Kitchen favorites: Rhubarb

I'm not all about hating ingredients. In fact, there's many I truly love, so I wanted to give them their due. I plan on writing about one or two each week -- hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

First up is a classic spring fruit. For as long as I can remember, rhubarb has been one of my favorites. I've learned lots about it from my mother, who is a much better gardener than I am. First off, the leaves are poisonous, so discard them. Second, there's tons of varieties. My mom's favorites are the ones that are thinner, with bright red skins and pulp. I agree with her about this. Those that are green tend to be more sour, while the red ones are sweeter. In addition, the bigger stalks tend to be less tender. Just don't ask me about the variety -- you'd have to go to the source herself.

Rhubarb can be used in many ways, primarily in desserts and sauces. I've seen it in more recipes in recent years, even as a savory ingredient. However, like cilantro, it's often a divisive ingredient. In fact, I am the only one at my house who really likes rhubarb. But I'm including a recipe that even my rhubarb-reluctant husband and daughter will eat.

This recipe is from my mother, who got it from an old church cookbook from North Dakota.

Rhubarb muffins

Muffins:
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup milk, with 1 tbsp. lemon juice mixed in
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups rhubarb
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Topping:
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar, oil, vanilla, egg and milk mixture in a large bowl. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder. Gently fold in rhubarb and nuts. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins. Mix topping and scatter over muffins, pressing lightly into batter before baking. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cook's notes: I've used buttermilk in place of the milk and lemon juice mixture. The muffins turned out great! I also usually cut down on the amount of oil, adding only 2 tbsp. and adding a splash more milk for moisture. The results are delicious -- and a lot healthier!

Tuesday morning treasure

Shortly after I moved to Concord in 1997, I learned that there was a weekly farmers market just down the street from where I lived. I was very excited. My mom took my sister and me on occasion to the little farmers market in West Fargo, N.D., where I grew up. And when I was in college, my mom took me to another in Fargo. I remember buying a handful of cucumbers and a jar of strawberry-rhubarb jam on that visit in 1996, and I became hooked.

After I first moved here, I remember going only once in a while. To this day, I don't know why. I was always impressed with the produce -- and the prices! I was not making a lot of money, and I could buy a huge bag of fresh oranges for $5. What a deal! I also learned, though, that earlier is better at this market. I remember going a few times about 45 minutes before it closed and finding out all the goodies I wanted were gone.

About five or so years ago, I decided to make the farmers market a regular Tuesday morning errand. I would only need to be there about 20 minutes to get all the goodies I wanted, and then I would have the rest of the morning free. It was an easy habit to get into, and I was amazed at how much I looked forward to the trip.

Shortly after Emma was born, the farmers market became a saving grace. I couldn't wait to get out of the house with this crying baby. No one seemed to flinch when i walked by with a screaming newborn, and that big stroller could hold a ton of fruits and vegetables. Perfect! Since then, it's become an outing. There's a playground at the plaza, and we occasionally go with a neighbor and her little boy so the kids can play together. Emma and I sometimes run into other neighbors and friends at the market, which makes me further appreciate our roots in the community.

Emma and I have discovered that there are certain stands we prefer. She knows exactly which stands she wants to visit for the free samples, and I know which ones offer the best quality produce. I always stop at the stand of the woman who sells only vegetables. Aaron always knows when I buy carrots from her -- he says they always taste better, raw or cooked. When they're in season, I get oranges from the vendor from Fresno -- his are sweeter and juicier than the others. And I have to get Pink Lady apples from the same stand. That vendor offers apples longer than anyone else, Emma loves the cider samples (she tries to get two each week), and best blueberries in the summer come from that stand. In the fall, we visit the stand of the women from Martinez. They offer little pears to the kids, and their French Butter pears are only in season for a few weeks but totally worth the wait.

Plus there's the men from Brentwood who have corn, the woman from near Santa Cruz who sells artichokes, the stand from Hollister that has the most delicious tomatoes year-round, and on and on.

It's not just the produce that keeps me coming back. I adore some of the other goodies up for sale. Like the man from Scotts Valley who sells the best pear and Pecorino ravioli. And the German baker from Walnut Creek. Emma asks every week for kettle corn from the stand on the corner. And the lunches we can get are incredible -- teriyaki, tamales, falafel, vegetarian, French pastries filled with meats and/or vegetables.

