Crazy About Rhubarb

My mom says that when I was little I preferred cranberry juice to apple juice.  I definitely have an affinity for anything tart.  I am celebrating the abundance of rhubarb at the farmer's markets this week with a daily dose of rhubarb compote.  I brought home this long-legged beauty on Thursday and then washed it and sliced it right away.  Looking ahead to days of sweet and tart happiness, I made a batch of rhubarb-strawberry compote over the weekend.  Instead of sugar this time, I used my favorite honey: Staite's buckwheat honey from the weekly Metro Hall farmer's market in Toronto.  The honey imparts a slightly stronger flavor, not necessarily something for everyone. I froze 1/2 cup of the compote to use in breakfast baked oatmeal, made rocket popsicles, and saved a portion to top with vanilla yogurt and amaranth puffs for dessert.  As always, my Thermomix facilitated the process.  The directions below for making the compote are specific to Thermomix and include frozen strawberries.  Knowing what is in my food and eating well makes me happy; with food allergies in the family knowing what goes into food, and good food, is extremely important. 


What you need:
Rind and juice of 1 orange
500g rhubarb, cut into 2.5 pieces
30-60 grams sugar, I used 2 tablespoons of buckwheat honey this time
250g strawberries, hulled and sliced, I used frozen strawberries this time since not in season.


What to do:
Add all ingredients except strawberries and cook for 10-12 minutes at 100 degrees on Reverse + speed soft.
Add strawberries and stir for 2 minutes on Reverse + speed soft.

Spinach Parathas

I make whole wheat flour tortillas all the time and often use them for mid-week quesadillas.  My toddler prefers tortillas fresh and warm off the cast-iron skillet with a little butter or olive oil. Sometimes he will eat them spread with mashed avocado, but only upside down so he can't see it. I thought, what if I add some spinach to the mix? What are the chances he'd eat something with visible green specks throughout?  


I check Tastespotting every few days for good ideas and new twists on favorites, I found this recipe for spinach parathas. Parathas are new to me, and I made this recipe without knowing anything about them.  Instead of sour cream/yogurt and buttermilk with whole wheat flour as I usually use in my tortillas, this recipe calls for sauteed spinach with some aromatics with the simple addition of water to form dough.  I do not have a tawa so I just used my cast-iron skillet.  I was personally satisfied with the way the dough turned out since it was easy to work with.  Please keep in mind that my version is a dairy-less version of my regular tortillas with the addition of spinach. Also, I am just now realizing that the spinach mixture should be folded inside, I guess you learn as you go.  I liked the addition of spinach for the added nutrition and flavor.  I now need to experiment more to figure out how to get these more pliable for folding and rolling.  I wonder if I should change up the type of flour I used.  

You can find the original recipe and instructions at: http://nisahomey.blogspot.com/2011/02/spinachpalak-parathas.html


I changed up the spices: instead of jeera and chili for this batch, I opted for garlic powder, salt and pepper.  

 they cook up quickly in cast-iron skillet

Sweet Potato Salsa

Sweet potatoes are a kitchen staple.  This sweet potato salsa is a good change of pace from the usual ways we cook and eat them.  Top steak, fish or chicken with this salsa together with some sliced avocado.  Then, reserve some of the diced sweet potato for your toddler.  




What you need:
3-4 sweet potatoes
juice of one small orange
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 scallions
lime juice and zest, optional


What to do:
Bring pot of water to a boil.


Peel and dice the sweet potatoes in small cubes.  


Add the sweet potatoes to the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes, until just soft.


While the sweet potatoes are cooking, chop the scallions finely and add them to orange juice and red pepper flakes


Back to sweet potatoes!  Drain off the water, add the sweet potatoes back in the pot and cover.  Put pot back on stove with burner off.  Let the sweet potatoes dry out for about 5 minutes.  Then transfer to a bowl and set aside. 


When the sweet potatoes have cooled, add the scallion mixture and toss carefully until all pieces are coated.  Cover the bowl and chill for at least one hour.  Taste and season with salt and lime juice and zest.