Spring rhubarb

Here in the Bulkley Valley, spring has sprung and my rhubarb patch is hastily producing some tangy red stalks to tempt me. One of my fondest memories growing up was sitting on the back steps at my house with a giant stalk of rhubarb and a little yogurt container of sugar. My friends and I would raid the rhubarb patch and dip the stalks in sugar, munching them down during the heat of the day in the shade of the house. The moment I discovered the rhubarb patch the first spring in my new house, I was elated!

Rhubarb is a great local food - easy to grow (seriously, I've never known a rhubarb patch to need maintenance of any kind).  In fact, I'm often completely baffled by the people who try to sell it at the farmers market or Safeway.  Doesn't everyone have a rhubarb patch??

So if you have a rhubarb patch, start raiding it.  Here are some great recipes to make use of that spring treasure!

Rhubarb Currant Chutney

This recipe comes from Epicurious and is wonderful on grilled pork chops, tenderloin or sausages. I'm pretty sure you could easily can this and have it for the whole year too.

• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cups 1/2-inch pieces fresh rhubarb
• 1/2 cup dried currants

Bring the first 6 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the rhubarb and currants and simmer until the rhubarb softens. Serve warm with your choice of meat.

Dal with Rhubarb

This vegetarian recipe comes from Mark Bittman (of How to Cook Everything fame). It's super fast and very, very boonies friendly due to the use of dried staples and seasonal ingredients. In addition, it's vegetarian so you can help save the world just a little bit. I love it, but it's very gingery and tangy so hubby isn't a fan.  However, if you're like me and love a lot of flavour in your food, give this a go!

• 1 cup dried red lentils, washed and picked over
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 2 cloves
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 dried ancho or other mild dried chile (optional)
• salt
• 2 tablespoons cold butter or peanut oil (optional)
• chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Combine all of the ingredients except the salt, butter and cilantro in a saucepan and add water to cover it by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the mixture simmers gently. Cook, stirring occasionally for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Remove the cloves and cardamom pods, and add the salt, butter and cilantro. Serve on its own, or with steamed rice or quinoa.

In case you haven't had enough rhubarb, here's a whole slideshow of delicious rhubarb recipes from Epicurious!

Quinoa!

Today's post is about my new favorite food - quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah"). Quinoa is a pseudograin - that is, it's not a grass seed like true grains. It's a boonies-friendly food because it stores easily (dry, airtight container), super healthy (see below), and extremely versatile.

When I first started seeing recipes for quinoa, I thought that there was no way that my local grocery store would have something that exotic - I'd probably need a specialty food store to find it.  Then, lo and behold, on a shelf above the rice there it was in a little green box.  There are three types of quinoa in my grocery store (Safeway): regular, red and black.  While quinoa in general tends to be expensive than rice, the red and black varieties are more so.  I've also noticed that my local bulk grain supplier sells it by the pound ($6.15/lb, but I have an old price list), so I might try ordering from her in the future.

Like I mentioned before, quinoa is as easy to cook as rice and is just as (if not more) versatile. It's also very healthy - high in protein, iron, calcium and phosphorus as well as some important amino acids. It's definitely better for you that white rice, and (in my opinion) tastier.

You can find a million and one recipes for quinoa on the web, but let me share a couple of my favorites:

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

This first recipe comes from Gourmet magazine through Epicurious.com I've made it for a bunch of potluck lunches, and for a side dish at home and it's always a big hit.  I've edited the recipe only slightly - instead of cooking the quinoa to their directions (which seems a bit fussy), I just cook it according to the instructions on the box.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Rinse quinoa in cold water to remove bitter saponin coating. Cook quinoa according to package directions and allow to cool.

 

Whisk together the first five ingredients in a small bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Add to quinoa and toss until absorbed.  Mix in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Breakfast Quinoa

I started looking up recipes for breakfast quinoa a few months ago when I had some plain, leftover quinoa in the fridge. It turns out, there are about a million different ways to make it. While you can make breakfast quinoa without milk (see this recipe), I prefer a creamy breakfast porridge. There are a couple of ways I've done this: 

 

First, you can cook the quinoa in milk instead of water.  I find that this takes quite a bit of time and careful observation (case in point - I burnt it just the other day), but the taste is creamier.  I add about 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of ground cardamom to 1/2 c. (dry) quinoa. You can add whatever spices you like.

 

 

Second (especially for leftovers), you can warm up 1 cup of leftover quinoa in a pot with a few tablespoons of milk or cream.  It will get mostly absorbed by the quinoa and make a decent breakfast cereal.  Add same spices as above.

Once you have nice warm, spicy quinoa, you can go to town with additions.  Lately, I've been favoring a tablespoon of chopped nuts, some shredded coconut, and half a sliced banana.  Top with some plain yogurt... yum!  Or you could add flax seeds, dried cranberries and apricots, and a bit of maple syrup? How about a few chocolate chips and some chopped orange slices?  The possibilities are endless!

I've been musing over the possibilities of savory breakfast quinoa too - how about sauteeing some leftover quinoa with chopped onions and mushrooms, and adding some oregano, thyme and black pepper? Place a poached egg on top for a breakfast of champions!  

Dang, now I'm getting hungry...  Hope you love experimenting with quinoa!

Black Bean Fajitas!

Here's a recipe that came my way back in university from dog-knows-where. It's a high-protein, low-fat, super-fast weeknight meal that uses just a couple fresh ingredients, and lots from the pantry. If you don't have tortilla wraps, have no fear - you could serve this up as a side dish with rice and salad. If you don't have green peppers, any colour will do. I've even made this with chopped zucchini. It's reasonably versatile.

First, chop up half an onion, several cloves of garlic and a bell pepper (colour doesn't matter). Saute those together over medium heat in a little bit of olive oil until the onions are translucent.

Drain and rinse a can of black beans. Add the beans to the onions and mix for just a couple of minutes.

Add some spices: about a teaspoon each of cumin and chili powder, some salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat (if you want). Mix well, then add about 1/2 cup of salsa (you choose the heat). Mix together and cook until heated through.

You could serve this in wraps with lettuce, cheese and sour cream, or as a side dish with rice and a salad or yam fries.

Recipe:
1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bell pepper (or 3/4 c. chopped zucchini or celery)
1 12 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and pepper
1/2 c. salsa