Monday, July 11, 2011

more rhubarb goodness

I made the most of rhubarb season this year. Not only did I make rhubarb compote (recipe here), a fantastic lemon rhubarb buttermilk bundt cake emerged from the kitchen yesterday.
Moist, tart, and delicious. I only wish it had a little more rhubarb! The recipe's originally from the cookbook Rustic Fruit Desserts, but you can also find it here.

The ice cream maker has been getting a workout, too.  I tried Minnesota Locavore's recipe for strawberry rhubarb ice cream. It's yummy, tart, and very fruity! The high fruit-to-dairy ratio means that it tends to get a little icy and hard, so it's best to eat fairly quickly. The recipe makes a fairly big batch.
Jeni Britton Bauer, the genius behind Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, has a new cookbook out, and it's very charming. It emphasizes daring pairings of flavors, using local, high quality ingredients, and trying some new techniques.  Cream cheese and a little corn syrup seem to be the key to many of the recipes. I have mixed feelings about corn syrup, but I'm willing to give it a try.  I'm also intrigued by this elderflower ice cream recipe, but St. Germain is curiously absent from our liquor cabinet at the moment.

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My aunt kindly handed down my grandmother's china hutch to me last weekend, and it was a treat to move it into position and actually display some of my pottery. The arrangement could still use some tweaking, but I love having something sturdy and well-made that served at family dinners for seventy years.

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Knitting in air-conditioned splendor was a true highlight this past weekend (along with a couple of BBQs, the sidewalk cafe at Tiny Lounge, and a few choice episodes of Arrested Development), especially as the mercury kept rising.

I finally knit myself a star crossed slouchy beret. I love the pattern! I've made a couple of these as gifts, and they were very well received, so I'm thrilled to have my very own. Now I just need to block it.
This time the yarn is Malabrigo Rios in "teal feather" (which I picked up last spring at the grand opening of Windy Knitty, a very cute and well-stocked yarn shop in Andersonville). Full details are forthcoming...

I've also just joined the arms to the body of my Shalder cardigan and am about to embark upon the yoke's lace pattern! The cardigan's suspiciously covered in cat hair...

10 comments:

Samantha said...

That cake does look a bit lacking in rhubarb (for being a rhubarb cake), but a lemon cake with specks of rhubarb does sound good to me. The hutch is gorgeous-lucky you!

kim said...

I love the chippy-paint background. So great!

I have never, ever had rhubarb. I have no idea what it tasts like, but I have always loved the color. Posh yarns always takes beautiful rhubarb flower photos. Maybe someday I'll try one. I mean, what can possibly taste bad wrapped in moist cake? :)

Carrie#K said...

Hmm. Where could the cat hair come from, I wonder? I think she's been framed. :)

Lemon cake w/rhubarb sounds tasty!

Wow, a bear? And it didn't total the car? on the freeway? Wowza.

daftdahlia said...

I can't wait to make the cake but maybe with a different fruit. I don't have rhubarb handy. I love the hutch. If you are going to leave it in the corner, try angling it. Kind of catty-corner. It is beautiful!!

Chris said...

Strawberry rhubarb ice cream?! *WANT*

Rue said...

Hmmm, cat hair on knitting? I wouldn't know anything about that :) Maybe if I knit in orange I wouldn't notice it as much.

Everything looks spectacular (and makes me hungry!).

Mia said...

Oh I an really happy to hear you like rhubarb!!! I just did a batch of rhubarb pickles. Yes, pickles. They are sweet and tart at the same time. And the syrup they are in would be fantastic added to a drink or cocktail. I have three larger jars and the rest are all tiny jars. My friends think I am nuts so they only want tiny jars.

I need to get my Lia sweater out fo time out and finish it. You are inspiring me to finish it even though it is bloody hot here.

nicole said...

Rhubarb ice cream sounds like my idea of heaven. A close second would be elderflower ice cream (I have a big bottle of St Germain in the cupboard, so perhaps I should get the recipe book!)

Love your pretty beret.

Katie M. said...

All I can say is yum! Rhubarb is delicious and I don't know why I haven't been eating more of it. Perhaps that should change soon ... A Jeni's shop opened up over in East Nashville -- I'm gearing up to make the trip across the river.

marycatharine said...

The hutch is wonderful, isn't it wonderful to have furniture that's been used by your family for generations? Always reminds me of family even when we're far away.