Rhubarb Cake

Spring has sprung and one of our first bounties from the garden will be rhubarb! Not everyone is a fan of rhubarb, that's probably why we usually include strawberries and/or lots of sugar when we use it in recipes. When we find the right balance of tart and sweet though, rhubarb is delicious! Don't forget, the leaves are toxic, so discard those away from the little ones and the pets.
This is a cake recipe from one of my old church cookbooks. When we lived in the north, rhubarb was always being passed around in the spring. Everyone was trying to give away their abundant supply of it. We got our fill of strawberry rhubarb jam, rhubarb pie and such. When I first made this cake, my daughter deemed it as her "favorite in the whole world!". She still requests it for her birthday cake every year in March. We live in Florida now and don't have access to fresh rhubarb like we used to. I haven't tried the frozen, but I'm sure it would work just as well.
I will warn you though, as I learned the hard way, rhubarb is acidic. I only mention this because I once made this cake in a 9x13 inch aluminum pan and stored it in the refrigerator. I guess after we had our fill, it got pushed to the back and forgotten. I'll be honest, I don't know how long it was back there, but when I found it and scooped the leftovers into the trash, I couldn't believe my eyes! Everywhere a piece of rhubarb came in contact with the pan there was a hole in the pan! The rhubarb had eaten right through it! So, if you're going to keep this around a while, I would suggest you use a glass pan.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 to 1" cubes

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan (preferably glass).

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, milk and vanilla, beating until well blended.
Combine the dry ingredients and beat into the wet ingredients. Fold in the rhubarb. Pour into the prepared pan. Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the batter.

Bake for 1 hour.

Bread Pudding

1/4 cup raisins (or more if you like)
orange juice or water (enough to cover raisins for soaking)
4 cups cubed bread (Challah is best)
3 eggs
2 cups half and half (or milk)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

In a small bowl, soak raisins in enough orange juice or water to cover until plumped (a couple hours).

Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole or 9x9 inch glass baking dsh with cooking spray. Layer the bread pieces and the raisin in the casserole.
In a blender container or a bowl, combine the egss, half and half, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk or blend well. Pour over the bread and raisins in the casserole. Press down the bread slightly to ensure all bread is soaked.

Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar with the 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside.

You can now either cover with foil and refrigerate to bake later in the day or the next day, or you can bake right away. To bake, sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes.

Beer Can Chicken

1 whole chicken
1 – 12 oz can of beer

Spice Rub:
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. kosher salt (or 2 t. table salt)
1 T. chili powder (optional)
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder

Mix spice rub ingredients.
Rub chicken all over inside and out and under the skin as far as you can go without ripping the skin. Put chicken in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to roast, preheat oven to 350.
Open the beer and drink half of it. Sit the beer can in a baking dish, an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 work well, that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Place the chicken over the beer can, pushing down so the legs reach the bottom of the pan, balancing the chicken upright. You can also use a special beer can chicken rack, which makes the chicken more stable. Carefully place on the bottom rack of the oven and roast for 1 ½ hours. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Be careful when removing the can from the chicken, the can and the liquids will be very hot. You might need a helper for this.

Note: If you don’t want to use beer, you can use another liquid. Apple juice, lemon lime soda or wine would work good, but the can is essential.

I’ve also added a little Liquid Smoke to the liquid. It gives it just a hint of smoky flavor.

To cook on the barbecue grill, prepare as above. Use the indirect heat method. It should take about the same amount of time as in the oven, depending on how hot your grill is.

Banana Crumb Muffins

I'm always looking for ways to use bananas. Once they start getting too ripe, I throw them in the freezer to wait for me until I have the time to make some banana bread. This time I decided to do something just a little different. These muffins are delicious! Light and moist, with a crunchy topping. I used frozen bananas for this, so if you have any in your freezer, thaw and use just like fresh bananas. I put them in a colander to drain the excess liquid, then peel and use right away.
These muffins would make a great addition to your Sunday brunch menu!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 T butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or use liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugars, egg, oil and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and continue beating just until moistened.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
Bake in for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Makes 12 muffins.

Snow Ice Cream!

This might be the last chance you get this season to make some Snow Ice Cream! Since the kids are out of school today, this would be a great activity for them to use up some of their spare time. I don't have the proper ingredients here in Florida for testing these recipes, so I'm leaving it up to all of you "snowbirds" to try them and let me know how they turn out.

Some of you might have seen this recipe before from Paula Deen on Food Network, but I thought it was worth mentioning again on a day like today.

8 cups snow, or shaved ice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.


This recipe I found over at Beliefnet.com from Valerie Reiss.
It sounds delish, Valerie!

2-3 cups clean snow (I skimmed off the top of my freshly snowed fire escape)
2 TBs half-and-half
1 TB maple syrup
1 TB cocoa powder
1 dash pure vanilla

Add ingredients to medium-small bowl, smoosh with a spoon, serve and enjoy! Serves one or two depending on appetite.

Enjoy your snow day, kids!