]]>It’s finally feeling like SPRING! The grass is green, the leaves have emerged, and the scent of lilacs is filling the air! It also means the beginning of this year’s glut of rhubarb that people need to offload. I am not fortunate enough to have a rhubarb plant, and I don’t yet know anyone in my new town from whom I can snake some of the delicious stalks, so mine came from the local farmer’s market. This was the inspiration for my Springtime Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp!
Rhubarb comes into season right before strawberries do, so that’s one of the reasons that strawberries and rhubarb are so often paired. If you have never had rhubarb, it’s not good on its own – do NOT go running to your garden to gnaw on a stalk (also the leaves are toxic, so don’t eat those either). The stalks are not sweet. They are actually vegetables akin to celery except they are extremely tart and somewhat herbaceous. I know, that doesn’t sound appetizing at all. Just trust me that we use rhubarb like a fruit and it’s great! When it’s cooked (with SUGAR… don’t ever forget the sugar!!) it becomes a sweet, syrupy, tangy, delight! Mixing rhubarb with strawberries cuts down on the sugar need a bit because the rhubarb can make good use of the sweet red strawberries.
To use up my rhubarb haul from the market, I decided to make a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. Strawberry Rhubarb pies are another classic, but I have another pie that is coming up soon on the blog so I opted for a crisp. Crisps are simple and relatively quick alternatives to pie. I LOVE pie, I might love crisps more – if that’s possible. Crisps make use of rolled oats for a crispy, crunchy crust filled with a sweet fruit filling. Delish! For this recipe, I used frozen strawberries that I needed to use up, but you can use fresh or frozen berries. Just remember that if you are using frozen berries in pies or crisps, you need to up the starch content a bit to account for the additional moisture and you need to bake the product longer. I’ll make a note of that in the recipe below.
This is actually a very simple recipe – here’s a visual step-by-step:
Chop up your strawberries and rhubarb and toss with sugar and cornstarch. Set that aside.
Then for the crust, you mix your dry ingredients
Then cut in the butter.
Then press half into the bottom of your casserole dish.
Pour the fruit mixture over the crust.
Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the fruit and press down slightly.
Bake until golden and bubbling throughout.
Serve! I really like my crisp with a bit of milk or cream poured over the top, many others prefer ice cream. You do you!
2cupssliced or quartered strawberriesfresh or frozen - see note
3-4tbspcornstarch3 if using fresh berries, 4 if using frozen
3/4cupsugarmore if you want it sweeter
1cuprolled oats
1cupbrown sugar
1tspcinnamon
1/2cupflour
1/2cupvegan butter
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350'F
Mix the cornstarch and sugar together in a large bowl. Toss in the prepared fruit. Set aside
In a medium bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour.
Cut in the vegan butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press half of the oat mixture into the bottom of a 2qt casserole dish.
Pour the fruit over the crust.
Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the fruit and press down slightly.
Bake for 40-50 mins if using fresh fruit. Bake for 50-65 minutes if using frozen. You want the juices to be bubbling throughout, not just at the edges, in order for the starch to thicken the liquid.
Notes
As indicated above, increase the starch you use if you're using frozen strawberries. I used 4 tbsp. If using frozen berries, it will take longer to bake this. Be sure the crisp is bubbling throughout before removing from the oven (not just the edges) in order to "activate" the starch so the crisp isn't runny.
If you make this recipe, please rate/comment below! Thanks!
]]>https://kindnesskitchen.ca/strawberry-rhubarb-crisp/feed/0706Greek Quinoa Salad with Tofu Feta
https://kindnesskitchen.ca/greek-quinoa-salad/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=greek-quinoa-salad
https://kindnesskitchen.ca/greek-quinoa-salad/#respondMon, 22 May 2017 13:22:07 +0000http://kindnesskitchen.ca/?p=661It’s the MAY LONG WEEKEND!! This is the weekend that unofficially kicks off summer. In Canada it’s Victoria Day on Monday. Historically, this is a celebration observing Queen Victoria’s birthday (as well as that of the reigning monarch). However, in actual practice it’s a long weekend filled with camping, BBQs, beers, gardening, and general summer […]
]]>It’s the MAY LONG WEEKEND!! This is the weekend that unofficially kicks off summer. In Canada it’s Victoria Day on Monday. Historically, this is a celebration observing Queen Victoria’s birthday (as well as that of the reigning monarch). However, in actual practice it’s a long weekend filled with camping, BBQs, beers, gardening, and general summer merriment. In honour of the seasonal festivities I was drawn to making a summery dish.
