Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade

I think rhubarb is the most underrated plant, and it’s my life’s mission to show people how good it is.  Do you like rhubarb or hate it?  If you hate it, let’s try to be open minded here.  You probably just had a bad pie one time. 

Cons of Rhubarb
-Sour (can be easily sweetened with sugar)
-Stringy (any stringiness or toughness goes away when the plant breaks down during cooking)

Pros of Rhubarb
-It’s pink
-It smells really good when it’s cooking
-It tastes delicious
-It’s affordable

The pros outweigh the cons, therefore, everyone should love rhubarb. 

Strawberries have a much easier life than rhubarb.



This lemonade is SO good, and it’s easy to make.  You’re going to cook water, sugar, rhubarb, strawberries and lemon peel until tender.  When tender, the liquid fruity juice syrup is strained out.  Fresh lemon juice is stirred into the juice mixture. 

And um, that’s it.  It’s lemonade, so that’s about as complicated as I can make it. 

Makes this!!  It will be refreshing and delicious on a hot summer day. 

 Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade


Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stalk rhubarb, coarsely chopped
3 large strawberries, coarsely chopped
3 large lemons, peeled, then juiced

Directions:
Bring water, sugar, rhubarb, strawberries and lemon peel to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; boil 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until rhubarb starts to break down and soften.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Strain rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon peel.  Place liquid into a pitcher and stir in lemon juice.  Chill until cold.

Serves about 6

Cashew Brownies

These brownies were so good!  I can’t get over it.  The secret ingredient is cashews.  Okay, so it’s not really a secret ingredient since the brownies are called cashew brownies.  Do you love cashews as much I do?  It’s why I order cashew chicken… it’s more for the cashews – not the chicken.  Ugh now I want cashew chicken.

I can’t decide if cashews or pecans are my favorite nut.  This is a very important question to ponder. 
Anyway, so the brownies are made with basic brownie ingredients (melted chocolate, cocoa powder, flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter, oil, chocolate chips) + finely ground cashews.  And there’s toasted cashews and melted chocolate on top.  I wish I had caramel sauce to put on top, too.



I’m surprised these pictures turned out well.  I’m having trouble with the lighting in my new home.  I’ve been taking pictures on the back porch, but it doesn’t ever seem bright enough there.  The neighbors are always out there and I feel like such a weirdo. 

So, you could make these brownies for your mom for mother’s day, but I don’t know.  They’re not very mom-like.  Whatever.  I bet my mom would like them.  She’s awesome.

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?  I’m going home with Ericcakes to see our families.  It should be fun.  I better get going because I still have to pack, and I have to take pictures of a few things I’ve made over the past few days.  Lots of baking going on this week. 

Cashew Brownies


Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour (120 grams)
5 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely ground cashews (should be powdery - not a paste)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Caramel sauce (optional)
Melted chocolate or hot fudge (optional)
1/3 cup roasted salted cashew halves

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degree F.  Coat an 8x8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Whisk in cashew powder until combined.  In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, oil, sugar and brown sugar until well combined and creamy - about 1 minute.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Stir in flour mixture, alternating with milk, until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips until combined.

Spread batter into prepared pan.  Bake 25 minutes, or until well risen and set.  Top brownies with caramel, chocolate, and cashews.  Cool before slicing.

Makes 12 brownies

Dulce de Leche Sweet Potato Pudding Cake

This must be my lucky week, because I won Just a Pinch Recipes’ Crock Pot Creations recipe contest! 

I love Just a Pinch.com; it’s a fun, interactive recipe database with recipes tested by home cooks.  You can create your own cookbook, review review and post recipes, join groups, clip coupons, and more.  All of the recipes on their site look amaaazing. 

I’ve entered their recipe contests a few times, but never won anything until this week.  I’m so happy!  Thank you, Just a Pinch!  My winning recipe was Dulce de Leche Sweet Potato Pudding Cake.  It’s “baked” in a crock pot, and made with easy to find, affordable ingredients. 

 
This Southern cake is a moist sweet potato cake made with mashed sweet potatoes, coconut milk, pecans, dulce de leche, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.  It’s kind of ugly, but it’s really, really delicious, I promise!  It’s not difficult to make, but it does take a while to cook in the crock pot, so plan accordingly. 

The recipe can be found here: Dulce de Leche Sweet Potato Pudding Cake.