Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

With company coming for Saturday night, I needed a dessert that wouldn't be too much trouble. I knew the guests were rhubarb fans. When I looked thru my rhubarb collection (don't YOU have a rhubarb recipe collection? No?) I found a page torn from Penzey's Spices catalog.

Anyone reading this blog knows I adore Penzeys Spices, http://www.penzeys.com/. The recipe was for Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler, and was simple to the point of learning to cook. So, we went to the supermarket and paid $5.99 per pound for rhubarb, the first I've seen. This is highway robbery, but by then I was determined. Strawberries, the next day, were on sale.

The topping consisted of ingredients from the pantry. I had some vanilla sugar in my spices, and the hardest thing about the entire recipe was laying my hands on the damned vanilla sugar. Finally found it. Made some more to be on the safe side.

This recipe received high marks from everyone, and can be served with either vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I was the sole holdout for whipped cream; everyone else voted vanilla.

Here is the link to the recipe. Of course you can buy Penzeys vanilla sugar and save 20 minutes groping around the spice shelf. I love their rubs, as well. Yummo.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/recipes/r-penzeysrhubarbcobbler.html

Photo will follow tomorrow, when S.O. delivers it to me from his camera.

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Mom's Blender Cocolate Mousse With Lemon Cream

I made this yesterday from Bon Appetit and holy freaking crap was it ever yummy! Chocolately with a hint of coffee--and the lemon cream! Yum!

Don't wait too long to make this:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/MOMS-BLENDER-CHOCOLATE-MOUSSE-WITH-LEMON-CREAM-237920

Friday is Cat Blog Day. Pass It On!

Annie enjoying petting and adulation, to which a cat is innately entitled.

Our cats are very strange and don't eat "people food." You can leave shrimp, tuna, a whole fisherman's platter anyplace and they don't even sniff it. Thisbe, the younger more sentivie cat would eat table food as a kitten, but apparently Annie taught her that this simply wasn't done.

When I was a teenager, our neighbors had a cool Siamese that I let into the house sometimes. One day, I let the cat in and left again. Ye gods! The cat ate an entire leftover roast that my mom had out for out dinner. Cat and I both in the dog house big time.

We've been eating well this week: Sauteed chicken breast with a sauce of broth, lemon juice, capers and parsley for two days, and tonight a chicken salad with celery, Granny Smith apple, a few dried apricots and some walnuts. I made a dressing sour cream mayo, curry powder, ginger and just a wee sprinkle of cayenne. A tad of Equal, just a smidgeon. $6.00 worth of chicken breasts and 3 meals. Not bad, she said. I made a simple ratatouille which we eat as a salad or (tonight) appetizer. Tomorrow we'll have it with green beans and steak. Summer's fruits and veggies are rolling in. We have nectarines to eat. Do I make a nectarine fool or a pie?

May I share my quick dessert secret? A pillbury pie crust from the dairy case--comes 2 to a box. Unroll one on a rimmed cookie sheet. Use whatever fruit you want or a combination of fruits--berries are good. Peaches and berries--I've even used frozen cranberries and rhubarb. Combos are endless. So take the fruit and toss it with sugar to taste and a little cornstarch. You might want to add a bit of lemon, cinnamon or nutmeg depending on the fruit. A few nuts can be fun. Toss this altogether and put in the center of the crust, then turn up the crust, pinching together until you have a freeform tart, partially covered with crust, but with fruit exposed in the center. Bake in a 400 degree over until the crust turns brown, 35-40 minutes. Cool and serve with whipped or ice cream. Serves 4.

This is about as fast as you can hope to put a dessert together, and it always tastes first rate. You can brush the crust with beaten egg or not. Sometimes the fruit juices leak a bit, which is why you need a rimmed cookie sheet. A word to the wise. Really yummy. Idiot simple. What more do you want?

So I've shared my cat and my shabby little dessert secrets. Remember, today is Friday, so blog your cat.

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