Though this is National Rhubarb Pie Day, we’ll have to use frozen rhubarb, because Spring is still way off in most parts of the country. But rhubarb is a great addition to our diets if we have health concerns. Rich in antioxidants, rhubarb has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. This means that rhubarb is one of the veggies that protects us from many health issues, from heart disease and diabetes to cancer. It also lowers blood pressure and aids digestion.
Rhubarb stalks are also being hailed as “the next fruit superfood.” That’s great, even though it is technically a vegetable… a member of the buckwheat family. However, it was labeled a fruit in 1947 to avoid the higher tariffs that were placed on vegetables. That’s okay, especially when we remember that a tomato is technically fruit.
If you like tartness, rhubarb is most tart when eaten raw. It sweetens when cooked, much like onions. Oh, but never eat the leaves. Very toxic.
Thanks to Mom teaching me to cook and bake when I was a child, I have been making pies for decades. Rhubarb is a favorite, since I enjoy tart flavors, such as cranberries. But most folks prefer pies to be a little (or a lot) sweeter. So, I now always add strawberries. They sweeten the rhubarb.
Cathy’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
4 c rhubarb, thick stalks cut in half lengthwise; all sliced in ½”-pieces
2 c strawberry slices (thick or thin, your preference)
¼ c sugar
¼ c light brown sugar
2 (3-oz) or 1 (6-oz) sugar-free strawberry Jell-O
1 T cornstarch
1/3 c flour
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest
¼ tsp salt
¼ – ½ tsp almond extract, optional
Pastry for 2-crust (9 or 10” pie), fresh or frozen
2 T cold butter, cut in tiny pieces
For glazing the crust:
Either 2 T milk & 2 T sugar Or 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water
In large bowl, combine sugars, cornstarch, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, zest & salt. Toss with rhubarb, berries (& almond extract, if using), till coated. Pour into prepared pastry shell. Dot with butter. Cut 2nd pastry into ½ – ¾” strips and weave a lattice top for pie. Fold ends under at edges; press to seal; crimp edges. Brush lattice with milk; sprinkle with sugar OR brush with egg yolk wash. Bake at 400°F for 20 min. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake additional 25-35 min till crust is golden and filling is thickened & bubbly. Cool on wire rack to desired temperature. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
KISS Tips: You may want to protect crust edges with foil for last 10 min to prevent from getting too dark. Cooling to room temperature allows the juices time to thicken. To absorb some of the liquid that naturally is created by cooking the rhubarb, add 2-3 T instant tapioca in place of the 1 T cornstarch. Let filling stand 5-10 min before putting in pastry shell. For a Super Simple shortcut version, skip the nutmeg, cinnamon, orange zest & almond extract. You don’t even have to dot the filling with butter. To add a flavor zip, switch to 1 box Strawberry and 1 box Raspberry Jell-O. You can also top with a full crust, rather than creating lattice, but do cut slits in top for steam to escape.
Whether you think squirrels are pests or fascinations, they are playful and agile rodents. Indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, they are indeed rodents, in the same family as chipmunks, woodchucks, prairie dogs, rats, mice, and beavers. However, they also play an important role in the environment. In one season, a single squirrel can bury up to 10,000 nuts, but a good 25% of those never get dug up again by that squirrel or any other. Thus, squirrels are powerhouses in forest regeneration.
We all have likely seen their antics as they fashion ways to access even the trickiest bird feeders. They can also be annoying, as when they gnaw on our home’s wooden siding. I get it. Their front teeth never stop growing, so they must gnaw. But I fear they’ll be in the house one day. We’ve tried a variety of scents they allegedly do not like… from peppermint oil, coffee grounds, and white vinegar to cinnamon, garlic, and rosemary.
Here are a couple of nutty facts about squirrels. A male squirrel is called a boar. The female is a sow. She selects her mates, and mates with several males. She will give birth to an average of 2 to 8 offspring, all of which are born blind. At just 1” long, a baby squirrel is called a kitten.
For National Cheese Lover’s Day, I’ll share my updated 1990s recipe for stuffed zucchini boats. They are Super Simple and fast to make. They’re moist and cheesy.
I like to reflect on people who grace the world with qualities that make it a better place. That said, I note that “classy” needs a touch of refinement, as we could be high or low class, just as the word “quality” does not specify good or bad quality. Classy to me means rich in spirit, not in money.
“Ultimately, America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.”
In the days of the 13 colonies, the faith of Britain’s appointed governor in each colony determined that colony’s official religion. Only white males of that governor’s religion could vote in that colony. In our fledgling nation, Jefferson fought against any such mandatory establishments of religion. Separation of Church and State was very clear. Leaders were expected to practice their religion, but not force it on their states. Everyone was to be able to practice their religion without discrimination or coercion.
In 1954, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add “under God” to our Pledge of Allegiance. “In God We Trust” was added to all US currency in 1955 and became our national motto the next year.
I can think of no better way to celebrate National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day than sinking my teeth into the crunchy, savory, succulent, perfectly grilled sandwich! Pastrami on rye was introduced to Americans in 1888 by Romanian immigrant Sussman Volk. His deli was New York’s first, and the first pastrami on rye was made with goose meat. Much has changed, and the variations are endless. You can even swap coleslaw for the sauerkraut and thousand island dressing for the mustard, but then you are making a Pastrami Reuben. Today, we’ll focus on the Hot Pastrami Sandwich. You can grill it, toast it, or serve it simply on the bread. Your way is the right way.
