Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie

I've been absent from blogging for a while, I apologize to my readers who have been missing my entries, but I've always maintained that when blogging becomes a chore I will give it up. Thankfully, that is not the case, it's just a matter of being extremely busy with work, the house, and family obligations.


One of the things that I love about May's bounty is the asparagus and the rhubarb. I especially love the white asparagus, but that will be highlighted in another blog.


Something sweet and tart and good with a cup of coffee was the way my tummy was feeling.


This Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie, is a recipe from The Canadian Living Magazine, I forget which issue but can be easily accessed from their web site or right here.


The recipe also calls for a topping which I chose to omit and instead substituted with a dollop of whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. cold butter cubed

1/4 c. cold shortening cubed

1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar

1/3 c. ice water

FILLING:

4 c. chopped Rhubarb

1 egg

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

1/3 c. flour

TOPPING:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. melted butter

Preparation:

In a food processor combine flour, salt, butter, shortening. Pulse until crumbs are formed. In liquid measure beat egg yolk and lemon juice, mix in enough iced water to make a 1/3 cup. Add to crumb mixture and pulse until ball forms. Form dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 Min's.

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough and fit into a 9" pie plate, trim edges and flute.

Filling:

Arrange rhubarb evenly in pie shell. In a bowl whisk egg, sugar, sour cream and flour until smooth. Pour over fruit evenly.

Topping:

In a small bowl mix flour with sugar, drizzle with butter and mix until crumbly. Spread over filling.

On bottom third of a 450F bake for 15 Min's. Reduce heat to 350F. and bake until edges puff, filling is slightly jiggly and topping is golden about 40 Min's. Let cool before serving.

A Little Lunch, the Salami not the Dog

Ron is missing Cherry, she is Boo's daughter and probably our last dog,..... so he says. The jury is still out on that one! All our dogs have been ,"Lovey", dogs. I know that's not a real word but I think you know what I mean. She is cute, loyal, has quite the personality and is smart as a whip. I hope she will be around for a long while. I thought I'd send him a picture as he hasn't seen her for a few months.

Ron has me getting all the paper work together for taxes, he started the process and actually has a great system in place, but I'm anxious to do artsy, crafty things, or work in the garden (avoidance) and not much in the mood for adding up sums, so when HUNGER came calling I took a much needed break, and made myself a little lunch that didn't take much effort, but had a lot of flavour. Only thing missing was the wine, but had I had that I certainly would not be returning to the paper work. So mineral water it was!

An Easter Wish

Daisies make me very happy. They are cheerful, sunny , simple blooms that remind me of spring and all things beautiful. They are one of my favorite flowers, when I got married 35 years ago, all my bridesmaids had daisy bouquets.
When I arrived back from Michigan my sister Heidi had supper ready and a beautiful daisy plant on the table. She remembered they are my favorite. So appropriate for Easter also, I know that the regal Lily is the Easter flower of choice, but for me it will always be the daisy.
I returned from Michigan , happy to be home for Easter but also a little sad that Ron is still there completing another phase of closures. I met so many lovely people in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. If I could have only one wish granted to me I would wish that all these lovely people will be able to find new jobs quickly, as many are wondering how to put food on the table and are in danger of losing their homes. Many of these people will be leaving their State, family and friends and will be looking for opportunities elsewhere, where they don't have this network of support. I do wish them all well. Easter is a time for new beginnings, I know that if they keep a positive outlook on life as one door closes another will open for them.

He Shoots..He Scores and Canada wins Gold in Hockey

What a great Olympic Hockey Game. Ron has been in Grand Rapid Michigan since the beginning of February and has had to watch the Olympic Hockey games in a Roadhouse Restaurant, then he would have to do some heavy Bribing to the bartender in order for him to switch the channel to the hockey games, unfortunately the olympic hockey games were not telecast on any of the US channels.( Unless the US were playing) BUT not today... The Canada ,US game was on the local channels and we were able to watch in the comfort of our own room. We didn't catch the game from the beginning as Ron was still working, but Oh Boy we certainly were here for the best parts. Whoohoo, we won Gold!!!

I like to join Ron towards the end of his consult in the USA, this time I will be here for another month till the end of March. After eating out for all 3 meals the first week, my stomach started to rebel and it's time for me to start cooking some home cooked meals. We have a suite with a fridge ,microwave and stove top, no oven, thus , it really makes it a bit limited as to what to make. Also without all my spices and utensils within easy reach it takes the pleasure out of preparing food. If I had driven here I could have brought some of my stuff, but the thought of driving , by myself, in winter for 11 hours did not appeal to me, so I flew. We bought a Teflon electric frying to help the situation , last time in Boston we bought a crock pot all of which we leave behind, I really don't know why these hotel suites don't invest in some of these pots as they are much easier to clean and way more convenient to use instead of those aluminum ones were everything sticks to itand you need dynamite to clean them!

Anyways, not much to blog about food wise, today's meal was going to be burgers on a bun , but ended up being burgers in mushroom gravy with a Boston lettuce salad and rice with broccoli and carrots.

As, far as blogging about Michigan, I've been tagging along with Ron and we haven't had any time so far to do any sightseeing, although we were in Saugatuck yesterday, Cottage country with lovely beaches on lake Michigan, a very beautiful place in the summer, but a bit of a ghost town in the winter. I met the town Director of the Library a wonderful person, and we stopped into a little place to have a bowl of soup and discovered that the place is owned by a pastry chef and purchased some lovely homemade olive tapas and artisan bread, heavenly ! if you are in the area stop in and check it out, it's called Caravanserai. The people as always are fabulous, warm and funny and interesting, but they have no clue about Canada!! It's a long story and one day I will elaborate more fully, But to give you a hint, I heard an NBC US Olympic Newscaster refer to Vancouver as the Great White North TUNDRA!! OMG. Seriously....tundra Vancouver??? and there is more to Canada other than Toronto.... and OTTAWA is the nations Capital. But please don't get me started.

