Just Thinking

Southern sweet iced tea, in volume

A couple years ago I made a massive amount of sweet iced tea--reminiscent of my years in Florida--for my son's graduation open house party. To avoid having to buy a second refrigerator or adding counter space to hold all the pitchers, I made a tea concentrate in advance and then just diluted with water and added ice as needed to meet the demand at the party. It turned out really well and what was leftover was easily saved by freezing in ice cube trays.

Because it is once again the season of graduation open houses, here's the recipe:

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. As soon as it boils, pour it over 55 regular-sized tea bags. Let it steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags. Place them in another bowl. Squeeze them out by pressing on them with a spoon and add that liquid to the rest of the tea concentrate. When the concentrate is still hot, add sugar, if desired. I added 1.5 cups of sugar to each batch of concentrate. Also, if desired, add some mint. I added about 10 leaves of mint to each batch, bruising each leaf a bit with a spoon before adding it to the hot concentrate. This batch will make about 4-6 pitchers of tea. I made 3 batches, not tripling all at once, but separately. It might prove difficult to work with more than 55 tea bags at a time.

To use: put about one cup of concentrate in a pitcher and fill the pitcher with water. May want to use more or less according to taste and size of pitcher. To make by the glass, use one or two tablespoons of tea to a glass of water. Or freeze the concentrate in ice cube trays and use 1 to 2 ice cubes to a glass of water.

Note: Tea should be made with filtered water to keep mineral deposits from clouding it. Also, keep the concentrate at room temp unless you're going to freeze it, also to keep from clouding. At room temp it's good for about a day or so. It's fine also in the refrig but it may cloud up.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb muffins

The rhubarb my neighbor planted for me two seasons ago is dense with stalks just begging to be baked into treats. I picked some last week and made two batches of rhubarb muffins, using my cousin Vicky's recipe, which I see she has now posted on her blog, "A Portable Pinewood." If you have rhubarb growing in your yard, or packaged in the produce aisle at your local market, maybe bake a batch. Last year I posted a recipe for strawberry rhubarb cobbler, which is another good destination for rhubarb.

Recipe share: beef stew

Tonight we’re having out-of-town guests, friends who used to live nearby but moved last winter to Washington DC. They’ll be with us until tomorrow, happily agreeing to sleep in the room of a son who is off at college. I hope the posters of Dave Matthews, The Wallflowers, The Strokes, and Cold Play on the walls will lull them to a peaceful sleep.

For dinner I’m making beef stew, in the crockpot. It’s a recipe I found some time ago on Mary DeMuth’s website, Relevant Prose and have now made numerous times. Maybe it’s because Mary lives in France that her recipe produces such a wonderful stew, one a bit more elegant than standard beef stew.

If you’re wondering “What to make for dinner?” for your own family or for guests, you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Here’s the link.

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Memorial Day, Part 2: Strawberries and rhubarb

Strawberries and rhubarb are in abundance right now. In fact, I can walk out my back door and pick rhubarb in abundance thanks to my gardening neighbor who provided and planted my rhubarb.

Here is a very good recipe that utilizes this seasonal bounty. I made it yesterday for our guests. I've made it before and it always gets compliments. So if you have strawberries and rhubarb in abundance maybe you will want to try it. It's very good served with vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Fruit filling:

3 pints strawberries, quartered
2 1/4 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
3/4 to 1 cup sugar, depending on sweetness of the fruit
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 big pinch nutmeg

Topping:

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream

Toss fruit into cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into 9x13 pan. Bake at 400° for 50-60 minutes, until fruit is bubbly around the edges and juices are thickened and clear.

For the toppings, combine dry ingredients. Add butter and cut in until the mixture has the consistency of coarse sand. Gradually add cream until dough pulls together. Break off pieces and spread evenly over fruit. Return to oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Can be made in advance and frozen.

The recipe is from a restaurant in Minneapolis but I've forgotten which one. I apologize to the restaurant that I can't attribute it to you.

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Not to be found in a can of Campbells

Fruit soup is a classic Swedish dish, particularly the "winter" version when made around Christmas. Whether you are Swedish or just wanting to expand your repertoire of international recipes you might want to give it a try. Here's my recipe, the result of some tweaking of other recipes I've tried over the years. I made a batch just yesterday.

Swedish Fruit Soup

1 1/2 c. dried apricots (California are best)
1 1/2 c. dried apples
1 1/2 c. dried prunes (bite-size if you can find them)
1 c. dried cherries
2 sticks cinnamon
7 T. quick-cooking tapioca
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 c. sugar (to taste)
2 T. currants
1/3 c. golden raisins

Cut each of the apricots, apples, and prunes into thirds. (Using a scissors works well.) Place the apricots, apples, prunes, and cherries in cold water in a large pan. Let dried fruit soak in water for about 30 minutes. Add the cinnamon, tapioca, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover the pan. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking to the pan. Add the raisins and currants. Simmer for about 10 minutes more. Let cool. Refrigerate overnight. Serve cold or slightly warmed.

Let them eat cake

A cake is in the oven but the house doesn't yet smell of chocolate. My assignment for a parent-sponsored dinner for my son's soccer team this evening is to bring a chocolate dessert. I've chosen to make and bring "Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake," a recipe I've made numerous times for nearly 20 years and it always turns out and it always gets compliments. Plus it's easy. Credit for the recipe goes to "Cath," a woman I worked with in the cytogenetics laboratory at the University of Minnesota a long time ago. (Everyone in that lab was a wonderful cook!).

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Put the following ingredients into a large mixing bowl:
1 box Devils Food Cake mix (no pudding in the mix)
1 box chocolate pudding, instant
4 eggs
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. oil
1 c. sour cream (but I always use plain yogurt--not nonfat)

Using an electric mixer, beat the above until smooth and a little fluffy.

Add:
12 oz. chocolate chips

Grease a bundt cake pan. (I use a nonstick pan but still butter it well. You don't want the cake to stick in all those corners!) Pour the batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 50-60 min. (In my oven it takes 55 min.) Let cool on a rack. Carefully slide a knife around the sides and remove the cake by tipping it over onto a plate. Top with a sprinkling of powdered sugar just before serving.

Enough of baking cake and drinking tea--I need to get back to work!