As is tradition in my little world, I went strawberry picking over the weekend, and what comes after strawberry pickin’? Jam makin’! Every year, I try to make something a little different, and this year, I used a little bit of honey. It’s just a little bit of a taste of floral, but nevertheless adds something nice.
Well, yes, it’s been nearly two weeks since I posted anything. Let’s just say that lots of things are wrong, I am feeling a lot of complex feelings and while I am have been baking and cooking, it’s been a lot of “just the usual” things, without much fanfare.
But I had promised another rhubarb recipe, so here we have some Old Fashioned Oatmeal Rhubarb Bars. Rustic and simple, these are great for a dessert at a potluck picnic. Not too sweet.
When I think of purple foods, the first thing that comes to mind are blueberries. There are, of course, other purple foods — plums, potatoes, cabbage even artichokes, eggplant and asparagus — but the easiest for me is blueberries as I have a whole bunch frozen in my fridge plus the jar of jam that I made last year. The color came out very dark but the glaze was perfectly blueberry-esque.
For those of you who have ever gone to breakfast with me, then you will know that I loooooove Eggs Benedict, so this is a little bit of a riff on those: Open-faced Tomato + Fried Egg Sandwich with Hollandaise. No english muffins, instead a piece of Anadama Bread; yellow tomatoes instead of Canadian bacon: a fried egg instead of a poached one. Either way, hit the spot this morning half-way through the week.
Rhubarb season is short if you want the fresh, local stuff. It’s the beginning of April so you can begin to find it. And while Blackberries are a late summer fruit, it makes a great jam combination so I made some last night to share with you. It’s sweet, tart and very delicious on toast, or in oatmeal or yogurt.