Rhubarb-Blueberry-Banana Frozen Yogurt

In your blender jar, pulse the following together:

13oz. plain whole milk Greek yogurt

1T Vanilla bean paste

1 sprinkle of salt

2T lemon or lime juice

3-4T raw organic honey

Then add the fruit - fresh or frozen

1 sm. banana

1c blueberries

1c chopped rhubarb

Blend then freeze 3-4 hours. Any longer than that and it will be rock hard. Still good though, just thaw it for a while on your counter before serving. . .Lin

Lemon-Rhubarb Muffins and Quick Bread **

I'm always on a quest to create a recipe for great muffins or quick breads. One that has texture and LOTS of good flavor. I think I've avoided banana and zucchini breads due to what I perceive as their blandness. This is another recipe where I typed everything I wanted to use into Google and A.I. gave me dry ingredient amounts and other suggestions. I varied it from what was given, of course, and this turned out so well! Preheat your oven to 335°

In a medium glass bowl, whisk together:

2c all purpose flour

1T pumpkin pie spice

1T baking powder

1t baking soda

1t Orange Salt

In your blender jar, blend the following:

1 lg. organic thin skinned lemon - whole then chopped

1c packed dark brown sugar

2 lg. pasture raised eggs

1/2c single source EVOO

1/2c full fat sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)

1-2t pure vanilla extract

Before pouring the blender contents into the bowl, stir the following into the dry bowl:

1c rough chopped pecans

1-1/2c finely diced fresh rhubarb

Now stir in the wet ingredients. Fill silicone muffin molds and a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the tops with spiced sugar. Today I used equal parts of turbinado, organic cane and coconut sugars, with a good amount of pumpkin pie spice, for my spiced sugar.

Bake the muffins for 25-30 minutes and the quick bread for an additional 5 minutes or until everything passes the toothpick test. Mmmm. . .Lin

** I made this recipe again today 7-30-26, and it turned out just perfect. The only change I made was to use a cut up mandarin in place of the lemon and baked the muffins in a metal paper-lined pan. 

Cranberry-Rhubarb-Walnut Muffins

Preheat your oven to 350°. In a big mixing bowl, stir the following together until well combined:

2c chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

1c chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

1c chopped walnuts

3/4c whole milk, plain Greek yogurt

1-1/2c brown sugar

1-2T white Balsamic vinegar

1c extra virgin olive oil

1-2T Mexican vanilla

3 eggs

When these are well combined, add the dry ingredients:

2c unbleached all purpose flour

1/2c whole wheat flour

1-2T pumpkin pie spice

1t each: salt, baking soda, baking powder

Mix well with a big wooden spoon or silicone spatula, then spoon into paper lined muffin tins. Bake about 20 minutes until they spring back when touched in the center, or pass the 'toothpick test.' Makes 24 muffins. These are great for breakfast or an anytime-snack. . .Lin

Rhubarb-Craisin-Pecan Muffins

Preheat your oven to 350° In a big bowl whisk together the first ingredients then add the fruit and nuts. Stir well to combine.

3 lg. pasture-raised eggs

3/4c-1c plain, whole milk, Greek yogurt

1/2c light or regular olive oil

1/2c pure organic cane sugar

1c brown sugar

1t-1T pure Mexican vanilla

1-3/4c± chopped rhubarb

zest of 1 grapefruit (lemon or orange)

1c chopped pecans

3/4c craisins

In another bowl, whisk together these dry ingredients.

2c organic all purpose flour

2/3c corn flour

1t each: baking powder, baking soda, salt

1T pumpkin pie spice

Add the dry ingredients to the big bowl, stirring well with a silicone spatula or big wooden spoon. Sprinkle the tops with coarse, turbinado sugar then bake in paper lined muffin tins 25-30 minutes. Make 24 muffins. These are good for breakfast, snacks or dessert, just about anytime, with a big mug hot chocolate, coffee or tea, or a glass of cold milk. . .Lin

Walnut-Pecan Rhubarb Muffins

DRY INGREDIENTS:

1c each:
~ corn flour - NOT corn meal
~ white wheat bread flour
~quick rolled oats - mortar and pestled

1t each:

~ baking soda, baking powder, salt

1T pumpkin pie spice

1-1/2c chopped walnuts and pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°
Whisk flour, leavening and spice together in a medium bowl, stir in the nuts.