Summer foods are typically BBQ burgers, hot dogs, sausages, and ribs (all easily Kindified – aka: Veg-ified… see my RIBZ recipe). Other summer foods are the salads and side dishes that grace our picnic and patio tables. One of my favourite summer salads is Greek Salad. However, sometimes I want something a bit more substantial than just veggies and dressing. Quinoa is amazing, if you haven’t had it – you need to give it a go. You make it exactly like rice and it’s a nutritional powerhouse that tastes great. Anyway, I decided to make a Greek Quinoa Salad with Tofu Feta. Let me tell you, this is a meal in itself and the tofu feta is incredible! This salad is crunchy, fresh, zesty and herb-y. The tofu feta lends a tangy sharpness that is so familiar in Greek salad. The quinoa ramps up the nutrition and makes this salad perfect as a side dish or as a meal in itself!
The actual hands-on portion of making this salad is minimal, but there is some waiting for tofu to marinate and quinoa to cook and cool. This is a recipe that requires you to plan ahead, you can’t really do it last minute. The tofu feta needs to marinate for at least an hour or even overnight, and the quinoa must be completely cool so as not to wilt the veggies. However, making the dressing and chopping the veggies only takes about 5 minutes so this salad really doesn’t take a lot of effort.
In this salad, you’ll find the tofu feta to be firm, brine-y (like feta cheese), and perfectly suited for this application. It just must be noted that you absolutely have to use extra firm (or even super extra firm) tofu for this application, as it must mimic the firmness of dairy feta.
In my house there is some disagreement about the vegetables that go in the Greek Salad. My husband doesn’t like tomatoes OR olives, so I usually use a non-red pepper so he can easily identify the tomatoes to pick them out. I also typically only put the olives in my own bowl, rather than the whole batch. Neither of us likes raw red onions, so I prefer to use green onions. Feel free to go traditional and use the red onion. Anyway, as you know the recipes and photos on the blog are of the real food that we eat, so that explains the less-than-traditional use of a yellow pepper and green onions in our Quinoa Greek Salad
The hands-on portion of this recipe is quick and easy. It simply required a bit of planning ahead to ensure time to marinate the tofu and cool the quinoa. Hands-on time: about 10 minutes. Hands-off time: at least 1 hour.
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
marinating time 1 hourhour
Ingredients
For the Tofu Feta
1blockabout 250g EXTRA FIRM tofu (use the firmest you can find).
1/2cuplemon juice
1/2cupwateror more
1tbspdried oregano
1tspsalt
For the Salad
2cupsCOOKED and COOLED quinoa
1/2cucumberdiced
1tomatochopped
1bell pepperchopped
1/2red onionsliced -OR- 2 green onions, chopped
Kalamata olivesas desired
For the Dressing
1/3cupgood quality olive oil
1tbsplemon juice
1tbsporegano
1/4tspsalt
1/4tsppepper
1/4tspsugar
Instructions
For the TOFU FETA
Cut the tofu into small cubes and place in a small bowl.
Combine the marinade ingredients: lemon juice, water, oregano, and salt. Pour it over the tofu and stir to combine. Add a bit more water, if necessary to help cover the tofu.
Place tofu in fridge to marinate for at least an hour, or even overnight.
For the DRESSING
In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the dressing ingredients.
Whisk well to combine.
To assemble the SALAD
In a large bowl combine the veggies and COOLED quinoa.
Add about 1 cup of the marinated tofu feta (or more to taste).
Add in your desired amount of olives.
Pour the salad dressing over top and toss well to coat the ingredients.
Serve and enjoy!
Greek Salad has long been my go-to to bring to potlucks and BBQs. What is your favourite dish to bring to family dinners and other gatherings?
If you decide to make this recipe, please rate and comment below! Thanks