmed)

1/4 cup finely chopped italian flat leaf parsley (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

1. Whisk flour and baking powder together in large bowl.
2. In separate bowl, whisk eggs and water together. Add to flour mixture and stir to combine
3. Add squash blossoms, parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Prepare cookie sheet lined with double layers of paper towel.
5. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat. 
6. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls full of batter into hot oil-filling as many as you can without crowding. Cook 3 minutes or until the undersides are medium-golden brown. Turn and cook other side for 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
7. Continue frying. Add and heat additional oil as needed.
8. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Asparagus with Wasabi Mayonnaise

Asparagus with Wasabi Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise (see previous post)
1 tsp dijon mustard
4 tsp soy sauce
1 tbl fresh lemon juice
2 tsp wasabi paste
2 tsp horseradish
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 lbs. medium asparagus

1. Blanch asparagus in boiling salted water for 1 minute.  Transfer to colander and rinse with cold water to top cooking. Drain well.
2. Whisk together mayonnaise and remaining ingredients until smooth.
3. Serve asparagus with dip.

The Past Week and the Next Two

As some of you might have known, this past week I went to Cedar City for a soccer tournament. The tournament is called Utah Olympic Summer Games and has been occurring for the past 26 years. Soccer is one of the many sports that occur at the Summer Games; some of the other sports are archery, running, biking, basketball, and wrestling.  My team, Red Hots FC, participated in U16 girls soccer.  The Red Hots FC won four of the five games we played and received the gold medal for being tournament Champions.  I am so proud that we won and also proud of all the great sportsmanship that we displayed, something that our coaches Christian and Karl have instilled in us over the years.  It was a fun tournament and I enjoyed spending time with the team.
Since I was gone, my Mom and my best friend Annie went to the Downtown Farmers Market to hand out the recipes last Saturday but, due to a glitch, the printed recipes were not there.  Being a true girl scout herself, Annie just proceeded to go around and talk to some of the farmers for me and got some information that I needed so all was not lost. She also got another Henna tattoo so she was pretty happy. Today, Annie and I head up to Girl Scout camp at Trefoil Ranch for two weeks in the LEAP program so I won't be back to the Farmers Market until July 2nd. There is no television, computers, cellphones or i-pods at camp so we will be technology-free for two weeks and living in the wild.  I am excited even though I will not be showering very often! I have gone ahead and planned my recipes posts for the next 2 weeks and have saved them on our home computer. My mom will help me these two weeks by posting these recipes that I have chosen and tested and handing out recipes June 25th. She will also answer any questions or requests you have based on the information I left her with. I will be at the Farmers Market on July 2nd, maybe you will see me (or smell me due to lack of showering at camp) there!!

Basic Risotto (with Mushroom or Chard or...you name it!)

I am posting this basic risotto recipe since, as the growing season moves forward, risotto is a wonderful base to bring out the flavor of fresh herbs and vegetables.  It takes a bit of time to make and you need to stand at the stove for at least 30 minutes, but it is worth it. There seems to be a ton of risotto recipes out there but I thought I would give you the basic recipe and then you could play around with sauces and improvise with different vegetables and meats. Once you get down the technique to make a rich and creamy risotto, you will want to experiment each time you get a new fresh ingredient at the farmers market and don't know what to do with it. Sometimes, just a simple risotto with a new special cheese warms you on cold day.  And don't forget to use those leftovers. Since we are only a family of three, every time we cook, we have leftovers. Look for the later posts on how to use leftover risotto (think of your own homemade veggie burgers here).

Ingredients:

5-7 cups stock (homemade of coarse)
2 tbl olive oil
2 shallots, diced or 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Redmond sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper
2 tbl butter or olive oil (depending on type of risotto made)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese


1.  In saucepan, heat the stock to a simmer. Cover and keep hot over low heat.
2. In large 3-4 quart frying pan, place 1/4 cup oil, onions and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook the onions slowly over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes or until they are a golden color. Turn the heat down if the onions begin to brown. Add 1/2 cup of the stock, stir well and cook over low-medium heat for another 5-10 minutes. Cook all the stock away.
2. Add the rice and stir constantly with the onions over medium heat. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the rice grains are toasted but have not turned color. Add the wine all at once, stir and cook for additional 2-3 minutes. Continue to stir constantly until all the wine has evaporated.
3. Now starts the addition of the stock.  Add 1 cup of very hot stock to start, 1/2 tsp of salt and continue to stir continuously. The stock should initially barely cover the rice. Continue to stir frequently. The rice and liquid should be gently bubbling. Once all the stock has been absorbed, add an additional 1 cup of stock and continue to stir with about 3-6 minutes between addition of more stock.
4. After addition of at least 5 cups of stock, taste the degree of doneness of the rice kernels. They should be al-dente and the risotto creamy. This is the point at which you can add in your vegetables, meat, sauce, etc.
5. Add additional 2 tbl of olive oil or butter and 1/2 cup freshly grated cheese to finish.

Options:

-Mushrooms:  Using one to two pounds sliced fresh mushrooms (we used chanterelle and button). Heat 2tbl olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add these to the risotto in step number 4.  Mushroom risotto should be finished with 2 tbl butter to bring out the best flavor of the mushrooms.
-Garlic: okay, so I like garlic in everything but you can add 3 cloves of minced garlic to the onions in step #2.

Garlic Lemon-Pepper Chicken

Bianca is off at a soccer tournament in Cedar City over the next few days so she asked me, her mother, if I would post this recipe for her. Last fall, we started ordering free range chickens and turkeys from McDowell Family Farm.  I was in charge of the turkey last Thanksgiving and that was when I decided to do some research and buy a locally farmed free-range bird.  Check out their website to learn more but my family definitely thinks these birds are worth the extra cost.  Bianca researched some recipes and when she saw this one with 10 cloves of garlic, salt and lemon, we knew it was a winner!  And remember, don't waste anything. Use the carcass to make some chicken stock and then, use a little of that broth to make some homemade whole wheat dog biscuits (recipe to follow).

Ingredients:

1 chicken (3-5lbs)
2 lemons
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons of butter, softened
10 whole cloves of garlic, peeled

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Zest the lemons and mix it with 2 tsp. of salt and pepper then add to the softened butter. Mix with a fork until evenly mixed. Cut the lemons into quarters.
3. Wash chicken and pat dry. Salt the cavity with one tsp. of salt and place the lemon quarters and 5 of the garlic cloves in the cavity. Tie the legs together with twine.
4. Rub 1/2 of the butter mixture under the breast skin as evenly as possible. Place 5 garlic cloves under the skin. Rub remaining lemon butter mixture on the chicken.
5. Cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh registers 175F. Remove from oven, remove items in the cavity and tent with foil. Let rest for 5-20 minutes before carving.

Oh, and Bianca just called. Her team just won. Congratulations to the Red Hots and good luck on your game tomorrow.