LIQUID INGREDIENTS:

3 lg. eggs

1T Mexican vanilla

1-1/2c light brown sugar

1/2c Chobani plain Greek yogurt

1c light olive oil or melted coconut oil

2c chopped rhubarb

In a large glass bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients, whisking well until the sugar is dissolved, then add the rhubarb. Once this is smooth, add the dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time, stirring well, with a heavy wooden spoon.   When everything is combined, spoon into lined muffin tins and bake 22-24 minutes. Cool then remove from the tins. Makes 30 muffins. . .(. . .or 24 muffins and a little cake 😉)

This is an adaptation of one of my previous MUFFIN recipes from 2012. Either recipe would be great for breakfast, dessert or a bedtime snack. They're especially good with some Bigelow Raspberry Royale or Earl Grey tea. . .Lin

Harvesting - Freezing Rhubarb

My tiny rhubarb patch is consistently putting out fruit - the more I pull and use what it's already provided - the more it gives me! Today I didn't take a before picture, but the stalks and leaves were everywhere, almost completely hiding the mulch from view. This is the after shot. Rhubarb is so easy to freeze. You pull the stalks, cut off the leaf and a little from the ground end, wash it and you're ready to begin.

I started out using my newly sharpened KIWI brand paring-steak knife, but quickly switched to one of my equally sharp KIWI 8" chef's knives. (I highly recommend this brand of knives!)  My knife skills aren't always the greatest, since I have Essential Tremor, so today, I was excited to get this project started, and didn't pay enough attention to my level of shakiness.

Surprisingly, for a task like this, you have much better control, chopping and slicing, with the big, lightweight knife than the little one.  You can round your knuckles on the holding hand and actually use them as a guide for your wide blade.  With a smaller knife, the technique is harder to practice and sometimes your thumb suffers the consequences.  Practice good knife skills, be safe. . .and save on Band-Aids!

When I chop rhubarb for freezing, the size depends on the application. My neighbor mentioned she once made Orange-Rhubarb Marmalade, and now I've got that stuck in my head. For that I think I'd like to use thin slices of mandarin orange and the peel, and equally thin cross-section slices of rhubarb. Today however, I cut the stalks lengthwise and crosswise into 1/4" cubes, with a future rhubarb cobbler in mind.

Once the rhubarb is cut, bag it in 2c amounts in small zip type bags, and freeze them in a bigger, heavier one.

That's all there is to it! Now you'll have rhubarb, ready to go, in the off season or anytime you get a craving for this amazing summer fruit. . .Lin

Orange-Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

OH MY. . .SO Much Rhubarb!!

When I first moved here; that spring, several years ago; I noticed a little mound forming in my back yard. It grew daily. Finally, curiosity won. I cut through the landscaping mesh that had been laid down during reseeding my back yard, to find a TINY patch of rhubarb, trying really hard to make itself known! I had to laugh! These tiny leaves and stalks occupied a whole 8"x10" area, but they were SO determined to break free! I pulled the grass around it and watered it when I remembered.

I had some landscaping done a few years later and my landscape guy insisted transplanting it was a waste of time. Well, au contraire Mr. Landscaper—Rhubarb Expert! I took this photo just now. This is after already harvesting 8 cups between me and my next-door neighbor. Sometimes, things just need time, space and someone to believe in the possibilities. . .

 

2c diced rhubarb

3 Cutie mandarins - diced with peel

diced strawberries - enough to bring this fruit mix to 4 cups

1T good quality pure vanilla

3/4c light brown sugar

2t pumpkin pie spice

1T corn starch

Combine the fruit ingredient group in a medium glass bowl, then pour it into a greased 9" casserole.  Preheat your oven to 375° then assemble the pastry-batter, for the topping.

1-1/4c flour

~ I used 1/2c corn flour

~ and 3/4c all purpose flour

a pinch of salt

1T baking powder

3T pure cane sugar

1/2c sour cream - mixed with. . .

~ 1 beaten egg + 1-2T water

6T very cold -or- frozen butter - grated into the bowl

Drop batter in spoonfuls and spread over the fruit mixture, swirl both layers together a little if you'd like, then sprinkle coarse sugar over the top (I used turbinado and coconut sugars) Bake for 40 minutes.

It's RHUBARB SEASON! 😁
Bake up something special today..😊..Lin

A Quick Orange-Strawberry-Rhubarb Cake

A friend posted a simpler variation of this from today's NY Times who published it as "Pudding Cake or Spoon Bread?" It sounded good, although maybe a little plain. I wasn't in the mood for a biscuit-type dessert, nor something resembling shortbread or something like a molten lava cake. . .I wanted real cake! With a little more fruit and spice. So, I made changes: increased the fruit, added orange peel, vinegar to make the milk into 'buttermilk' - which always creates more flavorful cake, muffins, pancakes. I also added an egg, pumpkin pie spice and cardamom.  Other than that...followed, almost word-for-word! 😉 🙃 😊 

6-8oz. frozen strawberries and rhubarb

1 'cutie' finely chopped orange peel only

~ eat the orange ~ 🙂

⅓c light brown sugar

Chop the fruit, mash it a little if necessary, add the brown sugar, stir and set aside.