My farmers market near-obsession has taken me to others offered nearby. None even come close to the quality that the one in Concord provides. I haven't entirely figured out why.

Until then, if it's Tuesday morning and you need to find me, I'll be at the farmers market.

This recipe takes advantage of all the delicious produce I get at the market, and it's great for my diet. It's from a book from 1999, "Saved by Soup" by Judith Barrett.

Zuppa of farro with tomatoes and spinach

1 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
2 cups canned diced tomatoes, with their juices
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and broth, and stir in the farro. Bring to a boil reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the saucepan and simmer until the farro is tender and the grains are enlarged and have turned a creamy, light color (about 30 minutes). Stir in the spinach and cook until the spinach is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cheese, if desired.

Cook's notes: Farro can be very hard to find, so the author suggests substitute pearl barley. We usually do, and it's delicious. This soup gets very thick after standing or being refrigerated, so you might want to add some water or broth to thin it out. The recipe calls for the vegetables to be chopped finely, but we prefer them in somewhat bigger pieces.

A Lebanese feast for Easter

Looking back on my youth, I can hardly remember a family get-together when we didn't have a Middle Eastern feast. My family is Lebanese, and we celebrated that heritage. There was always fresh grilled lamb and beef, homemade flatbread, kibbeh (both raw and cooked), a big salad with an amazing lemon dressing, olives and baklava, among many delicacies. Most of these are among my favorite foods to this day! However, I rarely make Lebanese food at home. I can't even really explain why. But the opportunity soon presented itself.

Aaron, Emma and I made plans to have lunch in Hollister on Saturday with my cousin Barb. We don't see her often, and I cherish our visits because she is one of my only blood relatives here in California. She lives in beautiful house in a beautiful setting, and she has these great horses that we like to pet and feed carrots. Barb always serves us a delightful meal when we go to her house, but she has an injured foot and I wanted to make our Easter get-together a bit easier for her. So I called her a few weeks before and told her that I was bringing a Lebanese feast. She was delighted!

I started preparing the menu as soon as I got off the phone. We had to have lamb kabobs. And a big bowl of tabbouleh. Plus, I wanted to serve flatbread, olives, dates, hummus and baklava. Almost identical to the feasts I remember as a child.

Most of this meal, I hate to admit, was store-bought. My non-Lebanese mom once tried to teach me to make flatbread. Her direct comments to me at the time were, "You're kind of a disaster at this." I really haven't tried since, but I have found plenty of delicious store-bought substitutes -- most for just a dollar or two. We bought a gorgeous boneless leg of lamb and cut it at home ourselves. Most went into the freezer for more Lebanese kabobs. The hummus was store-bought, too. I found one at Trader Joe's made with white beans that is more delicious than any hummus I've ever had. It also cost just a few dollars. The dates, olives and baklava were more expensive, but always worth the money.

However, I did make the tabbouleh. In the past few years, it has become my favorite salad. It's so easy to make, it gets better as it sits, and it's incredibly healthy. Perfect!

Our lunch was a big hit. Well, maybe not for Emma. She still isn't as excited about lamb and tabbouleh as we are, but she usually eats the flatbread and hummus. It's a start! And, it has further encouraged me to keep trying. If nothing else, it will bring back some of those warm, delicious memories of growing up Lebanese.

This recipe is from a 2005 issue of Cooking Light magazine. Excellent!

Summer Vegetable Tabbouleh with Chicken

1 cup uncooked bulgur
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 6 oz.)
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped plum tomatoes (about 4 tomatoes)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine bulgur and boiling water in a large bowl; let stand 30 minutes. Add chicken, parsley, cucumber, onion, tomatoes and mint; toss gently to combine.

Combine lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper and garlic, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle mixture over salad; toss gently to coat.

Cook's notes: I usually double this dressing, as it is delicious and the bulgur usually just sops it up as it sits. I also prefer cherry or grape tomatoes to plum, as they usually taste better year-round. If you prefer, green onions would be a nice substitute for the red onion, offering more of an herb flavor.

Amish Friendship Bread

On April 1 (insert your own joke here), a colleague at the Times offered up some Amish Friendship Bread starter. After reading his e-mail about the offer, I knew I certainly was going to go grab some. Then I looked at the recipe. 3 1/2 cups of sugar. A cup of oil. 4 1/2 cups of flour. Ugh. This was not going to be good for my diet. So I reconsidered.

