No Show Asparagus and Rhubarb

Ahhhh. The joys of the bright sun peaking through my small window, birds conversing a nice tune, and best of all zero alarming buzz sounds echoing in my bedroom. What's this? A Sunday morning of course. A Peaceful Sunday morning. You can't beat it. No plans for the day, no grueling obligations. Just one clean kitchen and one growling stomach. So, what's the dish gonna be this morning? The only plants sprouting from the garden happen to be a nice bundle of rhubarb and asparagus. My mom assured me there were some green veggies in the garden. This excited me! This thrilled me! I LOVE asparagus and there is nothing better than fresh chopped greens in a batch of scrambled eggs. However, as she hauled in the nice load of rhubarb, what lay amidst in her hands were two tiny sprigs of asparagus, the size of two little fingers. I guess we'll just have to wait till next Sunday; maybe then three or four shoots will sprout up. Let's just keep our hopes up! Let down by my favorite "what I call pee greens", I got resourceful on what I had to work with. Rhubarb. I found a nice little recipe from a cookbook I was so anxious to get while I was in Duluth, Minnesota. My mom and I at a place called Hell's Kitchen right near Canal Park. And yes, it seemed that for an evening we entered into the gates of fire, but the food was anything but. I vaguely remember what we had. I believe it was a grilled fish. White fish, being we were near Lake Superior, would be the most probable guess. But, it was absolutely delicious! It had some sort of rice and bean with it as well. Anyway, the food was…I guess you could say HOT. ON FIRE. Yes, very, very scrum-didily-umtious! If you choose to visit this daunting and, oh so rebellious place don't be alarmed by the atmosphere. You may walk out feeling like a sinner, but no worries, the food was heavenly. I heard their breakfasts are even better- I guess I missed that boat.

Anyway, what lay lonely on the top shelf of the restaurant was none other than the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook. And yes, it was the store's copy, but I couldn't resist. The recipes looked spectacular, the stories seemed unforgettable. The cashier was kind enough to sell it to me. After all it needed a home, and Hell's Kitchen was not its kind of place. So, today, (Ahhem, months later) I decided to pull the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook off of my shelf and ... use it! I am embarrassed to say that dust has revisited the cover of the book. It sat untouched and uncared for. I felt sorry for it being so out of place at the restaurant and now I dejectedly failed to treat it any better! It needed to be cared for and out of good will (it is Sunday) I decided to become a Good Samaritan and treat it with love and care.

It just so happens that this neglected book had one single rhubarb recipe. I think it was a sign. It looked delicious and it needed to be made. So, that is exactly what I did. On went the apron, out came the kitchen weaponry and ingredients, and into the oven went some delish Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins.




This recipe was adapted from a woman by the name of Joan Halquist. She and her husband Jim own the Ellery House Bed and Breakfast near Duluth, Minnesota. They serve their guests breakfast in the deep wooded ravines of the Ellery House, where raccoons, deer, and bear occasionally visit. (Bliss)

After roughly 20 minutes, these muffins came out of the oven with golden faces. They were absolutely divine. Light, fluffy, and healthy with a settle taste of rhubarb and a sweet sensation of strawberry. Orange scented frosting, with preference, was pooled over the delicate cakelets to make these light options a more decadent breakfast. The nutty flavor of the added whole-wheat flour complimented the asparagus-less bacon and scrambled eggs with mozzarella. A perfect breakfast for a chipper Sunday morning. This book really did have something to show for it. I am pleased to say that I will be treating this book with some adoration from now on. 


Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
Adapted from Joan Halquist
From the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup plain yogurt (or Milk - I used yogurt)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup rhubarb
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl mix the egg, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold in rhubarb and chopped strawberries.

Divide into 12 buttered muffin cups. Sprinkle with sugar before baking OR glaze with frosting after baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Frosting
1/2 pound powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk or half and half.

Makes 12 muffins

Molly's Note- I used half whole wheat flour and half white flour with a small dose of psyllium husk for added fiber. Next time I am going to add some walnuts to the batter for some extra texture and crunch. I would also like to try these with a cinnamon orange streusel. For the frosting I added a nub of butter, some cream cheese, and orange zest to make the rhubarb and strawberries pop with flavor.


Asparagus-less Bacon and Egg scramble
Molly's concoction

8 fresh eggs
4 to 5 tablespoons of water
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
5 slices of bacon (or more if you are a mad bacon eater)
1 small medium chopped onions
Olive Oil or butter
1/2 cup packed cheese (I used what I had around which happened to be mozzarella)
Pepper to taste

Beat fresh eggs with water, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Fry bacon on medium heat until crisp, remove bacon, and dispose all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of grease from pan. Crumble bacon when cooled. Turn heat to low and add onion. Allow onion to caramelize for 5 t0 6 minutes or until soft. Add a tablespoon of oil or butter and pour egg mixture into pan. Do not scramble until the egg has set slightly and the outer edges have come away from the pan. Stir eggs every so often until just done and scramble to preferred consistency. Add cheese and crumble bacon and allow to melt.

Serves four.