1 stick butter - melted

⅓c light brown sugar

½c coconut almond milk
(¾c coconut almond milk)*

1t white vinegar-optional-vinegar combined with milk 
turns it into buttermilk, which adds more flavor

½t salt

1 egg

Barely melt the butter, then remove from heat. Add the next ingredients whisking after each. Before adding the egg, check the temperature. If it's too hot, cool everything before adding it.

1c all purpose flour
*¼c corn flour
*¼c Linwoods seeds-berries

1t baking powder

1t+ pumpkin pie spice

½t+ cardamom

*I thought of these additions after I baked and posted this.  I'll make it this way next time.

Preheat your oven to 350°. Whisk the dry ingredients together well, in a separate bowl, then stir them into the other bowl of wet ingredients. Stir only until all four is absorbed. Pour into a greased 8"x8"  baking pan. Spoon the thawed, stirred fruit and sugar mix on top and swirl it into the batter a little, with a knife. Sprinkle the top with coarse turbinado sugar, for a little added crunch. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. Cool an hour. 

This is SO good!  The areas on each edge where it touched glass are nice and crispy!  Serve as is, for dessert or as a coffee cake, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. . .Lin

Almond Carrot Fruit Muffins

1c chopped rhubarb

1 lg. grated carrot

2T real vanilla 

zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
⅓c shredded coconut~~

⅓c organic cane sugar

⅓c dried cherries
⅓c raisins

⅔c avocado oil

2 lg. eggs

1c fine corn meal or corn flour

½c organic unbleached flour

½c quick steel cut oats
½c hazelnut flour

¾c sliced almonds
¼c ground flax seed mix*

1T pumpkin pie spice

½t Himalayan pink salt

1t each: bak.soda + bak.powder

Combine the first ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing well with a wooden spoon.  Set this aside to rehydrate the raisins and orange peel, while measuring and combining the flours and spices, etc., in a big bowl.

Once all the dry ingredients are combined well, pour in the egg-fruit mixture, stir well, but quickly so as not to over blend.  If it's a little dry, add a splash of water, milk or half and half.  If you use milk or half and half, stir in a tablespoon of white vinegar to covert it into buttermilk.  This will give the muffins better flavor and texture.  Spoon into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in a preheated 350⁰ oven for about 15 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.  This makes 24 nice size muffins.  Mmmm! . . . Lin

~~I don't like the texture of the coconut.  If I make this again, I'll omit this ingredient.
*I found a wonderful one that contains flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and goji berries.  All finely ground.

Walnut Fruit Muffins

1c rhubarb

1 ripe banana

1-2T real vanilla 

2 'cuties' and peel

¾c chopped walnuts

⅓c organic cane sugar

⅓c golden raisins

⅔c avocado oil

2 lg. eggs

1c fine corn meal or corn flour

½c organic all purpose flour

½c quick steel cut oats

¼c organic oat bran

¼c ground flax seed mix*

2t pumpkin pie spice

½t Himalayan pink salt

1t each: bak.soda / bak.powder

Combine the first ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing well with a wooden spoon.  Set this aside to rehydrate the raisins and orange peel, while measuring and combining the flours and spices, etc., in a big bowl.

Once all the dry ingredients are combined well, pour in the egg-fruit mixture, stir well, but quickly so as not to over blend.  If it's a little dry, add a splash of water, milk or half and half.  Spoon into 24 prepared muffin cups, sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.  Bake in a preheated 350⁰ oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.  This makes 24 muffins.
Mmmm, These Smell Fantastic! . . . Lin

*I found a wonderful one that contains flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and goji berries.  All finely ground.

Ahhh. . .Rhubarb!

Today my teeny patch of rhubarb was calling my name. . .

"Lin. . .We're Ready!"

I only pulled 3 large stalks.  Since my'patch' truly is tiny, only 9" x 12", I couldn't pull all of them.  This chopped into only 2 cups, but over the course of the season, I'll probably harvest 8-12 cups.

I used some recently in muffins that turned out well, mixed with sour cream, pecans, 3 different flours and chopped orange peel.  I'm not sure what I'll do with this, but it'll be a fun challenge. . .Lin

Rhubarb-Orange-Pecan Sour Cream Muffins

A friend sent me a Cinnamon-Rhubarb Muffin recipe. . .
It sounded good as is, but of course, I had to add and subtract. 😉 They turned out really well!  Quite different from the original, other than the leveaning agents - I never mess with those.

1⅓c unbleached flour

⅓c hazelnut flour

⅓c coconut flour

1½t baking powder

1T pumpkin pie spice

½t baking soda

1 stick of butter

1½-2c finely chopped ruhbarb

3T finely chopped orange peel

1⅓c sugar

~ brown, coconut, or regular

½c chopped pecans

1c sour cream

1t real vanilla

2 lg. eggs

Stir the dry ingredients together well, in a large glass bowl.  Melt the butter then add the rhubarb and everything else in that group.  Pour the rhubarb mixture into the bowl with the flour and stir together quickly, just until the flour is absorbed.

