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Makes 2 pints. I used one wide-mouth and one regular.
Chop clean, fresh rhubarb (approximately 4-5 stalks) into chunks about 1″ long. Try to use stalks about the same diameter as your finger. In some places that’s big rhubarb, in others (like here in Alaska) that’s quite small. Pack the rhubarb loosely into the jars.
Divide these spices evenly between the two jars: 2 tsp. peppercorns, 1/2 tsp. whole cloves, 1 tbsp. sliced fresh ginger, 2 bay leaves, 2 dry red chiles.
In a small saucepan mix together 1 cup cider vinegar, 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Make sure the sugar and salt has dissolved. Remove from heat and pour, hot, into the jars. Run a knife or something like that around the inside of the jar to release air bubbles and then make sure the jars are filled to within 1/2″ of the top. I did have a little bit of leftover liquid that I threw away.
Cover the jars with lids, let cool, and then place in the refrigerator. They’re okay to eat in two days and should be eaten within two weeks. All good! It’s a very nice pickle eaten with salty foods.
One thing I really noticed was how the liquid turned pink after a couple days, even using fairly green rhubarb as seen above.
I based this upon a recipe found at lifelovefood.
I always enjoy finding interesting recipes using rhubarb. I found this one on an aggregate site called “astray recipes”. It was originally posted to EAT-L Digest by Marie Whitman in 1997. I had never tasted or made anything quite like this before. Broccoli Kugel was the extent of my kugel-making attempts prior to this. And I do love Broccoli Kugel. I’m going to estimate that this recipe makes 16 servings. I’d call it a dessert, but it would make a nice breakfast, too.
Chop rhubarb and dried cherries. Place rhubarb, dried cherries, raisins, and 1/2 cup sugar into a large saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the rhubarb is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Nearly boiling.
This is what Matzos are. I had to hunt for them in my grocery store, but they were there. The recipe calls for 5 Matzos and this box has two packages of 5 Matzos each. Someone was thinking!
Crumble Matzos and cover with warm water. Soak until soft.
Squeeze as much excess liquid as you can. I did not have much excess.
Beat eggs, yes 9 of them!!! Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Continue beating until well blended.
The recipe calls for 6 Granny Smith apples. I thought it would be way too much. It wasn’t. It was just the right amount. Stir together all the ingredients and pour or scoop into a 4-quart prepared pan.
Pour melted butter over the top and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar topping. I used a 10×15″ baking pan. The size is perfect and the bake-time was just right. I’m going to assume that if you use a deeper, rounded, dish your baking time will be longer. Please excuse the look of my pan. I use it to roast spaghetti squash and it’s going to be stained forever.
Bake until firm. Mine took about an hour. The two of us ate this for days. I kept it refrigerated, but not covered. It was firm enough to eat by hand, but a plate and fork works, too. There is not much rhubarb flavor, but the dried cherries jump out of each mouthful. I really liked this. It would make a great potluck dessert.
Recipe:
1 lb. rhubarb, sliced
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1 cup sugar, divided
5 Matzos
Warm water
9 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cardamom
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
6 Granny Smith apples, shredded
1-1/2 Tbsp. orange zest
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 4-quart baking dish by buttering, greasing, or spraying with non-stick spray.
Place rhubarb, dried cherries, raisins, and 1/2 cup sugar into large saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until the rhubarb is soft and most of the liquid from the fruit has evaporated.
Crumble Matzos into a bowl and cover with warm water. Soak until soft. Squeeze dry.
Beat eggs. Add 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and spices. Continue beating until well blended.
Stir Matzos, almonds, apples, orange zest, and rhubarb mixture into the egg mixture.
Pour mixture into prepared dish. Pour melted butter over the top. Stir together 1 tsp. cinnamon with 1/3 cup sugar and sprinkle it over the top.
Bake until firm, about an hour.
Credit goes to Annalise at Completely Delicious for the basic recipe and the idea for this piece of heaven. I am mostly posting this in order for me to remember how I did it.
My husband is a home wine maker. He usually buys kits that include a hermetically sealed bag of juice that he dilutes by adding water. His latest kit was called Strawberry White Merlot. It’s a low-alcohol-content “wine cooler.” What’s different about this particular wine is that he reconstituted his bag of juice with birch water that he tapped from our birch trees. Then oh, la, the wine was ready at the same time the rhubarb was ripe. A match made in heaven.
Rhubarb Filling Recipe:
You’ll have to wing this part, it’s what I did. I made my filling the night before I baked and finished the cupcakes. I wanted to give the filling a chance to really thicken. In a large saucepan, add 3 or 4 cups chopped rhubarb, 1 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. water. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer until it’s thick. How thick? Filling thick. It was sort of like jam. Let cool and then chill, if possible. I was disappointed the next day to see liquid around the edges of my filling, like it had seeped. But in the end it was really fine. No problem at all.
The cupcake recipe:
Prepare for 15 cupcakes. I used paper liners, but you could spray or grease 15 regular “muffin cups”. However you usually do it. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup blush-colored wine
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Cream together the butter and the sugar in a mixer until it’s light and fluffy. In a separate bowl beat eggs and egg yolk, mix in the wine and almond extract. In another bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Into the butter mixture stir in about 1/3 of the flour mixture, then stir in 1/3 of the egg mixture, repeating by thirds until it’s all stirred in the mixer together. Beat briefly until it’s incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake liners or greased cups. Each cup will be about 2/3 full. I found this recipe to be true to quantity. Nice!
