Tag: vegan

Rhubarb & Strawberry Sauce

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Yield: 8 – 12

I remember first eating rhubarb out of my Great-Grandma Lamb’s garden. Esther Lovina Heaton Lamb was the first person to introduce me to the marvels of rhubarb (and gardening in general). As a skinny six year old, I would raid the garden in late spring for gooseberries and tart rhubarb stalks. My face would pucker, but I loved a fresh stalk of rhubarb. Sometimes I even added salt to it. It was years before I could get my mind around cooking the stuff and adding sugar to it. My mother did not encourage eating sugar, and I didn’t know what I was missing, so we were both happy.

I use this sauce over ice-cream, with butter for rolls and bread, in grilled cheese and charcuterie sandwiches, as a base for BBQ sauce, and as the start to a family favorite: Strawberry – Rhubarb ice-cream. The quanities here are for a large batch recipe, but it can be cut down by 1/2 or 1/4 easily to make a smaller batches. It freezes well, or can be canned for longer shelf-life.

Ingredients

8 Cups Rhubarb, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
8 Cups Strawberries, washed and quartered
1 to 1 1/2 Cup Sugar, to taste
1 Lemon, juiced and seeds discarded
1/2 Cup Water

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Use only one cup of sugar initially. Additional sugar can be added later in the process if desired.
  2. Place on stove top and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer (medium to medium-low) and cook for 45 minutes, or longer, depending on how thick you want the sauce. Stir frequently to prevent sugars from sticking to bottom of pan and scorching. Near the end of cooking, taste and adjust sugar in 1/4 cup increments until desired sweetness is achieved.
  3. Serve warm or cold. Refrigerate to store for up to one week. Freeze for up to six months, or utilize a sterile canning process to preserve for up to one year.

About Rhubarb

I have two beautiful rhubarb plants just off the border of the back lawn. Rhubarb is one of the things I can grow in the open yard vs. the fenced off garden area because the deer, rabbits, squirrels and birds will leave it alone. My rhubarb plants were established from rhizome starts provided by a neighbor reducing his rapidly expanding crop. I felt fortunate and grateful to recieve a well-acclimated, edible variety. Today, it is well established and produces up to 5 pounds of rhubarb per plant per year. Eventually, I will need to divide it and share it with another rhubarb enthusiast.

Rhubarb is grown from divided rhizome roots, or seed, does best in Northern climates, and begins to emerge from dormancy in the late winter and early spring. The leaves are actually poisonous and should be avoided. Wild animals know this instinctively and will not bother Rhubarb mixed in with your ornamental beds. Do not try to feed it to domestic pets and livestock.

Rhubarb does not have to be relegated to a formal fruit and vegetable garden setting. There are ornamental, medicinal, and culinary varieties. I accidentally bought an ornamental cultivare as an early vegetable gardener, quickly recognizing my mistake when it bloomed beautifully, and rained seeds from very hollow stalks that were not at all edible. I’ve transferred this lovely specimen to a place where it provides cover for baby Quail each year, and now grow the edible varieties separately.

Ornamental Rhubarb

Edible Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a vegetable and not a fruit as some would suspect as it is often paired with sweeter fruits and berries. While the leaves are poisonous, the stalks are edible. Rhubarb has high fiber, and is a great source of calcium, vitamin K, vitamin C, iron and manganese. It does carry oxalates (as do almonds, spinach, kale and nut butters) which inhibit the uptake of calcium. Yes, it ironic that it has high levels of calcium and oxalates that bind that calcium and prevent absorption all at the same time. Cooking helps break down oxalates and combining with fruit further reduces the concentration even further allowing more of the available calcium to be absorbed.

Rhubarb is originally from Asia, where it was primarily used for medicinal purposes. It was highly valued for its healing property and was traded with other countries by Asian emperors as a commodity along with tea. It made its way to Europe, via the Silk Road, but was not really introduced into culinary arts until the 1700’s where it first emerged as a filling for pies and tarts.

Fresh Red Salsa

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Makes 4 Cups

This is a raw Salsa with simple, fresh ingredients that can be whipped up in less than a half hour. It stores well for several days, or can alternately be cooked and kept for up to a week. After cooking, it freezes well. Recipe can be adjusted up for canning.