But that starter kept popping into my line of view. I looked at the directions again, pretended to ignore all the unhealthy stuff, and thought some more about it. It certainly looked easy. And sounded delicious. But the best part of the recipe, as I examined it, was that it would allow me to do some cooking with Emma, my 4-year-old chef-in-training. So I reconsidered once more and decided to take it home. It was absolutely the right decision.

I told my little cook about the bread the next morning. It takes 10 days of ripening (or maturing, or whatever it specifically does) until it can be baked. So, for the next nine days, we mostly were going to mush the starter. Emma could not be more exited for April 10 to get here. In fact, on Day 4 -- a Saturday morning -- she woke me at 7:45 a.m. and informed me that I would not need to mush the bread, that she had already done so. And so it went until today, Day 10.

This morning, we mixed up our own starters -- our starter makes four, one for us and three to give to friends. She and her dad delivered one to her preschool pal and her mom, and later we found homes for the other two. After school, we mixed all the remaining ingredients together and put our two loaves in the oven to bake. Only 27 more minutes (plus cooling time) 'til we get to have a taste. It smells incredible in my kitchen right now! But the best part of this recipe is that it provided fun in the kitchen for my daughter and me -- even sweeter!

Since this is a starter that needs to be passed on, I cannot offer a recipe. However, I am including a bread recipe that is not only easy, but fun to share with a friend.

This recipe is from a 2003 issue of Cooking Light magazine.

Marbled chocolate banana bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, mixing with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add banana, egg substitute and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed until just moist.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Cook's notes: I've made this before without melting the chocolate chips, just mixing them in with the flour. It turns out just as delicious. Alternately, 1 ounce of finely chopped chocolate works well, too (we prefer Ghirardelli at our house). For a little extra treat, 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts are a good addition, too.

The joy of cooking

Are you hungry? Then you're at the right spot.

I've been thinking about this for a while -- a place where I could share my love of cooking and share tips, recipes and ideas with friends and family. I also want a place where others can share their ideas with me, too. My husband has been suggesting this for months, and I finally decided to give it a shot. So, indulge me as I try to find that inner writer in me, and let's jump in!

So, first a few things about me. As much as I love to cook and eat, I am a picky eater. I'm not particularly proud of this fact, but I've learned to live with it. So has my family. In fact, "Hold the cilantro, please" was inspired by my adorable daughter. She asks almost daily why I don't like cilantro. And bell peppers. And fish. And raw onions. Oh, and zucchini, too. So, yeah, fussy. I've learned to like onions cooked. But the others, well, not so much. I refuse to let that stop me from diving head-first into the nearest cookbook.

Of course, like everyone, there are the foods I can't live without. I love most fruits. Fresh cucumbers and tomatoes are in my house often. There are very few desserts that I will turn down. And when my husband asks me what kind of food I want have when I dine out, I almost always suggest Middle Eastern.

I've been dieting for more than a year. And it's working, too! Since March 2008, I've lost 42 pounds. However, there are certain dieting tips suggestions that I can't work around. For instance, I don't care for most fat-free products. And I mostly avoid sugar substitutes. For me, it's not worth it to eat something that doesn't taste good.

To fuel my love of cooking, I've accumulated a large collection of cookbooks, cooking magazines and hundreds of recipes from a huge array of sources. I plan to include a recipe that I've tried and have really enjoyed.

So, please join me on my new journey. I look forward to sharing my joy of cooking (but not my cookbook of the same name)!

Here's my first recipe to share. This one's from a 2000 issue of Sunset magazine:

Lemon Wild Rice Salad

2 packages (about 6 oz. each) long grain and wild rice pilaf mix
1 jar (6 oz.) marinated artichoke hearts
1 lb. ripe tomatoes, rinsed, cored and coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3 tbsp. drained capers (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper

Follow package directions to cook rice until tender to bite; pour into a large bowl.

Drain artichoke marinade into bowl with rice. Chop artichokes and add to rice. Mix, then stir occasionally until rice is cool, 30 to 45 minutes.

Mix tomatoes, bell peppers, parsley, capers, lemon peel, lemon juice and sugar to cool rice mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook's notes: I usually omit bell peppers and include cucumbers instead.