We’re celebrating National Baking Month with a recipe from yesterday’s look at National Arkansas Day. Arkansas Possum Pie does not contain opossum… or any other meat. It’s a creamy layered pie with chocolate and cream cheese in a melt-in-your-mouth pecan shortbread crust. Okay, you could opt for Super Simple and use a prepared, store-bought 9” graham or shortbread crust, but the crust is the only thing we’re truly baking in this recipe. The pie’s name came from its deceptive appearance. Topped with thick whipped cream, you can’t see the flavorful layers beneath, so the pie is “playing possum,” so to speak. ‘Tis yummy!
Arkansas Possum Pie
Joining the Union in 1836, Arkansas became the 35th State. The name Arkansas came from the Quapaw Indians, whom the French called the “Arkansaw.” In truth, the first people to live there arrived around 11,650 BC.
One of my most memorable moments came as stood in my own backyard in New Hampshire. With our land abutting a wetland, I had been able to watch an annual eagle nest. Just once I happened outside in time to observe an eagle teaching its eaglet to ride a thermal updraft. The little one would catch it and go up and around, but then, whoops… out it slipped, drifted back down and caught it again. On its third attempt, the eaglet “got it.” Then I watched as they both gracefully drifted up, up, up and away out of sight. It was glorious.
“Of all the forces that make for a better world, none is so indispensable, none so powerful, as hope. Without hope men are only half alive. With hope they dream and think and work.”
Many music icons were gone too young, and Elvis Presley was one of them. He was born into a poor family in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn. In 1946 for his 11th birthday, his parents gave Elvis his first guitar. At age 13, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he received a “C” in music class in high school. His teacher told Elvis that he just didn’t have an aptitude for singing. So, he brought in his guitar and sang a song that had just been released by Fairly Holden and His Six Cold Papas… “Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me.” The teacher agreed that Elvis was right. She didn’t appreciate his kind of singing.
Elvis Presley could not read music, but he played and sang by ear. If he heard a song that he liked, he could make it his own. In 1954, at the age of 19, Elvis and his group performed their first live show and he signed his first contract with RCA records at age 20. In Nashville, Tennessee, in 1956, Elvis recorded his first album, which included the hit single “Heartbreak Hotel.” His stardom grew rapidly, even while he served in the U.S. Army from 1958 – 1960. Elvis continued recording music and making movies until his sudden passing in 1977 at his home in Graceland in Memphis at just 42 years of age.
The singer and actor still reigns as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. He holds many records to this day, including the most certified gold and platinum albums, the most albums charted on the Billboard 200, the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart, and the most number one singles by ANY act on the UK Singles Chart. In 1971 the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognized Elvis Presley with its Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
January is National Soup Month. Soup makes a marvelous mouth-watering way to warm up on a chilly winter’s day. A favorite of mine is Chinese Hot and Sour Soup, which I have been making and enjoying since the mid-1970s. Here’s my only slightly updated 1975 recipe.
As an adult, I love the songs of the mockingbird. We have some amazingly talented ones at our home in the North Carolina mountains. They can trill on and on for up to an hour, with seemingly no repeats. (I was sorely disappointed when I returned to Lake Winnipesaukee last summer to find the mockingbirds favoring the calls of the crows and seagulls.)
As noted yesterday, I enjoy sharing recipes on my website and social media articles. In 2023, I am pleased to note that I shared 90 recipes with you. They ranged from appetizers, tapas, beverages, and brunch items to entrees, side dishes, snacks, soups, and sweets. Here is the full list of my recipes shared via my website & social media in 2023. They are all archived on this site in their respective articles.
& Super Simple Oysters Rockefeller
BEVERAGES:
BRUNCH:
Super Simple Wiener Schnitzel
VEGGIES & CHEESE:
SAUCES & CONDIMENTS:
SIDES (inc VEGGIES):
Café Martin Crème de Menthe Brownies
What fun I had writing articles, posting insightful and silly quotes, and sharing recipes with you in 2023. In total I shared 174 “Notable Quotables” from a wide array of folks, from Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan to Thomas Sowell, Kahlil Gibran, Aristotle, Voltaire, Socrates, and proverbs from many cultures. Words rang out from John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Dolly Parton, Doris Day, and Bob Hope, along with Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Amelia Earhart, and Douglas MacArthur. The lists continued with diverse thoughts shared by Andy Warhol, Ernest Hemingway, Mae West, and Martin Luther King, Jr. to Mark Twain, Norman Vincent Peale, Michael Jordan, and Auguste Rodin… to name just a few. We covered politics, war, philosophy, family, relationships, nature, wisdom, behavior, and encouragement.
While the Bloody Mary is typically consumed by mid-afternoon, enjoy one any time you like! Let our recipe get you started.
“I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”
Post that “Do Not Disturb” sign and finish doing whatever needs doing. No Interruptions Day gives us an official excuse to ignore requests that slow us down from accomplishing whatever is on our “to-do” list.
“When we seek hope, it may be best to give hope to someone else. Wrap someone in your arms, look them in the eyes, and tell them that you won’t give up.”
“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”
Mom’s Super Simple Raisin Sauce for Baked Ham
Super Simple Spiced Cranberry Raisin Chutney
“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
“The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don’t celebrate those, they can pass you by.”
“If you can cut the people off from their history, then they can be easily persuaded.”
