Strawberry Rhubarb Strudel Muffins

Ack. Its JUNE!! How did that happen so fast? This month seems like a big one - this little blog turns FOUR! My baby turns TWO, and Joel starts his second year of residency. Plus visits from both sets of grandparents, and all the other summer fun that is just about to start up.

For a long long time I have been smitten with rhubarb. It wasn't likely to happen because I can honestly say my mother never ever baked with it. But whenever rhubarb made its appearance at church potlucks, I was always sure to grab a piece. But I never had the opportunity to bake with it myself, and by the time I had my own kitchen, it seemed that rhubarb had fallen off the face of the earth. By the time I go to the farmers market it has disapeared. I seem to never find it at the grocery store, or when I do its $5 for a pound!!!!

For years now I have wanted to bake something with rhubarb. I always see all these other bloggers making beautiful tasty treats and I can never ever find any!!!  So you can imagine my glee when I found it at the store for $2.50 a pound instead! It was sad, kinda limpy, and some of the stalks looked downright gross. As I was diligently looking through all the inventory (there had to be something useable in there!! There just had to be!) another woman came over and exclaimed about how gross and pathetic they looked. She gave me a look that said "I can't believe you are going to buy that", turned up her nose and walked away. I wanted to chase her down and tell her that I did in fact know good produce when I saw it, but I really really needed to buy this pathetic lot of rhubarb!! In the end I found four decent stalks (haha!). The good news is that I only used two for these muffins, so I have two leftover for something else! What shall it be?! 

These muffins were a perfect use of my coveted rhubarb- packed with delicious juicy fruit bits and super moist, plus the fun additive of the ground almonds. I also really liked how the crumble was made on the stovetop! I might have to make my crumble that way again, it was very easy and made a great crumble! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Muffins (adapted from Kitchen Heals Soul)

crumble topping:

2 TBSP unsalted butter

1 TBSP sugar

1 1/2 TBSP flour

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

fruit:

1 cup chopped rhubarb (about 1/2 inch pieces)

1 cup quartered strawberries

3-4 TBSP sugar, depending on the tartness of the fruit

2 tsp flour

batter:

6 tbsp sour cream

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat)

1/4 cup ground almonds (you can buy ground or grind them yourself)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.

Line or grease a muffin pan and set aside.

Prepare the crumble topping in a small sauce pan by melting the butter and sugar.

Add the flour, salt, cinnamon and vanilla and stir until incorporated and forms a paste.

Transfer to a bowl to cool and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the rhubarb, strawberry, sugar and flour and toss until the fruit is well coated.

In a large bowl whisk together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. 

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Add the rest of the wet ingredients, followed by the fruit.

Stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups (there should be exactly enough for 12).

Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the batter.

Bake for 18 minutes or until done.

Roasted Strawberry Brown Butter Pancakes

Remember last week when I bragged about how awesome Ladybug was doing sleeping in her big girl bed?

Well, apparently I should have just kept it to myself because the second I hit "publish" sleeping went from awesome to downright horrific. There was NO sleep in this house. Finally, after a whole week of not sleeping and being grumpy (I'm pretty sure I was the grumpier of the two) we decided that maybe she wasn't quite ready for it. My thoughts were confirmed when she started squealing and out of happiness when she saw the crib. I am glad to report we have all been sleeping much better (and napping, too!!!!) now that the crib is back in our lives. And I don't think I'm going to push the toddler bed until maybe she is six. Or seven. 

These pancakes were soooo delicious and fun, definitely a special treat! Ladybug and I both really enjoyed them (Joel was at work, so he didn't get any). Us girls scarfed down almost the entire batch by ourselves, with just a few left over for breakfast the next day. The combination of browned butter, the juicy roasted strawberries and the maple syrup was pretty much awesome! They were just the comfort food we needed after not sleeping for so long. You need to try these! 

Roasted Strawberry Brown Butter Pancakes (How Sweet It Is)

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

1/2 tsp olive oil

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 TBSP sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cup milk (I actually used almost 2 cups, but I like my pancakes thin)

Preheat oven to 375.

Toss the sliced strawberries in the olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt, then lay flat on a baking sheet.

Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until juicy and caramely.

When done, remove them from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes and then chop them up.

In a small saucepan on medium-low heat, slowly melt the butter, whisking constantly, until little brown bits start to form on the bottom, about 5-6 minutes. Watch it closely, it goes from nothing to burnt in 3 seconds flat. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the milk, the egg, and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Stir in the brown butter and the roasted strawberries.

If you want your batter thinner, this is when you can add more milk until you get the consistency you want.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat.

Add a bit of butter or cooking spray to the pan, and scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan.

Cook until bubbles form on top, then flip, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides.

Top with syrup and Enjoy! 

Cranberry Mango Nut Bars (Gluten Free and Raw)

This month's round of Secret Recipe Club is brought to you by the lovely blog Without Adornment. Bean has a great blog with tons of awesome gluten free, sugar free, raw, and allergen free food. She named her blog after a rather beautiful Bible Scripture - "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment... Rather, it should be that if your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gently and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." (1Peter 3:3-4). She tries to focus her blog on her own quest just be herself, without adornment, and I really love her approach, and her blog reflects it. Her photography is simple, but captures the beauty of the actual food itself, and her recipes are the same - natural food, wholesomely prepared, but obviously delicious.

I had a rather hard time picking what I wanted to make this month. I've been doing a little bit of dabbling in using more whole and unprocessed foods, but I wasn't quite ready to make a foray into gluten free baking (which often contains a substantial list of ingredients not currently found in my kitchen). I finally found the perfect recipe - Cranberry Mango Nut Bars! This fit the bill perfectly, representing Bean's blog about Gluten-free eating, my quest to use less pre-processed foods. Plus it gave me the excuse to buy two things I have been eyeing at the grocery store but haven't been able to stop talking myself out of buying it - almond butter and coconut oil!

I am very happy with the way these bars turned out, too! After the initial chopping phase, these bars were a breeeeeze to put together. I think it took me 5 minutes, tops. After a brief stint in the freezer to harden the bars, it was time to taste them! And taste them I did. Like, three in a row. I had to make sure they were good, you know! :) These are best eaten straight out of the refigerator. Because the honey isn't boiled, these granola bars stay soft, and the longer they are out of the fridge the softer they get!

Cranberry Mango Nut Bars, Gluten Free and Raw (recipe adapted from Without Adornment)

3/4 cup raw almonds, chopped
3/4 cup raw cashews, chopped
1/4 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup dried cranberries soaked in apple juice
1/3 cup dried unsweetened mango, chopped
1/3 cup almond butter
1/4 cup raw honey
2 TBSP coconut oil

Chop your nuts, mango, and soak your cranberries.
Grease an 8x8" pan with vegetable oil and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the almond butter, honey and coconut oil.
Heat on low heat and stir constantly until the coconut oil is melted and the mixture is combined and creamy.
Dump in the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and press until it is evenly spread out.
Place the pan in the freezer for 1 hour.
Cut into bars and then place back into the freezer for another hour.
Once the bars have solidified you can store them in the fridge.
Enjoy!