Dear rhubarb, I love you.

Rhubarb is coming soon to a market near you!

This wonderfully tart vegetable is one of those things you either love or hate. Like, say...oysters or tapioca or olives. (I love all of those things...duh.) And, I am way on the love side of rhubarb. Pies, jams, syrups, um...vodka? Yum.

When selecting rhubarb at the grocery store or farmers market, look for stalks that are firm and dark pink/red. Light pink stalks can also be just fine in most recipes...but for jams, etc, I try to use red stalks, as they are more visually striking. One very important detail if you grow rhubarb: the leaves are poisonous and should not be ingested. I've fallen hard for rhubarb, my friends...much like I did for figs a few years ago. Now I have rhubarb growing in the back yard right next to my fig tree. I just have to figure out how to chicken-proof it - they eat everything!

Here's a very tasty and simple recipe for strawberry rhubarb pie. Every time I make it, I'm asked for the recipe. I've even traded it with friends for home improvement projects (okay, I give them really good beer from The Wine Source sometimes, too...)

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 pound fresh rhubarb, chopped
2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons white sugar
 
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Add strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Toss with sugar and flour and let stand for 30 minutes.

Pour filling into pie crust. Dot top with butter, and cover with top crust. Seal edges of top and bottom crust with water.

Apply egg yolk to top of pie, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut small holes in top to let steam escape.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and brown. Cool on rack.

Serve with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Here are some other great rhubarb recipes:

Rhubarb Clafouti by the kitchn

 
 
 






Rhubarb Vodka by Nigella Lawson
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhubarb Salad with Goat Cheese by Martha Stewart
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhubarb Syrup by the kitchn
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhubarb Compote by I Made That
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhubarb Basil Cocktail by the kitchn
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Do you love rhubarb? Say yes!

Market Fresh

I love Waverly Farmers Market. It's year round and I shop there every Saturday morning, buying everything from milk and cheese to meat, bread, eggs, potatoes, greens and more.

But...when spring rolls around, it's lots more fun. Sorta like payback for being a faithful market shopper...you see more familiar faces and you can tell what month it is based on what's at the farmers' booths. Here in Maryland, shortly we'll start seeing asparagus, strawberries, peas, radishes. blueberries. Then later, squash, corn, tomatoes, melons and so much more in between. Cannot wait. I can taste the fresh peas now.

In the meantime...you can join a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. That means you 'buy in' now for a share of produce each week during the main growing season, supporting a local farm. I've written about my friends at One Straw Farm before - they do the CSA thing really well and I've been member with them for years. But, you should do your research and choose whichever one seems best for you. You can find CSAs near you by searching on Local Harvest. Then, each week from June through November, you'll get fresh local produce and you will know exactly where your food comes from - it doesn't get any better or fresher than that.

Another option - if you have the time and space - is to plant a vegetable garden. Big or small, you will save money, get creative and...learn a lot along the way. It's the ultimate satisfaction - picking your food right when you're going to eat it. Kinda like how I collect eggs from my hens and then cook them for breakfast. I love it!

Here are some of the things I'm looking forward to seeing at my local farmers market - how about you?

Irish Roots

My Mom (um, hello...Peggy Fitzpatrick) is Irish. Her great-grandmother Catherine Buckley arrived in Baltimore on a ship from County Cork in 1850 at the age of 16. And...when you see my Mom, you say...yep, she's Irish.

And, while my Irish Mom is a big part of who I am (and my Dad, too...I named my dog Henry in his honor), my love of food and cooking and feeding people seems to come from my maternal grandmother, Mary Fitzpatrick. She and my grandfather Clark lived on a working farm in Harford County and I've written a little about them before. They were extremely hard working people - raising lambs, pigs, chickens and steer, churning their own butter, smoking and curing meats and so much more. Mary was a fabulous cook and if you stopped by their house, you ate. Like, really, ate. One of my Mom's most vivid food memories was her mother frying chicken in bacon fat - she said the skin was perfectly crispy. I've gotta try that.