But back to food, after my stomach settles......

If anyone can recommend a great place to eat in Michigan's West Coast please let me know.

I'd love to blog about a good eatery.

BRAISED SHORT RIBS

Ron's cousin Susan once went to me and said, "When do you find the time to do all that cooking?" Well Sue, the truth of the matter is I am just like any other person in our age group, I go through my phases of , "cooking up a storm", and then my dry spells, when it's easier just opening a can of soup and have a sandwich, or ordering in a pizza. Lately there has been more of the latter as I found myself in a bit of a funk with a sinus infection, that got cured, but today seems to be returning!
So, what you see above you is a meal that I prepared a while ago ( in November, that I had saved for just such an occasion as this, when I knew I wouldn't have the energy or inclination to cook and photograph all at the same time, after all I too am only human).
I'm not making any excuses, but frankly, some celebrations do not need to be blogged about all the time as I too want to enjoy the occasion and not always run around with a camera taking pictures, so when I do cook and am reasonably pleased with the outcome I do photograph and save these entries for a later blogging date date. This blog is an important part of me, but there is more to my life than blogging and I don't want it to become a chore but something I do that gives me pleasure. After all, you can pick up any food magazine and see better pictures and more detailed instructions than my abridged version, or for that matter more interesting meals to prepare. But, if you don't mind dropping by and looking, and hopefully getting some ideas from my blog than do continue to drop by and leave a comment on the blog.

I had mentioned some time ago that I had received a cookbook in the fall from BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine , and find myself using this wonderful book as my go to book for some inspiration and seasonal cooking. This Braised Short Rib recipe is from their Fall section but could easily qualify as a winter comfort food.
These ribs made a beautiful succulent meal, perfect for a cool wintry evening. Season generously.

In a large skillet heat 3 T. oil over medium heat. Add the short ribs in batches and brown repeating until all ribs are done.Transfer to a plate.

In the same skillet add a little more oil and saute the celery, onion, carrots and garlic. About 5 minutes. Remove from skillet.

Add wine, port and vinegar to the skillet, stirring to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half about 10 minutes.

Add everything to a dutch oven and....

Add the beef stock.

The stock should cover the ribs, cover with a lid and simmer .

Bake until tender about 2 hours at 35o degrees. When done remove ribs and further reduce the sauce by 3 quarters , about another 23 minutes. You can garnish the ribs with some more salt, pepper and some gremolata. or serve with some nice mashed potatoes or mashed apples and parsnip.

SERVES 6

about 7 lbs of beef short ribs

salt and freshly cracked pepper

1/4 cup olive oil (separated)

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

3 garlic cloves

2 dried bay leaves

21/2 cups of hearty red wine

1 1/2 cups of port

2 T. balsamic vinegar

6 cups of beef stock.

from EARTH TO TABLE Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm by Jeff Crump and

Bettina Schurmann.

Indulgent Behaviour

I've been MIA from my blog, no excuses, just taking some time off for myself. A sever sinus infection has made me miserable for a while, but thankfully a visit to the Dr. and some excellent meds are making me feel almost normal again.

I have also been letting hubby take over the kitchen as I haven't been up to wanting to do anything! The food has been good, some family favourites. Comfort food that has been blogged about already, but, just what the Dr. ordered. Thank fully, Ron is still home and willing to take over in the kitchen.

Instead I took the time to lick my wounds and just catch up on some reading ,"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society " , by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows, "Francesca's Kitchen", by Peter Pezzelli and currently I am reading the second book in the series by Steig Larsson "The Girl who Played with Fire".

All these books are excellent and totally different. Francesca's Kitchen was light reading about a middle aged widow living alone in Rhode Island . Her children are all grown, married with lives of their own and are scattered around the world. She has to come to terms with her life, what exactly is "family", and how to give purpose to her life now that her children no longer need her.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, was a lovely love story set during the war , told in the format of letters between the characters. What a lovely art, "Letter Writing" it's so personal , I felt a bit like a voyeur, looking into someone life, I just loved reading this book and would highly recommend it.

I must say my favourite hves been the books by Steig Larsson, mystery novels written in great style ,set in Sweden at the beginning of the millennium. His work kept me reading way into the wee hours of the morning. I have already ordered the third book," The Girl That Kicked The Hornet's Nest," due out in May. Unfortunately, the author passed away after completing this trilogy, so his brilliant thrillers are limited to these editions. Don't let that stop you from reading these highly charged modern day thrillers. Even Ron got hooked on his work.

I did not know if I would like this genre of work, but if I could make just one more recommendation I would highly recommend this author,Steig Larsson , check him out.

So folks, no food this time, just a little chat about some other things.

Merry Christmas

Take a deep breath and relax. I want to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas. May your day be filled with peace and joy.

I was hopeing to post more entries this month but a problem with the computer, the server or even Blogger, made me eperience many moments of frustration. Such is life and I have long learned to just roll with the punches. I know how busy this season can be, but please take some time for reflection,take time for yourself and your family ,afterall, that is all that really matters.
I am looking forward to what 2010 has to bring, wishing you all the very best and don't forget to stop by and visit .
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.