RHUBARB CAKE

It is that time of year again - rhubarb is coming up in the garden.  With an upcoming potluck at work, I decided to make rhubarb cake.  I doubled the recipe provided below and it was not any more difficult to make.  You can also create a crunch topping of butter, cinnamon and sugar to add to the top of the batter in the baking pan but I skipped doing that.  I thought that the cake would be sweet enough and the crunch topping would make more crumbles which I want to avoid since I will be cutting the cake into servings beforehand.  I didn't have buttermilk so I used almond milk and added a tablespoon of vinegar to the measuring cup to sour the milk about 10 minutes prior to adding it the batter.   Great tasting rhubarb cake!

The mix master does a great job in combining all of the ingredients.

Ready for the oven. 

Out of the oven and cooling.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter or vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk 

2 cups rhubarb, chopped into small pieces

1 tbsp flour

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl or mix master, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla and combine well.   In another bowl mix the flour, baking soda and salt.  Instead of adding all at once the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter sugar mixture, add the flour and buttermilk mixture in portions and mix after both portions are added to the butter sugar mixture.  Using a mix master, I had it mixing the whole time and added the flour mixture and buttermilk in 1/3 portions.  Using the empty bowl from the flour mixture, add the chopped rhubarb and tablespoon of flour.  Mix the flour around the rhubarb and then add this to the cake batter. Mix well. 

Pour the batter into a 9 X 13 inch baking pan.  I lined the baking pan with parchment paper to make it easier to cut into portions once it cooled after baking.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until done.  Makes about 16 - 18 servings.

Modified from all recipes. com

CAULIFLOWER VEGETABLE SOUP WITH DILL

Cauliflower is not as expensive as it once was during the winter and I have started to buy it more often.  I have a few favourite recipes for cauliflower and one of them is including it in soup.  I also love dill and the addition of dill to any soup always adds great flavour.  Dill grows in my garden and I freeze it during the summer and fall for future use.  I will even freeze the fresh dill that I buy in the grocery store if I am not using it fast enough and I don't want it to spoil in the fridge.  A bowl of this soup can be capped off with a tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp oil or butter
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped
4 cups of broth - vegetable or chicken
1 tsp dried dill or fresh to taste
salt and pepper to taster
1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

In a large soup pot, heat the oil or butter on medium high and add the garlic and onions.  Saute for five minutes on medium low.  Add the carrots, celery and potatoes and cook for another five minutes. Add the broth and cauliflower and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and look for 30 to 45 minutes.  Using an immersion hand blender, puree about half of the soup, add the milk, dill and salt and pepper and let it heat for five minutes.  Serves 6.

Modified from all recipes.com

VEGETABLE TOMATO LENTIL SOUP

At work we talk about recipes and food that we are considering making.  One colleague brings a wonderful looking vegetable lentil soup from time to time.  We have all admired her soup and she has shared the recipe with us along with samples one lunchtime.  I made it today and actually made it overnight using a crock pot.  Friday morning I started to soak the lentils and let them swell in the fridge for the day.  You are probably wondering why I soaked the lentils as they don't need to be soaked prior to cooking.  I soaked them in order to limit the amount of liquid they absorb while cooking.  If you only have a short time to get these lentils to soften up, soaking them ahead of cooking will definitely help.  Friday night I assembled all of the ingredients and added them to the slow cooker.  I also added some leftover cooked sausage (1 1/2 sausage) and a can of sliced mushrooms.  I didn't have any canned tomato soup in the pantry so I added a small can of tomato paste.  Because the tomato paste would provide a concentrated taste of tomatoes, I added two small frozen tomatoes instead of a large can of diced tomatoes.  I set the timer for nine hours before going to bed.  Upon waking up this morning, I smelled the wonderful flavours of this soup.  The chopped spinach was added for the last fifteen minutes of cooking time.

The soup has a great taste and will be consumed for lunches this week.

VEGETABLE TOMATO LENTIL SOUP

1 ½ tsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups chicken broth

1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes, diced

1 - 10 ounce can undiluted tomato soup

2 cups brown or green lentils (washed)

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups yams or sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 ½ tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

¾ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 cups packed fresh spinach, chopped

Soaking the lentils:

To reduce the amount of liquid that the lentils absorb while cooking, you can presoak them.  Put the two cups of lentils into a four cup measuring cup and fill it to the four cup level with water.  The lentils will swell to the top of the measuring cup.  Instead of keeping the lentils in the four cup measuring cup to absorb the water, I transferred them to a mixing bowl that was larger than a four cup measuring cup.  I was worried about the lentils flowing over the top but as I found out later, they will only swell up to the amount of liquid provided.  I let the lentils soak for the day as I made the soup overnight in the slow cooker.

Stove top option:

Sauté onions, celery and garlic in oil for three to four minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, except spinach.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add spinach and simmer for 15 more minutes.  Serves 8. 

Slow cooker option:

Add all of the ingredients except for the spinach to a 7 quart or larger slow cooker.  Cook for eight to nine hours on low temperature.  Add the chopped spinach and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.  Serves 8.

Recipe modified from Breasts of Friends.