While I don't have the time to make my own butter or keep (much less, slaughter...oy) my own animals, I do try to live a bit like my grandparents did. I grow vegetables and herbs and buy most of my food - bread, produce, meat, coffee, milk, cheese, etc - directly from the people who produced it by shopping at the Waverly Market every Saturday, year round. And...I think my decision to keep backyard chickens is a sort of nod to Clark and Mary. I just wish I could have met them.

While my grandparents loved good food, they didn't really go big on what you think of as typically Irish fare. They did eat lots of lamb and potatoes (and enjoyed the whiskey, I hear...) but they didn't really make a big deal about St. Patrick's Day, much less about being Irish. Don't get me wrong, they were proud...but they really were simple people, living a simple life.

Every year when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, I think I really should honor my ancestors and go out to drink some green beers or dance a jig or something...but I don't usually do that. I'm not one for crowded bars, but I do celebrate at home. I might make some corned beef and cabbage, maybe a potato gratin (okay, that sounds fancy, so let's call it scalloped potatoes...that sounds more like my family) and I'll definitely enjoy a nice pint o' Guinness. If you want a really nicely poured Guinness, go to James Joyce Pub - they do it right.

Maybe I'll even have an Irish car bomb? They are delicious, but trouble. A shot of Bailey's with whiskey dropped into a 1/2 pint of Guinness. Have you ever had one? Super delicious and dangerous if you overdo it. Do not have more than one. I'm warning you. Stop.

If you're planning on doing an Irish feast this weekend, here are some delicious ideas.

Cook's Country's Guinness Beef Stew
Irish Soda Bread from Epicurious
Steamy Kitchen's Corned Beef and Cabbage
Guinness Moonpies
Beers!
Irish Coffee

Enjoy St. Patrick's Day, lads and lassies - make my people proud!

May your troubles be less and your blessing be more,

and nothing but happiness, come through your door.

Take comfort

During this weird, weird winter, we didn't have very much cold weather...pretty much NO snow. The no snow part was particularly disappointing, since my full-time gig is working at a school. One of the very best perks of my job, aside from those two glorious weeks off during winter break, is the chance to stay home in my jammies on the gift that is a snow day. Happiness.

But, warmish weather be damned - sometimes you've gotta have comfort food. So, I went into my kitchen to see what's good. Score in the freezer! A beautiful roast from one of my faves at the Waverly Market, Liberty Delight Farms. I decided to make Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast, America's Test Kitchen's Roasted Smashed New Potatoes (a fave in my house) and Emeril's Roasted Green Beans.

Take comfort and make some good food, hon.

We got the beet

Beets are a delicious, simple food I like to have on hand - especially the ones I get from my CSA share with One Straw Farm. I almost always have a container of beets in the 'ol fridge.

Say you don't like the beet? Many people have only ever had canned ones...and ugh...no. You need to have fresh, roasted ones. Here's how I make mine: cut the beets in half, place in aluminum foil and add olive oil, raspberry balsalmic vinegar, orange juice, a few sprigs of thyme and salt + pepper and roast @ 400 for an hour. Let them cool completely, then peel. I've also peeled them before roasting, but I like cooking them really well first, then they're easier to peel. Either way, it's a little messy, hon. p.s. Feel free to use any herbs you like...beets are easy that way.

Have you had the beet salad at demi? It's shaved beets, asparagus, fennel, honey whipped chevre, coriander-grapefruit vinaigrette. Ridiculousness. And one of my fave dishes at Rocket to Venus? Beets, candied walnut, tangerine and feta tossed in light sherry reduction and extra virgin olive oil. I even asked the food service folks where I work to consider putting roasted beets on the salad bar (and, they did - thanks, Chef Bob!)

You can even have beets in your dessert. I had the most amazing golden beet saffron sorbet at Humphrey Slocombe in San Francisco a few years ago and I can still remember the taste.

My view on food - and life - is to keep an open mind. You just never know what you might like.

