Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

One of my favorite uncles is a very picky eater. I've always found it funny, because he's very well travelled and presumably has had to eat strange cuisines all over the world. You'd expect that he would have--at some point--shed fears and dislikes along the way and become immune to unusual flavors and textures. But no, he's still picky- but one of those weird picky eaters who likes peanut butter on everything, including hot dogs. 

But he's one of my favorite uncles, so I can overlook his food quirks. Growing up, I always thought it peculiar that despite his finicky-ness, his favorite dessert was strawberry-rhubarb pie. Rhubarb? Isn't that a little intimidating? Weird? Sour? 

I've come to love rhubarb too, and recently baked a strawberry-rhubarb crumble that my uncle would probably love. Rhubarb, that scarlet, celery-shaped fruit, is one crazy edible plant. It is so unbearably tart on its own, but when it snuggles up with hot strawberries and a generous heap of brown sugar it becomes perky and incredibly flavorful. The hot, buttery crumble on top takes this dish over the edge, and when paired with ice cream... oh my. I ate half the dish (whoops) in one sitting. 

Filling
One quart strawberries, washed and cut in half
1.5 cups rhubarb, chopped in 1" pieces
2T flour
2T cornstarch
juice of one lemon
1/2 c brown sugar

Topping
1 c oats
1 stick butter, melted (yes. one stick. embrace it.)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
zest of one lemon
3/4 cup flour
1t baking powder

Heat oven to 375F. Combine filling ingredients, and place in a baking dish. Mix dry topping ingredients in a bowl, then drizzle the melted butter over it, and combine. Sprinkle the topping on the filling, and *important* place baking dish on a cookie sheet, then place in oven. (If you skip the baking sheet, you risk hot bubbling rhubarb dripping all over your oven.)

Top with ice cream for extra bonus points!

"Baking Cakes in Kigali" book review

"Baking Cakes in Kigali" was published in 2009, 15 years after the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. One wouldn't necessarily expect such a pleasant, thoughtful, sweet and readable book to emerge from this country so soon, but "Baking Cakes in Kigali" was a wonderful book. Parkin's writing was really similar to Alexander McCall Smith's very popular "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series in tone and attitude. In the same way that McCall Smith touches on current issues in Botswana (like AIDS and domestic violence), Parkin also addresses the genocide, AIDS, and suicide, yet both authors manage to do so in an observant, personal, matter-of-fact way, and "Baking Cakes" is in no way a depressing book. Rather, I thought it was hopeful and uplifting and strangely not at odds with some of the sadder themes the book deals with.


The main character, Angel Tungaraza, is a Tanzanian living in Rwanda with her husband (who works at a local University) who has a small business baking cakes out of her home on an ex-pat compound. The cast of characters are what makes the book so good. There are quite a few quirky and flawed ex-pat consultants from Japan, the U.S., Canada, and South Africa, a heroic prostitute, a clueless ambassador's wife, several international volunteer/Peace Corps types, a well-liked, hard-working single mother, and quite a few more. I think I particularly enjoyed the secondary characters because I've lived in East Africa and could recognize some of their idiosyncrasies, and I've also spent time as an international volunteer and thought her character sketches of development workers were dead on. 


Angel, like Precious Ramotswe in McCall Smith's novels, is a loving busybody who counsels her clients as she bakes cakes for their various occasions. Each chapter is centered around a different occasion- a funeral, a baptism, a wedding- and Angel's nosiness and empathy help her attempt to solve her neighbor's problems. Angel has a firm sense of right and wrong and it's fun to see her creatively "correct" injustices and connect hapless lovers.


I didn't want this book to end. I'd gladly read anything else Parkin has written. I initially read this book because I thought it was food-centric and would have recipes for cakes or inspire some cake-baking... and it might, but the cakes were really secondary to the beautiful stories in this book. I highly recommend this book, particularly if you're interested in reading something positive and uplifting about Rwanda. 

Eat this right now! (Luke did.)

A year ago this week, Nathan and I woke up early, dressed in our finest, stood in a freezing rainstorm on the beach and became legally committed to each other. (Luke was an 8-month-old fetus at that point, so we were already quite committed in every other way.) I'd like to say the day was perfect in every detail, complete with gloriously warm weather to highlight the promises we were making to each other. However, I was enormously pregnant and soaking wet and shivering my way through the ceremony while our witnesses clutched umbrellas and endured an uncharacteristically frigid May day. Despite the ridiculously awful weather, it was a beautiful day. 

Our good friend John performed the ceremony, speaking beautiful words about marriage equality, adventure, and commitment. Nathan and I held hands and spoke our carefully thought out vows and we all had a champagne toast. (Yes, even pregnant me. Because my wedding was not happening without a few sips of celebratory champagne.) Afterwards, John, his wife Freddie, Nathan and I and our other guests had a delicious brunch together and celebrated with french toast and smoked salmon eggs benedict. 

                                   

A year later, our whole family --Nathan, Luke and I-- went over to Freddie and John's for dinner. We sat on their porch in the glorious evening sun, chatted about life, food, Luke's little quirks, and their new house. Most importantly, Freddie introduced us to this salad. The salad that is likely to become a fixture in our family's regular rotation of meals. The salad that will feature prominently on our table this summer. A one-bowl salad that covers all the necessary food groups: vegetable, protein, starch and bacon. Satisfyingly crunchy, salty, tangy and creamy, this salad blew my mind. 

It blew Luke's mind, too. As you know, my dear adorable son is sadly not a foodie. This crushes me. Every time I fix a savory stir fry, a fruity pancake, or a tasty soup and he flings most of it on the floor, I'm crushed. But this salad? Luke ATE this salad. He ate bits of smoked salmon, bites of roasted potato, the (accidental) odd piece of green bean and even some crumbles of bacon. Not only when we ate it the first night, with Freddie and John, but two nights later when I was so fixated on the deliciousness of the salad that I had to make it again- a huge bowl of it that Nathan and I nearly polished off in one sitting. 

I can't think of a higher vote of confidence for this salad: My son ate it. 

The recipe came from the PCC website, but I made quite a few changes and additions. It's a perfect salad for Eyeballing it because you can make whatever tweaks suit your fancy. No measurements are necessary and winging it is highly encouraged. (In fact, this salad is kind of a perfect analogy for Nathan's and my first year of marriage: winging it got us through this year, and we sure didn't do anything by the book but here we are on the other side, all the better for it.) 

Creamy Potato, Green Bean, and Salmon Salad

1/2 lb green beans (cooked in boiling water for 4 minutes, then blanched immediately in ice water, chopped into 1" pieces)

1.5-2 lbs roasted new potatoes (roast salt/pepper/olive oil-covered wedges for about 20-30 minutes at 400F)

4 oz crumbled smoked wild salmon

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1/4 cup red or green onion, finely diced

2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Aioli dressing

1/4 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup nonfat yogurt

juice of one lemon

1 T red wine vinegar

salt/pepper to taste

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3-1/2 cup fresh herbs- whatever you've got- minced

Mix all aioli ingredients together.

Put the green beans, roasted potatoes (best if they're room temperature), salmon, walnuts, green/red onion and bacon in a bowl, then add the dressing and gently stir to combine.

Possible modifications: Use more yogurt/less mayo to make it more healthy. Use Greek yogurt to make it more creamy. Use less garlic to make it less pungent. Experiment with the herb combination- I used mint, basil, and parsley, but Freddie's version used sage and thyme and it was awesome! Leave out the wine vinegar to make it less tangy.