Rhubarb Muffins

So after a week of indecision, I was finally coaxed into going back to Red Wing this weekend. In addition to a fun party, the weekend also yielded some rhubarb from my Mom's garden. Unsure about what to do with rhubarb for one, I turned to the internet. Solution: rhubarb muffins.

But this solution had a problem. I only had about 4 muffin/cupcake liners left. Being the resourceful person that I am, I fashioned parchment paper into the cups, using the muffin dough to weigh them down. This worked perfectly, and looked pretty cute, if you ask me.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup yogurt, plain or flavored
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups rhubarb, chopped

A few weeks ago, I accidentally bought "banilla" flavored yogurt, instead of my usual unflavored, plain yogurt. This gross accident was resolved tonight, when I used this yogurt to cook these muffins.

Combine yogurt, butter and brown sugar. Mix well with electric mixer (about 3 minutes). Add remaining dry ingredients and mix with a spoons. Stir in the rhubarb. Add this mix to the muffin tins, and bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Things to do with an Artichoke

Seriously, artichokes are like my #1 favorite vegetable. I know I've blogged at least one recipe that involves this delicious Mediterranean thistle, but one of my favorite things to do with an artichoke is pretty basic: boil with onion, celery and bay leaves; dip the leaves in butter. This will always remind me of my Mom, who has been great about encouraging my adventurous eating.

The hearts, of course, are the best part. You can't really screw them up, just as long as you remove the fuzzy part. With these two artichoke hearts, I made a creamy tomato sauce with lemon, and added it to some egg noodles.

Homemade "pop tarts"

I have never been a really big fan of the classic Pop-Tarts. To me, they taste like the unnatural-sounding ingredients that they contain. Of course, a jam-filled pastry is a great idea, but like so many things, it's more fun to make it yourself.

This idea comes from a really neat blog. I followed this pie crust recipe, and added my favorite fillings. That obviously meant blueberry jelly, but I also tried something a bit more exotic.


On a recent trip to Puerto Rico, I sampled some awesome pastries that contained guava paste and cream cheese. So when I saw guava paste at the store there, I jumped on it. These cream cheese and guava pastries are replicated here in my pop-tarts.

No matter the filling, these were delicious. You could try dulce de leche, or really anything else. Making the crust was hard; I used a wine bottle as a rolling pin. But you could have put one of these into a toaster, and they looked fabulous.

Methi Chicken Curry and Green Onion Slaw

My lovely friend Nea tasked me with cooking dinner for her and a couple friends this week for her birthday. I'll admit, I was excited. So excited, that I ate part of my food before remembering to photograph it.

These recipes are ones I'm pretty comfortable with, a proven one crowd pleaser and an accompanying salad. But in a later post, you'll see my very adventurous dessert

If I had one criticism of myself, it would be that both dishes were pretty spicy. But I've been snacking on the leftovers from this green onion slaw, and loving it. I'm also proud to say that I deviated from my usual chicken curry recipe. Here, I'll give you the chicken curry recipe, which was inspired by this one.

Chicken Curry Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
For the marinade
8 oz coconut milk
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
2 teaspoons red curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt

When actually cooking
1 cup frozen methi, or fenugreek, leaves. I needed help finding these at the Indian Grocery store.
1 tomato, pureed
7-8 green chillies, diced
1 medium-sized red onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup cashews, crushed
2 teaspoons cumin seeds

Marinate your chicken overnight, or for a few hours. I did it overnight.

Saute you onions until translucent. Add cumin seeds and chillies. Saute until soft but without burning the onions. Add the tomato and cashews. After a minute, add your marinated chicken WITH the marinade. This is very important, as there is a lot of flavor there. Add the methi leaves and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. You can be patient and use a regular pot too, just make sure your chicken is done before serving. Serve with rice, and maybe even this salad...

Vegtable Tahini Soup

I made this soup like three days ago but was terrified that I'd be unable to photograph it. You see, I came very close to destroying my cheap digital camera in The Great Purse Spill of Last Wednesday. Ladies, make sure your water bottle cap is screwed on tight if you put it in your purse.

Oh, and my inspiration for this recipe came from here.

Ingredients:
3 large tomatoes, quartered
2-3 handfuls baby carrots
1 large red onion
1/3 cup tahini
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. dried chili flakes
2-3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
The juice of one lemon
Water, if needed
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Saute your onions in olive oil. Add tomatoes and carrots. Add bay leaves, cumin seeds, chili flakes and turmeric. Pressure cook for one whistle or simmer until all is soft. Add garlic and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and water. Put this mix in a blender with the tahini and mix well.

Healthy and delicious.

Sweet Peeps Casserole

Instead of doing nothing for Easter, as usual, I decided to get a little festive for about an hour today. Honestly, weird conglomerations of sugary substances are not one of my favorite things, but sometimes seasonal candy really hits the spot.

Despite my thoughts on most candy, Peeps will always have a special place in my heart. This may be because they're so cute (little bunnies and birds), or it may be because they are one of the candies my mother would never let me buy (I think she just doesn't like them). Either way, I wanted to do some cooking with Peeps this year. Peepshi (peep sushi) sounded like too much work, and most of my Google search results appeared to be jokes. I was discouraged until it occurred to me to do a variation on a "classic" that I would otherwise never make. A similar recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
3-4 large sweet potatoes or yams
12-14 Marshmallow Peeps, birds of any color
2 tablespoons syrup (any sweetener will do)
1/2 stick of butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
A pinch of salt
A pinch of cinnamon

Peel your potatoes and boil until soft. Drain and mash with the butter. Add syrup, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon. Stir very well and add this mix to a baking dish.

Decorate with Peeps on top. Eat remaining peeps, savoring the fact that there are very few excuses as good as this one to eat sugary marshmallows. Consider taking photos of the Peeps doing cute things. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Serve when cool.