You might say I'm obsessed with beets...but I just know what I like. Give 'em a try!

Pie crust...buy or DIY?

I didn't grow up eating pies...we were more of a cake family. Cake mixes, to be exact. I grew up with five older brothers, so Mom was a little busy. So when I started baking a few years ago, I thought...hmmm, what about pie? Who doesn't love pie? Pie sounds good. Let's make pie.

I started with a simple pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie (my fave) and then I got into strawberry rhubarb pie. Rhubarb completely fascinates me...it's both beautiful and tart and is the perfect companion to sweet things like fresh local strawberries in the springtime. Last year, I planted rhubarb in my back yard and I can't wait for it to start sprouting!

I tend to make pies based on what's in season and fresh at the market, but usually use pre-made crusts from the grocery store and they've always served me well. Those food engineers really know what they're doing!

Then, I finally decided to make a crust from scratch with the help of Smitten Kitchen (thanks, Lesley!)  I followed the Cooks Illustrated recipe using part butter, part shortening and...vodka. Who would ever imagine vodka in a pie...not this novice baker! It turned out well and I shared it with some friends. They all raved, but they had also said they loved the ones I made with crusts I'd purchased.

Then...I had a bake-off in my tiny little Hampden kitchen. I made two blueberry pies - one with a homemade crust and one with a Pillsbury crust. I used blueberries simply because Whole Foods had tweeted about a buy-one-get-one-free dealio a few days prior.

                                    

                                    

My neighbors and friends were my taste testers. While they loved the flakiness and texture of the scratch crust, the taste overall was not THAT much more amazing to us overall, so I doubt I will be a faithful homemade crust girl. Maybe I would if I had a little more free time...but also, baking requires precision...and I think I'm more of a 'smidge of this' and 'handful of that' kinda cook. Much like my grandmother - she didn't even use recipes. I have a lot of friends who would never-in-a-million-years buy a pie crust. I respect them completely. I just cannot hang with them on this.

Here are a few of my fave pie recipes:

Peach creme fraiche pie
Strawberry rhubarb pie
Chocolate creme pie

Do you bake? What's your specialty? Cake? Pie? Recipes? Tips?

Ready, set, Gojee!

In a past life, I worked at the Baltimore Museum of Art. I loved working amidst amazing old masterpieces, contemporary art and everything in between. One of the huge perks of my job was the behind-the-scenes sort of access which comes from a private curator-led tour. I always felt so cool and 'in the know", learning from the people who put the show together. I loved hearing their insights on how and why they selected certain pieces and how it all worked together. 

When I first started cooking, I'd visit sites like My Recipes, All Recipes and other big websites filled with user generated content. The sheer number of chili recipes, for example, can be quite overwhelming - and don't get me started on lasagna. And ratings or not, how do you really know if that "Katie's Heavenly Chocolate Cake" will live up to the name. Sometimes the recipes on those big sites were good...but the time spent searching for them was just too precious to me. Don't you have better things to do than scroll through hundreds and hundreds of pie recipes?

Enter Gojee...a recipe site that is actually curated, meaning that not all recipes make the cut. You can search for recipes by ingredient, either via ‘cravings’ or by one key ingredient you might have in your pantry. You can also add your dislikes and allergies, which is a great time saver. What you get is a very manageable list of recipes. Gorgeous photos, too.

So, say I have a butternut squash staring at me from the kitchen counter or maybe soba noodles in the pantry that I bought on a whim at H Mart. (Both true for me right this minute.) I simply put that in the crave section...and get hand-picked recipes from great bloggers like Food 52, Eat Boutique, Sassy Radish and tons more.

Here are a few dishes I've made from Gojee (the photos are from the site, not by me):

Soba Noodle and Warm Vegetable Salad

Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage and Saffron

Chicken Soupy Stew

The editors of this beautiful and succinct cooking website are much like the curators at the BMA...only with food. It's pretty amazing.

Search, cook, eat.

p.s. Gojee has a Drinks site, too!