Fresh Red Salsa

Print Recipe
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4 cups

Equipment

  • Food Processor or hand chopper
  • If you do not have a food processor, recipe can still be made by mincing ingredients with a knife, it just takes a bit longer

Ingredients
  

  • 6 medium Tomatoes, seeded and quartered
  • 1 medium Red Bell Pepper, seeded and ribs removed
  • 1-2 medium Jalapenos, seeded and ribs removed
  • 1/2 – 2/3 medium Yellow Onion, cut into large chunks
  • 1/2 – 3/4 tsp Salt to taste, add more if desired
  • 1 each Lime, juiced
  • 1-3 cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 cup Cilantro Leaves, loosely packed or more to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a food processor fitted with an S-blade, pulse onion, bell pepper and one jalapeno to a large chunky stage. Do not over pulse at this stage.
  • Add tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, salt and 1 clove of garlice to the food processor bowl, and pulse to a chunky stage. Stop and taste. Adjust onion, garlic, jalapeno, salt and cilantro by adding more to your desired tastes.
  • Pulse a few more time, being careful not to puree, unless you wish a very smooth sauce consistency.
  • Chill for 2-4 hours before servine to allow flavors to blend.
Keyword cilantro, fresh, garlic, jalapeno, pepper, red, Salsa, tomato

Thai Style Almond Butter Sauce

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I like peanut dipping sauce, but prefer raw almond butter to peanut butter any day. For people with peanut allergies, or avoidin legumes, this is a tasty substitute for peanut dipping sauce. Recipe is also suitable for those following raw foods, vegetarian, and vegan diets. Remove the maple syrup for a paleo or keto diet.

This sauce is wonderful for dipping, can be thinned with rice vinegar for a tasty salad dressing, and can be used in place of barbeque sauce when grilling. It’s not beautiful, but it is delicious.

Ingredients

1 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger, grated
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 Cup Raw Almond Butter
1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame oil
1 Lime, juiced
2 Tablespoons Tamari (low sodium, gluten free)
1 Teaspoon Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons Water
Optional: 1/2 Teaspoon Siracha Chili Sauce, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Place Ginger and Garlic in a pestal and mortar and mash into a paste.
  2. In a small bowl, combine mashed ginger and garlic with remaining ingredients.
  3. Whisk to blend thoroughly.
  4. Refrigerate until ready to use. Keeps for up to one week.
Ginger and Garlic Paste

Mashing ginger and garlic allows it to be more smoothly incorporated into the sauce. Alternatively, all ingredients can be placed in a food processor and blended until smooth and creamy.

Basic Marinara Sauce

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This recipe is for a very basic marinara sauce done in a large batch style. It can stand alone as a dipping sauce (it’s quite thick), serve as a red pizza sauce base, sauce for lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant and chicken parmesan, etc.

I like to make a very large batch and freeze it in quart size deli containers. I typically use tomatoes from my garden either fresh, or frozen whole and thawed. When home grown tomatoes are not available, canned tomatoes such as San Marzano whole peeled can be used.

In this recipe I omit Oregano, which may surprise some. I find that it is very strong and can easily overpower the sauce, so I add it later, when I am using the sauce for dishes that are complimented by it.

This recipe is designed to be able to be reduced b 1/2 or 1/3 of the amounts here to allow for smaller batches with the same flavor.

Ingredients

12 Cups Whole Tomatoes, peeled (fresh, frozen or canned)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
6 Cups Yellow Onion, diced
1 1/2 Cups Carrot, diced
1 1/2 Cups Celery, diced
1 1/2 Cups Red or Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
2 Shallots, diced
6 Garlic cloves, minced
4 Bay Leaves, Whole
1 Cup torn Sweet Basil leaves
1 Tablespoon Rosemary leaves, fresh removed from stem
1/2 Cup Italian Parsley, rough chopped
12 oz. Tomato Paste
1 Tablespooon Salt
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

  • Whole tomatoes with juice
  • Diced vegetables cooking in olive oil
  • Add some garlic!
  • Fresh herbs, tomatoes and paste
  • Blend to desired consistency

Instructions

  1. In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until warmed.
  2. Add onion, carrot, celery, peppers, and shallots.
  3. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to brown and release sugars.
  4. Add garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent over browning of vegetables.
  5. When garlic is soft, add remaining ingredients to the pot.
  6. Continue to cook over medium heat until sauce begins to boil.
  7. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and allow sauce to cook for at least 2 hours until carrots are of a consistence that they can be mashed and the tomatoes are completely cooked.
  8. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves from sauce. Allow sauce to cool.
  9. Using an immersion blender, food processor or regular blender, puree the cooked vegetables into a smooth sauce. For a chunkier sauce, just pulse a few times with the blender you are using.