Rhubarb!!! (part 2)

Here's the second part of my rhubarb adventure!

Rhubarb Upside Down Cakes

Starting with the same raw rhubarb stalks, I washed 'em, lopped off the ends, sliced them into thin pieces, covered them in sugar, and let them sit.

I probably used about 2 cups of sliced rhubarb (3 stalks) and 1 cup of sugar. They sat for abou 20 minutes while I was busy doing other things.

While the rhubarb was marinating in its sugar bath, I greased up a cupcake pan with some butter. Normally with this recipe, you'd use a cake pan and just make one big cake, but I'm single and don't want to have to run another marathon too soon, so I just made some little ones.

Either way, you're getting a delicious outcome, so please just do what feels right to you. :)

Then I mixed up the batter.

• 1.5 sticks of butter at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cup suger
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• some salt
• 2 eggs beaten (don't flog them, just mix up the yolk and white a little
• 1 cup sour cream

*you can add in some orange/lemon zest if you are feeling sassy

Evenly layer your now juicy and well sugared rhubarb in the bottom of your pan

Scoop out the batter and evenly distribute it in the pan

Now for the topping:

• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• salt

mix it all up till it's crumbly, and crumble it some more over your batter

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Mine took a little less because it came in smaller sizes (about 45 minutes)

When they're finished they'll look something like this!

(unless you do one big cake, then you should be worried if it looks like this....)

When you dish it out, remember to turn it upside down on the plate!

Nom, nom, nom.....

I told myself I didn't need to eat the whole thing. I actually stopped 1/2 way through.

But all I did 1/2 way through was snap this picture and then quickly gobble the rest up!

Seriously, I really tried to stop eating it.... It's just so good!!!

Anyhoo, that's the second part to my rhubarb adventure. I hope to have some more soonish. Because rhubarb is so awesome!

RHUBARB!!!

Rhubarb!!! (part 1)

*this post will be a 2-part series primarily because it is so long and also because I'm having some picture difficulties...just working out the kinks :)

On my way home from work the other day, I stopped by the grocery store and what did I see?

RHUBARB!!!

Can you say yummy? Oh my heavens! Delightfulness will ensue!

One of my grandma's favorite stories to tell about my Aunt Janice is that she had never had rhubarb until she married into our family, but once she had it she was hooked and would call all the other members of the family on the first day rhubarb was available in stores because she

was that excited. Can you blame her?

Needless to say, I didn't call all my family members or friends, but I was pretty darn excited. Now that I have it, what do I do with it? I live alone and eating an entire Strawberry Rhubarb Pie by myself probably isn't so great for my girlish figure...

So I settled for some Upside-Down Rhubarb Cakes (recipe will be in Rhubarb #2) and Rhubarb Ginger Compote!

What you'll need:

Fresh clean Rhubarb! (you can use the frozen rhubarb chunks if you don't want to chop, you missed the rhubarb season, or you live somewhere that rhubarb doesn't grow/isn't sold)

Sugar

Ginger root

clean jars with lids

1. Chop up your rhubarb, leaving off the green and rooted ends, and throw it in a large pot

2. Add about 1 cup of sugar for every 3 cups of chopped rhubarb

3. mix it, mix it good, mix it real good, and then let it sit in it's sugary goodness for a bit

*I let mine sit for about 15 minutes while I was busy doing other stuff. The sugar, by all sorts of chemical and physiologic processes, leech water into the sugar--this is what you're waiting for

4. While you wait, scrape all the skin off your ginger. Naked ginger!

*note: this is fresh ginger, not the pickled ginger served with sushi. do not eat this raw...

5. Grate up your ginger. doesn't that look delicious? still, not for eating just yet....

6. Squeeze all the juice out of your ginger. I used a coffee filter to accomplish this. it worked phenomenally well!

7. Turn on the burner under your pot of rhubarb to 4/10. More juice will leech out. Rhubarb will start to get soft and mush. Keep stirring.

8. When all the rhubarb is nice and soft, after about 10 minutes of heating, stir in the ginger juice. It might change the color, be forewarned. Mine took on a touch of pale purple.

9. Pour your compote into jars. If you're in a small family of 1 or 2 like I am, I recommend using smaller jars. You just won't get through the large ones quickly enough.

Normally, I have my own jars. Apparently, they're all being used currently.

Thus the use of the salsa jar....

10. Utilize your compote/spread for good, not evil.

You could use it to top off pork chops, or on a chicken breast, or ice cream, or straight off the spoon!

I put mine on toast, nom nom nom.

ENJOY!!!!