Spoon into lined muffin cups, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes. . .Lin

Rhubarb Sour Cream Bars

1½c unbleached organic flour

1T pumpkin pie spice

½c organic oat flour

2t baking powder

½c sugar

1t salt

2 beaten eggs

1c sour cream

½c melted butter

3c rhubarb sauce made with ¾c sugar

a coconut sugar - cane sugar blend

As most of you know. . .I don't bake much.  However, every so often an idea just won't let go.  Such was the case with my rhubarb.  I have a tiny (1' x 1½') patch and froze some from last year.  Sooo, I had 5½ cups of it staring at me every time I opened the freezer!  I Googled a couple recipes for ideas, but they weren't what I wanted, so I had to get creative and figure out my own ingredients.

Mix the first group to make the batter.  In a 12x8x3" buttered glass pan, spread half the batter, then spread the rhubarb sauce over that and top with the rest of the batter.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar or coconut and cane sugar.  Bake 40 minutes at 350°.  Cool then cut into 6-9 squares.  This is good for dessert or breakfast. . .Lin

Rhubarb - A Wonderful Fruit

Rhubarb is something I've learned to 'harvest as it grows.'  If I were to wait 'till the end of the season, it would be really big, tough and not nearly as flavorful.

Every couple weeks, I go out, pull the biggest stalks, wash them well, chop and freeze the fruit.  I get between 4-5 cups of chopped rhubarb each time from this tiny little clump of mine.  

It's so good as a sauce, coffee cake, desserts of all kinds.  I recently made a rhubarb dessert with a ginger snap—lemon shortbread crust that turned out so well!  An old friend of mine recently posted on his Facebook page that he'd just discovered Rhubarb Lemonade!!  Now doesn't THAT sound awesome!!

If you can develop the ability to Think Outside The Norm, it's amazing how much interesting stuff you can create.  Currently, I have an idea rolling around my mind regarding Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt! - Don't Just Think It - Do It!!  😊 . . . Lin

Lemon-Ginger Rhubarb Dessert

1c crushed gingersnaps

1¼c lemon shortbread cookies

⅔ stick melted butter

½c sugar

5c rhubarb

2c sugar

1t lemon extract

2T flour

a pinch of salt

½t pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

½c half and half

Crush the cookies and combine with butter and sugar.  Keep aside a couple tablespoons of this to sprinkle on top before baking.  Press into a 9x9" baking dish.

Combine the rhubarb, and that group of ingredients, in a heavy pot.  Heat until the rhubarb starts juicing and the sugar melts.  As this happens, the flour will begin to thicken it.  When it does, remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Once you're sure the mixture isn't too hot (so as not to curdle it) temper the egg mixture with a little of the warm rhubarb, then stir the beaten eggs and half and half into the rhubarb mixture. 

Once combined, pour this filling into the pan with the crust.  Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.  Serve with a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream, berry ice cream, lemon sorbet, or fresh vanilla whipped cream 😋 This is not a bar dessert, but one that you scoop out into a bowl.  I wasn't sure how the texture would turn out, but the flavor is oh, so good!!

Normally I don't bake.  For a couple reasons.  It doesn't come naturally to me.  Since I don't understand leavening agents very well, I'm never quite sure which to use to create the desired effect.    So baking, for me is far less certain than cooking.  More science involved.  Cooking is blissful, freeform art!!  It the kitchen I'm far more an Artist than a Scientist.  Many months ago, I bought a container of amazing lemon shortbread cookies.  Immediately my mind began concocting a crust recipe, using them to go with the 5c of rhubarb I got from my little plant last year, that was now in my freezer.  Those cookies never appeared again, but I did find these and decided that since they didn't have quite the flavor I wanted, I'd combine them with Gingersnaps!  It worked!!  The other reason I don't bake a lot.  I have zero willpower!  If I bake something that turns out well, the whole pan could be gone in 24 hours!  And I live alone!!   If I make this again - (which I probably will 😉) - I'll add 1c crushed soda crackers, increase the butter to 1 stick and the sugar to ¾c.  It turned out so well the way it is, but this would have added a bit more crust and made it a little less caramel-y.  I once ran out of graham crackers while making a graham cracker crust.  I ended up using ⅔ the amount of graham crackers needed and filled in the rest with ⅓ of the amount being soda crackers.  I've never gone back to the original way of making graham cracker crusts since then!  It's a great balance with the little bit of neutrality the soda crackers provide, as well as the addition of that little bit of salt.  Try it!  You too may never make graham cracker crusts the same way again!

As always:  Be Bold - Be Creative - And I Wish You Much Time Spent Happily Cooking. . . Lin