Rhubarb, fool.

This is not a recipe for rhubarb fool, though I have made that. I found it too sweet and annoying to make cream with my own sweat and tears. The following method of making rhubarb is much simpler and, in my opinion, better all around. Rhubarb is an ideal vegatable. It grows like mad, and is pretty easy to get. My mom has a wicked recipe for rhubarb cake, but that requires turning on the oven in the summer, which is just not okay. So here's what I've been doing with it:



Take 3-4 stalks of rhubarb and chop it into bite-size chunks, to make about 3 cups.
Combine 3 cups chopped rhubarb in a medium saucepan with 1/4 c. sugar. Let sit for 15 minutes, until the rhubarb has released a good amount of juice.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until it starts to thicken a little and gets soft. Let cool for two hours (or less if you're anxious and don't care.) You can store it for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Best ways to use it:
-as topping for vanilla ice cream. seriously. tart + sweet = a delcious soupy snack.

-as a base for a crazy fruit salad (I just added mandarin oranges and chomped away. It would be good with blueberries and strawberries, too.)

-as topping on some sort of shortcake or pound cake. or any pastry.

Blueberry Ginger Icebox Pie

hey, so it has been awhile.

Here is a recipe for a delicious, easy, summertime pie. Good for taking to a BBQ if you are invited to one, or good for just eating by yourself while watching TV in your sweltering apartment.



5 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 inch ginger, grated
juice of half a lemon
zest of half a lemon
1 10 in graham cracker crust*

+ In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups blueberries, ginger, lemon juice, zest and sugar to a boil.
+ Meanwhile, whisk together the water and cornstarch
+ After the blueberries come to boil, stir in the cornstarch and cook for 2 minutes
+ Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 cups of blueberries and the butter.
+ Pour into the pie crust and refrigerate for 6-8 hours
+ Eat.


*
you can buy a graham cracker crust, or just make it. they're real easy to make

3/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1/8 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter

mix it all together and press into a pie pan. bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. let cool.

Different fruit salads, cont'd

Roasted Red Pepper & Peach Salad

It's really, really worth the effort of roasting the peppers.

Ingredients:

2 green or red bell peppers
2 large, ripe peaches, skinned and stoned

Dressing:
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon or pomegranate juice
some fresh mint or dill leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Grill peppers over flame. Place in a bag to sweat for two minutes. Peel skin off under cold water. Cut and seed peppers. Peel and cut peaches. Toss together with dressing. Serve!

carrot and pear curry salad

1 and 1/2 pound carrots
2 pears
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

take a peeler and peel the carrots lengthwise so you end up with very thin carrot strips. slice the pear into very thin strips (the same as the carrots). you can use the skin of the pears if you want, or you can get rid of it. but the carrot and pear slices into a large bowl with the parsley.

in a blender, combine the white wine, curry, honey, salt and black pepper. slowly add the olive oil until it is all incorporated. you could probably just use a bowl and a whisk. a blender isn't necessary. pour the dressing on the carrots, pears, and parsley and serve right away.

mmmm!

Some unusual fruit salads

Easy but weird - - - - - - - -

Pink fruit salad

2 small cans of mandarin oranges, drained
1 16-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 small jar maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (optional)
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 container of Cool Whip
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
1 large package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
Combine Cool Whip, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl. Beat until thoroughly blended. Stir in other ingredients. Chill at least two hours before serving. Serve on a bed of lettuce with tea biscuits (or some other salty cookie). Or pack in tupperware for a summer picnic.


Delicious but complicated - - - - - -

Asian Pear and Avocado Salad with Garam Masala Syrup

For garam masala syrup
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 (2-inch-long) piece cinnamon stick
2 (1- by 1/4-inch) pieces fresh ginger, smashed
2 teaspoons green or white cardamom pods, crushed
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
10 whole black peppercorns, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

For salad

2 large avocados
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Asian pears (or another kind of firm pear, not the gushy kind)

Make syrup:
Bring all syrup ingredients to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer until syrup is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep, covered, 1 hour. Pour syrup through a sieve into a bowl, throw out the solids.

Prepare salad:
Thinly slice the avocado lengthwise. Toss slices with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Toss it with half of the syrup.

Core the pear and then thinly slice lengthwise. Toss pear slices with remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Toss it with the rest of the syrup

Drain pears and avocados, saving the syrup, and arrange the slices on plates. You can use the syrup as a dressing for a lettuce/spinach salad on the side.

Call for interesting fruit salad combinations.

In my opinion, fruit salad is one of the best things about summer. I'm going to depart from the traditional cream-of-what requirements here and ask for "recipes" not containing whip cream or any sort of Jello. Just straight fruit, yo. What I'm seeking are especially interesting or unconventional combinations. What've you got? I just thought of this so I don't have my recipes with me, but I'll post them soon. I think I have one involving grapefruit and kiwi and something else. Fruit+veggie salad ideas are welcome too.

elaine's famous potato salad

i'm a little hesitant posting this recipe, because i haven't explicitly received permission from the creator. in fact i haven't even really even discussed the exact "recipe" with the chef, but i'm pretty confident in my ability to accurately deduce it, so here goes:

elaine's famous potato salad

potatoes
apples
pineapple chunks (fresh, not canned)
mayonnaise

to put this recipe in the proper context, i guess i should explain that in hong kong almost everybody seems to love mayonnaise. it is especially popular to make "fruit salads" with mayonnaise. and apparently potatoes are considered a fruit. the school canteen makes a pretty good fruit/potato salad involving what i think is canned fruit cocktail, but its nothing compared to the salad elaine, the security guard from the dorm next door, made for some of the other kids in my program that live in her building. fortunately for me, none of the other americans seemed to feel the same way, which scored me an impromtu invitation since they figured i would be the only one capable of eating enough not to offend her. i do have to admit that even i was a little shocked at first, but the pineapple/mayo combo really does grow on you.