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Test by pressing lightly in the center of one of the cupcakes. If it bounces right back, it’s done. Mine took 18 minutes exactly. Like I said, this was a really true recipe.
Remove from the oven. I always let mine cool in the tins. That’s probably wrong, but I never have any raw centers. Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature.
Caveat: I can’t take pictures for anything.
Remove the centers from the cooled cupcakes. I have this REALLY handy device that cores the cupcakes. I kid you not. It’s a cupcake corer. Makes the task really simple. Before I got it, I used a piping tip (upside down) to cut out the center and then scooped out the rest with a small spoon. It’s not hard. The challenge is keeping people from popping those centers into their mouths. But why should you care, you’ll only throw them away once they dry out, right? So, go for it. Eat away. I envision someday making a trifle out of cupcake centers, custard, and fruit. Okay, now I’m thinking this through, it would be great with rhubarb!
Why rhubarb? What you see laid out on the lawn is a very small percentage of what’s growing at my house. That’s why!
So, once you’ve got the cupcakes made and cored, the filling ready to go, fill them. I used a teaspoon to scoop filling out of the bowl and then dribble it into the holes in the cupcakes.
Frosting recipe:
1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ to 1/3 cup rhubarb filling
1-2 Tbsp rhubarb syrup (optional)
Pink food coloring (optional)
Once again, you’ll have to wing it. I put the butter into my mixer and softened it, adding 4 cups powdered sugar and then adding rhubarb filling a tablespoon at a time. I had earlier made a rhubarb syrup and I slowly added a couple tablespoons of it. [I had meant to make a simple syrup, but lost track of time and ended up with a very thick rhubarb reduction, not jelly but definitely not simple syrup. It is more like a rhubarb sauce without pulp. That’s it.] I also added a few drops of pink gel food coloring. Once you have frosting at the appropriate consistency for spreading, frost your cupcakes. I piped mine because I knew trying to use a knife over that loose rhubarb filling in the centers would be a mess, no thanks. So, as much as I hate piping because I’m so bad at it, I piped.
I took half a batch to my daughter’s workplace and they loved them! They are really good.
**Note: the next day, because I had leftover filling and frosting, I made another batch of cupcakes, but this time I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend instead of all-purpose flour. I have a relative with a wheat allergy. They browned across the top, but it did not affect the flavor or the moisture. The cupcake corer didn’t get enough friction to remove the cores easily, so the cake’s crumb is much lighter than regular wheat flour, I guess. Everything else about it was good and they were enjoyed! See picture below . . .
As you can probably see, I didn’t have enough filling, or frosting, to do a second batch properly, but they were delicious none the less.
Recipe:
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup raisins
1 cup water
2 pkg active dry yeast (4-1/2 Tbsp.)
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
½ cup butter, melted
8 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp. milk
¾ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. melted butter
Warm the 1-1/2 cups milk until it just starts to bubble (either microwave or stovetop). Stir in the raisins. Let this start cooling while preparing other parts.
Warm the water and stir in the yeast and the ½ cup sugar. Let sit while the yeast activates and it froths. I do this in my KitchenAid mixture. Mix in the eggs, salt, and butter. Stir in the warm, not hot, milk with raisins. Add about 4 cups of flour and run the machine to build the gluten for about 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining flour until it’s smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a very large greased bowl and turn it over so that the top of the dough is greased and the plastic wrap won’t stick to it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface about 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 Tbsp. milk. Mix together ¾ cup sugar and 2 Tbsp. cinnamon. Sprinkle across top of moistened dough. Roll up lengthwise tightly; so it’s about 3 inches in diameter.* Cut the roll into thirds. Tuck under the ends. Place rolls into greased 9×5 inch loaf pans with the seam at the bottom. Spray the tops of the loaves lightly with oil (or don’t). Let rise again for an hour.
Bake at 350 degrees (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans and brush with melted butter. Let cool before slicing.
*Note: As you can see from the pictures, my loaves split. They still had that beautiful swirl for each slice and tasted great, but I believe a looser roll might have alleviated the splitting problem. Next time! And next time I’ll try to remember to snap a picture of a slice.
Warm the 1-1/2 cups milk until it just starts to bubble (either microwave or stovetop). Stir in the raisins. Let this start cooling while preparing other parts. Warm the water and stir in the yeast and the ½ cup sugar. Let sit while the yeast activates and it froths. I do this in my KitchenAid mixture. Mix in the eggs, salt, and butter. Stir in the warm, not hot, milk with raisins. Add about 4 cups of flour and run the machine to build the gluten for about 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining flour until it’s smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a very large greased bowl and turn it over so that the top of the dough is greased and the plastic wrap won’t stick to it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface about 1/2 inch thick.
Moisten dough with 2 Tbsp. milk. Mix together ¾ cup sugar and 2 Tbsp. cinnamon. Sprinkle across top of moistened dough.
. Roll up lengthwise tightly; so it’s about 3 inches in diameter.* Cut the roll into thirds. Tuck under the ends. Place rolls into greased 9×5 inch loaf pans with the seam at the bottom. Spray the tops of the loaves lightly with oil (or don’t). Let rise again for an hour.
Bake at 350 degrees (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans and brush with melted butter. Let cool before slicing.
*Note: As you can see from the pictures, my loaves split. They still had that beautiful swirl for each slice and tasted great, but I believe a looser roll might have alleviated the splitting problem. Next time!
Foods Passion 