Rhubarb Crisp

The local farmer's market is open and the hubby likes to go and get his favorite "bakery" like buchta and nut roll. This past Saturday afternoon, he handed me five stalks of rhubarb and said, "here, I got these for you!" They were as tall as a small toddler and I knew since I had already made rhubarb bread and rhubarb buckle, I wanted to make rhubarb crisp. At first, I wondered if the rhubarb was under ripe because all the stalks were green.  A quick look at http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/ assured me that it was fine. Whew. Since my recipe needed four cups of rhubarb, I figured I would have too much. Well, after I got the outside tough part off and then trimmed the ends of each stalk, I had exactly enough!! I asked the hubby to "rate" my "bakery" last night after he had finished a piece still warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream melting on top. He gave me a perfect "10." Hey, where's my gold medal?!?!?!

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup white flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water
4 cups rhubarb, chopped

Topping:

1 cup white flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a 1 1/2 quart pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In medium bowl, put the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Mix well with large spoon and then add the water and combine. Gently mix in the rhubarb until well incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, put the flour, oats and brown sugar. Combine with a large spoon. Add the melted butter and mix thoroughly. Pour on the rhubarb mixture and spread evenly so the entire top is covered. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the rhubarb crisp is bubbly and the top is starting to brown. Remove from oven and when it cools for a bit (like a 1/2 hour or so) serve with a large spoon. Add vanilla ice cream or whipped topping, if desired. Serves 6-8.               

Blueberry and Sour Cream Scones

Last night, as our dinner of chuck roast, potatoes and carrots was bubbling away in the crockpot, I decided to "test" out a recipe. The hubby, Lauren and Dominic were all kind of hanging around the kitchen, so when these scones were done and I had put the glaze on, I asked if anyone wanted to try a small "sample" before dinner. Yes, I sometimes let the "kids" have something sweet before dinner :)   Lauren, Dominic and I split a scone three ways. Lauren gave it a "thumbs up," so I knew she liked it. When I turned my back for just a moment, Dominic had snitched the last crumb off the plate, so I knew he liked it. The hubby said, "isn't a scone a breakfast item?!?!?!"  My response back, "yes, but we like scones anytime of the day!" LOL. I tucked a scone into the lunch I was making this morning for my husband, so he could eat it when he got to work.  About six months ago, my hubby told me that scones were not one of his favorite "bakery" items. Hmm, I always thought he liked them! Anyways, I was curious how he liked the scone he ate for breakfast. He just sent me an e-mail a few minutes ago telling me, "actually, I like this scone a lot!" Awesome, maybe I've "converted" him to liking scones :)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

Powdered Sugar Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. "Cut" in the butter with two knives until well combined. Add the sour cream, egg, vanilla extract and milk. Using a large spoon, mix together until a dough begins to form. Gently "fold" in the blueberries. On a lightly floured surface, press into a circle that is about 10 inches in diameter. Slice into eight equal pieces.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the bottoms of the scones are just starting to turn brown. Remove from oven and let sit on the cookie sheet about five minutes before removing the scones to a wire rack to continue to cool. In small bowl, put the powdered sugar and water for the glaze. Mix thoroughly with small spoon until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over each scone. Note: this glaze makes a bit more than you probably need for the eight scones. That just means you need to make eight more scones! Store at room temperature in a covered container.

Cantaloupe Granita

When the hubby brought home a cantaloupe recently that was literally as big as my head from the grocery store, my first thought was, how in the world would we be able to eat it all before it goes bad?!?!  It sat on the kitchen counter for about a week, before I decided I better at least cube it up. Even with Dominic, the hubby and I eating it, I knew I had better figure out a way to use more of it!! Have you ever heard of "granita?" In Italian, it means, "fruit ice." Of course, I had to have a "sample" of this last night, after I put Dominic to bed. Yesterday was very warm and our house (even at 10:15 at night) was kind of stuffy. I put the rest of the granita in the freezer, thinking  it would be warm enough today that we could have it later after dinner. Well, guess what? Today is damp, chilly and just barely 50 degrees. Figures! Do you think maybe I should make hot chocolate instead!?!?!?!

4 cups cantaloupe, cubed (seeds and rind removed)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/8 teaspoon salt

In blender, put the cubed cantaloupe. Blend until smooth. Pour into large bowl and then add the lemon juice, agave nectar and salt. Stir well with a large spoon and then put into an 8-inch square pan. Put into the freezer for 8 hours and then remove. Using a fork, scrape into small pieces and enjoy! Makes four cups. If you have any leftover, put into a plastic container, cover and put back into the freezer.