Cherry Rhubarb Jam

If you know me you know I love to make jams and jellies to give away as gifts.  We have apple, cherry and pear trees in our yard and red and black raspberries along with rhubarb.  These fruits are handy to experiment with and use to make multiple batches. During the summer when the fruit is ripe I pile up on jam to give as gifts for Christmas.  I have simplified this process by using my bread machine.  I have a West Bend machine that has a jam cycle on it and have started using that and it works wonderfully.  I still make some versions the old fashioned way, but found that I can make various versions quite simply by using this wonderful kitchen appliance!  With rummage sale season upon us, you should be able to find a bread machine someone foolishly wants to get rid of.  Just be sure it has a jam cycle on it and you are in business.
A few years ago, my husband Mark and I went for a weekend in Door County and ate breakfast in a cute little Swedish Restaurant. We ordered Swedish Pancakes served with (since Door County is known for their cherry orchards) Cherry rhubarb jam.  They were delicious!!!  We have talked about those pancakes many times remembering how great that jam was.  I have tried to replicate it and found something I think is quite close to what they served us.  Serve this with my recipe for English Muffin bread.  You won't be disappointed.

Cherry Rhubarb Jam


2 c. sugar
1 T. low-sugar fruit pectin
3 c. chopped rhubarb
1 c. pitted sour cherries, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Put these in bread machine pan in order given.  Select jam cycle.  When done pour into clean jars. Let sit out on counter 24 hours before refrigerating.  This can be stored in refrigerator or frozen.

Crustless Asparagus Quiche

Tis the season for asparagus.  Marvelous!!!  Spring is such a hopeful time of year.  With all the blossoms, singing birds, rain showers, green grass, warmer temperatures how can you not feel hope?  Along with all of those niceties comes asparagus.  I love asparagus and for me the season is too short.  The patch in our garden only feeds us for a couple of weeks and that is not at all long enough for me.  Sure I can buy it at the grocery store, but that is not the same as harvesting it from your own yard!  I received an email the other day that touted the benefits of asparagus as a natural remedy against cancer.  Taken daily it claims to get rid of cancer.  According to the article, asparagus is the highest tested food containing glutathione, which is considered one of the body's most potent anticarcinogens and antioxidents.  Whether this is all true or not, I like feeling good about what I eat rather than the guilt that can go along with food.  I really don't need a good reason to eat asparagus.  So with that I leave you with the recipe for:

Crustless Asparagus Quiche


6 oz. lean ham, cubed
3/4 c. asparagus cut in 1" pieces
1 c. shredded Gruyere cheese, or Swiss
pinch nutmeg
8 large eggs,
1/2 c. milk or 1/2 and 1/2.
1/2 t. salt

Spray 9" pie pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Microwave asparagus pieces in 1T. water in covered microwave safe bowl 2 minutes just to soften a bit.  Drain.  Layer the ham, then asparagus, then cheese in bottom of pie plate.  Beat eggs, add milk, salt and dash nutmeg and beat until well combined.  Pour over ingredients in pie pan.  Bake 35-40 minutes until knife inserted into center comes out clear.  Let sit about 10 minutes, cut and serve.

Breakfast Sausage Squares

     The original recipe comes from my mom.  This is one of her recent additions...meaning she didn't make this when we were growing up.  The name she has for it is Egg Squares, but I don't really like that name so I am changing it!  Not that the name I have assigned to it is any better, but I think it gives a better idea as to what is in it.
     I love to do brunches. They can be elegant or informal.  You can entertain early in the day and visit throughout the afternoon or make an early departure and still have time to do other things.  With Mother's Day fast approaching, I have been on the lookout for recipes to make for our Mother's Day brunch.  This is one that I think I will make this year.

Breakfast Sausage Squares


1 package sausages, cut in 1/2 inch slices
9 beaten eggs
3 c. milk
3 slices of white bread, cubed
1 1/2 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 t. salt
onion flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Butter 9x 12 pan and set aside.  Brown sausage slices and drain.  Beat eggs and add remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Pour into buttered pan.  Bake 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Popovers

My husband and I went to a restaurant several years ago.  It was a restaurant we had never tried before.  We had an entertainment book with buy one meal get the second free.  It was a nice, sort of elegant restaurant and we were excited to try it.  The waiter came with a bread basket and we uncovered the warm contents.  They looked to be little football shaped burnt looking little loaves of bread served with a whipped butter on the side.  Yuk!  Why did we waste our money coming to this restaurant!  We were hungry, so we decided to pick at the bread a bit to tide us over until the meal came.  Hopefully that would be good!  Spread a little of the softened butter on the burnt bread to make it swallowable.  Bite, mmmm...is this ever good.  Not at all like they looked.   Those "burnt looking" little loaves were popovers and they were served with honey butter!  They were delicious and were we ever glad we had tried them!  We ended up eating all 4 of them and enjoyed every bite!  They weren't burnt at all.  I don't remember what the entree we had that night was, but I do remember those little popovers.  I have wanted to make them ever since.  I have seen recipes and have intended on making them, but somehow never did.  Maybe I was afraid.  I don't know why.  Maybe I thought they would be too hard or complicated or that they wouldn't turn out.  I even bought a popover pan at a garage sale that sat here for a few years.  So today, I blew the dust off  of the popover pan and actually made them.  They turned out great!  I even made honey butter to spread on them.  I don't know why I waited so long.  They were very simple and delicious.

