Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Rhubarb and Rain for Breakfast

spring windows II, 2012

Hello.

Today's post is light and easy.  I'm taking a break from deep thought this morning.

Shari has pleasantly distracted me with her spring windows series.  I've joined in.  You should too.

Rhubarb is back in my life and I'm so happy.  Ah, the simple things.

Here's my latest experiment.
Rhubarb with Apple, Raspberry, and Allspice
4 humble servings

3 long thin ribs rhubarb roughly chopped into 1 1/2" pieces
1 peeled, seeded, and cored apple (I used a Gala) roughly chopped into 1" pieces
½ cup frozen raspberries
juice and zest of 1 small lemon
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup vanilla sugar*
½ teaspoon ground allspice
*I made my vanilla sugar by simply placing a ¼ vanilla bean in a tin with a ½ cup sugar. for a few days
Pre-heat oven to 325°
Pour measured sugars and allspice into a small bowl and stir to mix.
Place rhubarb, apple, raspberries, zest and juice of lemon, and sugar allspice mixture in a medium casserole dish or oven-safe pot with lid.

Gently toss ingredients.

Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Stir. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Stir.

Let sit with, covered, for at least 10-15 minutes.  Fruit will continue to soften during this time.  Or cool uncovered for more firm fruit.

And...that is it. You are done. Bravo!

Serving options:  Warm with vanilla ice cream on top.  You could also top bowls of Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese with chilled rhubarb.  I'm sure it would be delicious atop a simple cake such as pound cake with unsweetened or lightly sweetened whipped cream.  Yesterday I ladled some warm rhubarb into a bowl and ate it plain.  It was great.  This morning I am enjoying my rhubarb cool and spooned over Greek yogurt.  It tastes equally great.
Enjoy.

38 comments:

  1. Simple and lovely. I'm sure I shall forget to stir after 15 minutes, but it looks like a forgiving recipe.

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    1. I just do the 15 minute mark stir to get the dry fruit at the top mixed in with the juices forming at the bottom, but perhaps it is not necessary. I have found rhubarb to be very forgiving.

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  2. I love it when you give us recipes, as well as food for thought! That settles it, I'm buying rhubarb tomorrow - the apples and berries are already in my kitchen. Coming back home just now, I threw open the windows and this spring day is truly heavenly - must take a photo.

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    1. What a full-of-life note. Happy to see you seeming so happy.

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  3. This is a recipe for Daniel, he's the compote king in this house. Can't wait to here more about your plans with rhubarb - I hardly have a "relationship" and would like to learn more.

    Hope you're feeling better. X

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    1. Rhubarb is so forgiving, you can experiment with it and almost always win, but if you live with the compote king, well, I'd just let him experiment. You can taste.

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  4. Sounds like a perfect pairing. We went looking for rhubarb this mornIng at union sq market but came home empty handed (still a successful outing and tantrum free, so no disappointment here!) anyway, we had rhubarb on our minds too!

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    1. Tantrum free trumps rhubarb. The rhubarb will arrive, eventually. Happy to know you are having rhubarb thoughts over there, on the other side. Waiting often makes things better.

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  5. we all need some "light and easy" every now and then! I do a rhubarb fool: basically I fold some quickly cooked rhubarb in OJ with sweetened whipped cream, creating swirls.

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  6. Oh this sounds so perfect for breakfast. Tart Rhubarb baked with apples, sugar & spices. Great new use for Rhubarb, one of my favorites.

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    1. Each spring I play around with this basic sort of rhubarb compote, switching up spices and accompanying fruits. It is one of my favorite aspects of spring.

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  7. I just had my first rhubarb of the season recently, too. A simple rhubarb crisp, with granola for the topping. It's such a tasty hallmark of the season, isn't it? I bet your rhubarb and fruit mixture would be good in oatmeal, too (steel cut, of course).

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  8. rhubarb and raspberries! together! the sheer thought drove me to root in the freezer for any forgotten frozen berries to accompany the rhurbarb waiting in the fridge. sadly no, but I'm making a special trip to buy, to try this. thank you.

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    1. This was my first try with raspberries and I really liked it. Someone mentioned trying rhubarb with blueberries recently. I'll have to try this next.

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  9. Rhubarb! How I love the taste of it. Its colour too.

    Here's to keeping it light some of the time. Here's to keeping a balance.

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  10. I've been eyeing the rhubarb in the market lately. This is the push I needed.

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    1. We all have our favorite things, rhubarb is one of mine. I hope you enjoy yours.

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  11. I like how you paint the picture of domestic pleasures. I am so ready to leave work for the comfort of home now.

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  12. Ah like Alexandria I've too been eyeing the rhubarb at the market of late. I am just off there now, and will be sure to to pick some up. I have a fairly strong feeling that I will be making this and serving it with lashings of vanilla ice cream later today.
    I hope you're feeling OK and still doing well. Annie x

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  13. Something simple but delicious nonetheless.

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  14. Wow, sounds devine! I think my first rhubarb from the garden will be this week-end, rhubarb apple crisp will likely be on the menu :)

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  15. Oh this is a very fine experiment. I like the sounds of it very much -- I have some frozen from last weekend's baking and think this would be pretty wonderful on oatmeal. Hooray for rhubarb season!

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    1. I agree. Oatmeal is fine idea. It works on pancakes too.

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  16. I cannot believe I haven't had rhubarb yet this year. I haven't seen it at my grocery store - I've got to get to a farmer's market!

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    1. I hope you find some soon. Perhaps I'll see it in an upcoming post.

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  17. Denise this sounds delicious. I've been searching for rhubarb recipes as I watch the leaves spreading and thickening like a miniature jungle. I've found one that has hooked me, a pot-roasted brisket with rhubarb and honey. Have you tried rhubarb in savory dishes?

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    1. Yum. I haven't tried it in a savory dish yet, but have thought about it. I'd love to try this recipe you've noted.

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  18. I'm a bit late on the response time, but the cookbook is "All About Braising" by Molly Stevens. I've got two out of three recipes earmarked to try before I return it to the library -- the brisket (unknown), a pork shoulder peppered with chili and allspice and orange (good), and endive slow-cooked with pancetta (awesome) -- and I'm leaning toward putting this hefty bible on my wish list!

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    1. I did borrow All About Braising from the library a while back and totally missed the brisket w/ rhubarb. I wouldn't say I have a grand talent for cooking meat, but I am tempted by the brisket rhubarb combination. Your pork shoulder looks pretty good too. The endive I'd definitely do. I need to look at this book again.

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