Last night’s dinner
The lovely mojito pie ready to be devoured. The taste was really light and fresh and Stephen had three pieces before I wrestled it away from him to take the rest to the neighbours. This is the kind of dessert that you would be likely to finish off in bed just before you go to sleep. The salty crust is really what makes it. I didn’t have any pretzels so I used graham cracker crumbs and added a dose of chunky sea salt. I also had a few blueberries kicking around and I folded them in at the last minute.
I also made this terrific fresh cheese yesterday for us to have on some of the leftover rosemary bread.
Here are pictures of the rosemary bread (recipe given the other day) and the fresh cheese in its early stages.
All you do is take some goat’s yogurt and mix it with a bit of sea salt, chopped thyme and chopped mint. Pop it into a coffee filter and let drain overnight. VOILA! yummy fresh cheese that is about the consistency of ricotta.
Today’s dinner/breakfast
This morning calls for some yummy muffins and something being used out of the garden. Rhubarb is getting WAY ahead of me so I will get going on these.
INGREDIENTS
For the streusel:
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For the muffins:
1 1/2 cups small diced rhubarb (about 8 ounces)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
INSTRUCTIONS
For the streusel:
Whisk flour, sugar, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Add butter and combine with your fingers, rubbing the butter into the flour until mostly incorporated but some small pieces remain. (The streusel is ready when it holds together in large clumps when squeezed—it will still be fairly dry.) Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the muffins:
Heat the oven to 375°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 12-well muffin tin with butter or line it with paper cupcake liners.
Toss rhubarb with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl and set aside. Let sit until rhubarb releases some juice, about 5 minutes.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom in a large bowl until evenly combined. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and yogurt in a separate medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix just until combined, about 25 to 30 strokes. Stir in rhubarb, about another 10 to 15 strokes. (The mixture will be thick.)
Place a rounded 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin well (the wells will be full) and evenly sprinkle streusel over top. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes in the pan. Remove from the pan and serve warm or let cool to room temperature.