Popovers with Honey Butter

1 1/2 t. shortening

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1 T. cooking oil

1 c. all purpose flour

1/2 t. salt

Grease popover pan or six 6-ounce custard cups with 1/4 t. of the shortening for each cup.  Place custard cups or popover pan on 15x 10 inch baking pan or baking sheet and place in oven; preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Meanwhile, in a 4-cup liquid measure or mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, and oil.  Add flour and salt.  Beat with electric mixer until smooth.  Remove pan from oven.  Fill hot custard cups or popover pan half full.  Return to oven.  Bake 450 degrees for 20 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes more or until very firm.  (If popovers brown too quickly, turn oven off and finish baking in the cooling oven till very firm.)  A few minutes before removing from oven, prick each popover with a fork to let steam escape.  Serve hot.  Makes 6

Honey Butter

1/4 cup softened butter

1 T. honey or to taste

Beat butter and honey together to combine.  Serve with popovers.

***You could also blend butter with say orange marmalade in place of honey to serve with popovers.

Rhubarb Muffins

I know it isn't rhubarb season but I have a dilemma.  I have leftover whey from my ricotta making that I need to use and I also have some rhubarb in my freezer to use before rhubarb season is upon us again. I thought I would solve these two problems (problems?) by making these yummy muffins.  Rhubarb paired with nutmeg, crunchy nuts...warm from the oven...mmmm.  If you have rhubarb in your freezer, here is a good way to use it. This recipe is also low in fat.  If using frozen rhubarb, do not thaw as it will become mushy.  You can use the whey from the ricotta making in place of the buttermilk or use sour milk.

Rhubarb Muffins

2 1/2 c. flour (I use whole wheat)

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. buttermilk

1 egg

2 T. oil

1 t. vanilla

2 c. diced rhubarb

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Topping:

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray 12 muffin cups. In bowl, combine first five ingredients; set aside. Beat egg; add oil and whisk til thickened, whisk in brown sugar, then buttermilk and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients, then rhubarb and nuts.  Spoon into muffin pan.  In small bowl cut butter into 1/2 c. sugar and sprinkle over each muffin.  Bake 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Stuffed French Toast

My kids loved this recipe growing up.  We got the recipe from a children's cookbook that I bought for my daughter Sadie when she was about 10. I had not thought about this in awhile, until my 20 year old son was here with a friend and mentioned how he would have to make this Stuffed French Toast for them one of these days. I have seen versions of it made in restaurants but usually steer away from items that I can easily make at home. This is simple to make but tastes great.  You can pretty easily make your own variation of this, but this is how we like it.  You can use any flavor jam in this, but we think homemade freezer jams taste best in this.  Strawberry is our favorite but cherry or blueberry are great too.  Depends on what you have in the house.

3 beaten eggs
3/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
10 slices dry white bread
**8 oz. brick cream cheese, softened
**8 oz. jar strawberry freezer jam
butter
powdered sugar

Beat eggs, milk and vanilla in shallow dish.  Set aside. Spread a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese (to taste) on 5 slices of bread.  Spread a couple of Tablespoons of jam (to taste) over cream cheese. Top with remaining 5 slices of bread.  Heat skillet over medium heat til hot. Dip "sandwiches"  in egg mixture. Swirl a pat of butter around in heated pan and fry sandwiches in butter until browned.  Turn over to brown other side.  Serve topped with additional butter and sprinkle powdered sugar over top.

**You may not use all of the cream cheese or jam.  It depends on how much you use according to your own taste.

Taco Salmon Crustless Quiche

Sunday Brunch

Today is of course Sunday for the second time this weekend.  I love having a 4 day weekend.  I think it should be this way every week!  Nice casual Sunday brunch, followed by visits with friends or reading a book, watching a cozy movie, anything relaxing to get ready for the time-crunched week ahead.  Today I made a quiche using left over ingredients from some salmon tacos.  I had leftover flaked salmon, baked with taco seasoning rubbed over it, some diced tomatoes, black olives, diced red onion and chipotle sour cream.  This is how I did it.  I'm sorry the ingredients are only approximate since these were leftovers that I wanted to use up.  Use this as an inspiration for your own personal dish.

Taco Salmon Crustless Quiche


8 eggs, beaten
1/4c. *Chipotle Sour cream
1/4 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
Mix above ingredients well and set aside.  In sprayed 9 inch pie plate, layer about 1/2 c. taco seasoned salmon, 1/4 c. each diced red onion, sliced black olives, diced tomatoes and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Pour egg mixture over and bake @350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

*Chipotle Sour Cream:

1/2c. sour cream
1 Knorr Chipotle cube, crushed

Mix the above together and let sit in refrigerator for at least an hour to blend flavors.

As I was surfing today, I came upon this cocktail that would be a great addition to Sunday Brunch.  It will give your occasion that special touch of festive elegance.

Cocktail: Cranberry Sparkle