Rhubarb and strawberries make great muffins

By CLAUDETTE ROPER

As I was thinking about some of the delicious spring fruits and vegetables we have come to enjoy, the first ones that came to mind were morels and asparagus. Oh my, what a treasure they are!

We tend to especially appreciate those things that are harder to come by, and if you’ve tried buying morels instead of find- ing them, you’ve noticed that they are hard on the pocketbook too.

Most spring fruits and vegetables are easy to come by. Now this “easy to come by” term probably needs clarification. For example, take rhubarb and strawberries. Both can be found at grocery stores and farmers markets, but ask any strawberry grower – they require a lot of work and are not “easy to come by” for the producers.

Rhubarb, on the other hand, practically takes care of itself. Practically…almost…usually…

Losing The Rhubarb

Two summers ago, I was so impressed with the huge stalks of flowers that shot out of the rhubarb plants that I took pic- tures. The plants were already here when we moved in 12 years ago, and they just kept coming up every spring. As I understand it, those “beautiful blooms” were actually the rhubarb “bolting.”

All I know is that some experts say this takes the energy and nutrients away from the stalks, but a gardener friend said I’d lose the rhubarb. I’m not a gardener, but I do know

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

Try for young stalks before they get too big and tough. that no rhubarb came back the next year. I missed the boat to plant more, so here’s looking at autumn for another opportunity.

Ideally, you’ll get young stalks that haven’t gotten big and tough as they do late in the season. They require very little work. Cut off the leaves and rough ends and you’re ready to go. Older pieces may need a little peeling.

If your harvest is plentiful, or you get a great deal at the farmer’s market, they are easy to freeze. Prepare as described above. If you know ahead of time what kinds of recipes you will be using it in, cut it to appropriate-sized pieces (usually 1/4” to 1/2”).

Place them as a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, fill a freezer bag. It will be easy to take out just the quantity you need at any given time, and they will be ready to use. Some of my favorite uses are muffins and pies.

THE GO-TO DESSERT

As the outside temperatures increase, muffins rather than cakes are my go-to dessert. Why? Because generally they bake in less than half the time a cake does. I’m more likely to bring them to an outdoor carry-in meal because they are already in individual servings and require no cutting or serving utensil.

While muffins can pass as breakfast fare, a coffee accompaniment or dessert, let’s face it – they are closer to cake than breakfast food. They were quite the rage 20 years ago when they were trying to pass them off as a “healthy alternative.” Alternative to what, I wonder.

Note: if you don’t have enough sour cream, you can substitute yogurt or even make up the shortfall with applesauce. This may change the consistency of your batter. If it’s extremely thick, add another spoonful of sour cream.

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 3/4 cup chopped rhubarb

• 1 cup chopped strawberries

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place paper muffin liners in muffin tins. Begin by mixing the dry ingredients. Set aside. Sprinkle and toss one tablespoon of flour (not listed above) in with the fruit. Cream the first three ingredients thoroughly with a mixer. Beat in the egg, and once well incorporated, add the sour cream and extract. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the mixture. Add the fruit and stir gently.

Fill the muffin tins and bake for about 14 minutes. I prefer to use the toothpick test to determine doneness. This makes 20 muffins, using a quarter cup of batter for each. For larger muffins, expect to leave them in the oven longer. Top of the muffin to you!

DON’T GO BY THE PICTURE

Those of you interested in trying to make mayonnaise may remember that the directions in our previous issue stated that the use of a “stick blender alone isn’t the answer and that it must be used in combination with the container that came with it.

Unfortunately, the picture that accompanied the article showed the opposite of what the directions said. Our apologies – please follow the directions, not the picture.