The first time I made this cake it was a huge gamble. We were having guests for dinner and this was my only dessert. I had nothing else planned in the event that this was terrible. I had a guess that it would be good because it’s a version of a cake I really do love. But putting rhubarb into a cake is risky. It can be extremely sour when not prepared properly.

After thinking through the process completely I decided to use more sugar than seemed reasonable to counter the sour of the rhubarb and bring out its delicious flavor.

I don’t think I would have even considered rhubarb in this cake until we were in Sweden this past summer. Rhubarb was in full effect in EVERYTHING and I could not get enough. In Seattle, rhubarb is a spring flavor but it turns out in Sweden it’s a summer flavor. For this cake, frozen is mandatory which makes it an any season cake! I usually have frozen rhubarb from our garden or my mother-in-laws garden but you can always but it at the Whole Foods.

Rhubarb Snack Cake

makes one 9” cake

1 cup frozen rhubarb

1 1/2 cup sugar (divided)

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

STEP 1

In a small bowl combine the rhubarb and 1/2 cup of the sugar and set aside. Mix to combine and let rest until the rhubarb is defrosted and a syrup has formed around the rhubarb. Smush it a bit with a fork to mash the fruit a little. This can take as little as an hour or as long as a whole day (usually takes me 2 hours). Plan accordingly.

STEP 2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9” pan and line with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and remaining one cup of sugar. Cream together until a paste forms. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.

STEP 3

Mix flour and baking soda together in a separate bowl.

Drain the liquid off the rhubarb. It should be about 1/2 cup.

STEP 4

Alternate flour, rhubarb syrup, and flour mixing into the stand mixer and combine. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the rhubarb gently. Pour into the prepared 9” pan. Option to sprinkle the top with the turbinado sugar - or see glaze option below.

Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before serving.

OPTIONAL

If I don’t add the sugar to the top, I like to add a glaze. I realize there’s already an excessive amount of sugar in this small cake, but I figure what’s a little more? Mix together 1/3 cup powdered sugar and one to two teaspoons cold water. Pour over the cooled cake.

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Rhubarb Soda

Turning things into cocktails is a special skill of mine. Here’s a rhubarb cocktail in case you can’t get enough rhubarb.

Click here

For a while, Ikea meatballs were a regular in the freezer and a quick dinner on nights I couldn’t think of what else to do. It made such a simple dinner AND they sell little packets of gravy so it’s so stinking simple!

I haven’t talked about it a lot, but there are twelve allergies in my family. TWELVE. Some are normal (hazelnuts) and some are weird (yeast) but all make for weird cooking patterns. If you notice on this blog, I tend to cook dinners that are healthy, dairy free or dairy light, and filled with good ingredients. The reason is simple, we can’t eat out a lot.

Ikea meatballs contain yeast, a nutritional yeast that boosts the flavor - vegans use it all the time to replace cheese - it’s totally normal, unless you have an allergy. So we had to scrap the freezer full of meatballs and if we wanted them, I need to make them myself.

Obviously, I’m cool with that. I love the challenge of making things myself. So here they are! My hot tip for them is to bake until they get a little crispy on the edges. I love that little crunch and I know you will too!

If you throw a pan of little chopped potatoes into the oven at the same time, then you have a dinner on the table in literally half an hour. I’ve done mashed potatoes too - but really the key is any kind of a potato. Oh, and the lingonberries. You can’t skip the lingonberries - buy a jar at Ikea and keep it on the shelf.

Swedish Meatballs

serves 4

1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground beef

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 onion, grated

1 clove garlic

1 egg, beaten

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon oregano

1 cup water

salt & pepper

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients and stir to combine. I use my hands because that’s easier, but some people are grossed out by that.

STEP 2

Form the meat into balls. I use a scoop to get the right size, then make them look nicer with my hands. If your hands are damp, the meat won’t stick to you.

STEP 3

Pop the meatballs in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Serve with potatoes, lingonberries, and a vegetable.

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Thom Collins

A refreshing cocktail on the side is perfect! If you add a 1/2 shot of Elderflower liquor, it becomes a little bit Scandinavian.

Clam Chowder is literally my favorite soup ever. We took a roadtrip several years ago down highway 101 which goes down the coast of Washington, Oregon and California (at some point it turns to Highway 1 but I can never remember where that happens). Every restaurant that we stepped into, I got clam chowder. Some were great. Some were gloopy. Some had too much dill. Some had too many potatoes. One was even red which is the most dreadful thing you can do to chowder.

Clam Chowder

Serves 4

4 strips bacon, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

4 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

¼ lb potatoes, finely chopped

1 can clams

8 oz clam nectar/ clam juice

4 cups seafood stock

1 bay leaf

1 cup half and half

¼ cup flour

2 tbs parsley, chopped

1 bag oyster crackers

STEP 1

In a large pot, cook bacon until browned.

STEP 2

Add onion, celery, potatoes, and garlic. Cook until onions and celery are softened. Stir regularly.

STEP 3

Pour in stock and clams. Don’t drain the clams before – pour the liquid into the pot. Add the bay leaf. Cover and cook 20 minutes.

STEP 4

Whisk together half and half with the flour. Very slowly whisk in 1 cup of the hot soup broth.

STEP 5

Pour flour mixture into the soup pot and stir until incorporated.

STEP 6

Serve with fresh parsley and oyster crackers on top.

How about a splash of history for this Friday? The Kir Royale has it is spades. Created in France by a priest named Kir when Nazi’s took red wine to quash French cheer. Resistance persisted and we now have a drink that’s event better than wine and delightfully pink. A dash of cassis & topped with champs, it’s a delicious FU to Nazi camps.

KIR Royale

1/3 ounce Cassis

3 ounces champagne

Pour cassis into a champagne glass and top with chilled champagne. Optionally garnish with a raspberry. Cin cin!