I love finding new ways to do old things. I also love finding new appetizers that you can eat with your hands. I entertain frequently and am always on the look out for hor d’oeuvres that I can set out for my guests, which don’t require a plate and fork to eat. It’s fabulous when all can be eaten just using your hands! Today I am going to share with you a classic Italian appetizer but with a “hands only” twist!
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
how rhubarb is the King…”
Okay, so maybe that is not exactly what Lewis Caroll said in Alice in Wonderland but I am sure if he had to do it over, he would, especially if he had a bite of this scrumptious Gluten Free Blueberry Rhubarb Crumble. There is something magical about Rhubarb time. Perhaps what makes it special is that it is so fleeting. Now you see it, now you eat it, now you wait until next year, gosh darn it!
My childhood is full of rhubarb tales. Memories rush in any time I take a bite, standing on a wooden stool, watching my mom carefully stir the pot of bubbling strawberry and rhubarb, its thick aroma filling the house with excitement as we waited to spoon it over ice cream. Coming home from working on the ranch in my teens, I would step off the plane tanned by the sun, with my arms full of rhubarb stalks; I would hold them tight and present them like they were a bouquet, greeting my mom with their bright tart magnificence. Then when I was older, I would take a jar of precious rhubarb preserves to college each fall. When I was homesick and feeling low, I would pop open the seal to spread some “home” on a thick slab of sourdough toast, feeling much better about the world and my place in it. Oh yes, rhubarb and I go way back.
Here is a quick, simple dish to start your own love affair with this tart little stalk. Normally, I do strawberry to make it a little sweeter but I am in love with embracing its acerbity with blueberries, trust me it’s divine. Make it now before the rhubarb time is gone!
All right, I am going to bring it up: New Years Resolutions. There I said it. I’ll let it sit for a few moments…. Okay now that we got the awkward part out of the way let’s get down to it. I know you want to ignore them and just give up but come on! Let’s dust them off and see what our batting average is this April! I have more than a few that I am still pretty far away from, but one that I have been really enjoying is the challenge of eating breakfast. Now I used to live in Manhattan and breakfast was a cup of coffee (if I was lucky) and for a really special day I would have a yogurt. But this year my health is of the essence which makes getting a healthy and protein/veggie rich start to my day even more imperative.
Wanting to get a good start to your day with breakfast is all well-and-good but what about the time! This is something I battle with on the daily. I have so much to get done in the morning before I jet to the office. So lately, I have been wracking my brain to think of grain free, quick, delicious breakfast ideas. Because, let me tell you, if it isn’t tasty, it really doesn’t matter how healthy or quick it is.
Hi guys! Megan from The Housewife in Training Files, and I’m so excited to be back to share another favorite recipe of mine! If you have hopped on over to my blog and checked out a few of my recipes, it will be no secret that I adore desserts. I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas (and luckily don’t have a butt to match…). The typical piece of chocolate, or a soft chewy chocolate chip cookie or delicate vanilla cake, I can pass on without blinking an eye, but mostly ice cream wins my heart. Hands down. I always ask my fiance around the holidays to find a way to overflow my stocking with ice cream rather than a dark chocolate Santa Claus. That has disaster written all over it. I can still dream though.
Do you have a special dessert that is close to your heart? Beyond your favorite that you lose all control with?
I have a few that immediately take me back to the age of when pigtails were acceptable and my mother still dressed me. It was the one that my Mother immediately got all giddy over as soon as she spotted it on the dessert menu. Creme Brulee. The intense vanilla bean speckled custard all cuddled up underneath the favorited blanket of caramelized sugar. Isn’t it known that the crunchy, sweet caramelized sugar is the best part? It is a dessert that will always make me think of her and the ‘special dinners’ that meant we could order dessert. Those were always my favorite family nights.
But in my mind, creme brulee is thee ‘classy dessert’; sweet, simple yet sophisticated. All words that remind me of my mother.
Over the past month, my parents have been off partying vacationing in Arizona with a good set of friends. Not jealous or anything. It’s fine, I will just freeze my lil bum off here in KC.
But, over that month, it is always difficult as I am use to talking and seeing my Mom quite a few times a week. We have a close friendship. I am lucky to say she is one of my best friends. I only hope my future daughter and I will have the same relationship! But during that month, I thought to make a breakfast that comforted me.
Creme Brulee + Oatmeal.
Yes, you read that right. But this treat will have your waistline thanking you.
