Minta Eats

Whun I am seeing beautiful asparagus, tomatoes, strawberries or radishes I just can’t stop myself. I am buing amounts more suitable for 4 people household than for me alone. Maybe it’s because of those clod, grayish months when you can just dream about tasteful fruit or veggies.
So it was with ruby red rhubarb I bought for the Slow Food event and charlotte . Instead of half a kilo I came back with two. But it was so beautiful, sooo red, You know? You understand, don’t you? I hope You do:-)
Due to some evening circumstances I wasn’t on to make anything difficult No triple layers torte with mascarpone and rhubarb filling (though sounds delicious, doesn’t it?) or other masterpieces. I needed something sweet, comforting and easy to make. And what’s easier than good ol’ muffins?

This time: Oatmeal Rhubarb Muffins (with white chocolate, if you wish)
Ingridients:

1 cup oats
1 cup flour (can be 50/50 regular and wholemeal)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar (rhubrab is’t to sweet, so You can add more)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 cup youghurt
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
4 stalks of gloriously red rhubarb
optionally: 50 g white chocolate, chopped

Wash and trim rhubarb stalks, cut them into 1 cm length pieces.
Greas the muffin form and layer with paper cups if you like. Turn on the oven for 185 C degrees.

Mix all dry ingridients in one ball. Beat the eggs with butter and youghurt. Add the liquids to flour and oats, stir one time. Add rhubrab (and chocolate), mix NOT so well.
Pour the batter into the muffin form, bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool before serve and Eat!

Different people have different ways to relax and calm down themselves. You can count to 10(000) or do some origami or knitting. Or You can make some cinnamon rolls. That way You don’t only calm your spirit, but also comfort your body (and other bodies as well).

So I did today.  Using a grat recipe (see below)I managed to do 2 batches of cinammon rolls and a small sweet foccacia-looking cake/flat bread.

Cause I didn’t have any raisins I stuffed my rolls with  dried aprictots and cranberries (one batch) and dried plums (second batch), sprinkled with cinnamon.

Here’s the recipe for Parry Rolls form the Two Peas Their Pod blog (check the blog to find out cool way to slice the rolled dough)

Ingridients:
2 packages of yeast, dissolved in 1 cup lukewarm water
6 tablespoon of shortening (I used butter)
1 cup sugar ( I used brown)
7 cups flour or more as needed (it will take more, I ensure You!)
2 cups hot water
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt

Softened butter
Brown sugar
Raisins (look my notes above)
Cinnamon

Add yeast to cup of lukewarm water and sprinkle in a little sugar. Set aside for about five minutes.
Add shortening, sugar, and salt to hot water and cool to lukewarm. Stir in 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast and mix again until smooth.
Add in beaten eggs.
Stir in remainder of flour, a little at a time until no more can be mixed in. Remove the mixer attachment and knead by hand, adding flour until dough does not stick to the bowl. Remove from bowl and knead until dough feels satiny and looks smooth.
Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Lightly knead and roll out into rectangular shape. Spread with softened butter. Sprinkle on brown sugar, raisins, and cinnamon. (make sure you use LOTS of brown sugar…you can omit the raisins, but my family loves them, and sprinkle on loads of cinnamon. we never measure but be very generous.)
Roll into one long roll. To cut use a piece of string or floss.
Place on well greased pans and let rise until double in bulk. Bake at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 degrees and bake until brown-only about 5-7 more minutes.
After cooled frost!

Attention !– this post has ridiculously long foreword. If you wish, please skip it and start with the recipe above.

So. It all started with „Start Trek“ at Saturday. As it happens with English-language movies showed in Polish cinemas, sometimes you can be surprised with the translation of the titles, phrases or even single words used in the film. So it was this time – for example in one of the first scenes Jim T. Kirk goes into fight with some troglodyte from the Space Armada and calls him „cupcake“. In Polish version that „cupcake“ evolves into a choux („ptyś“). Taking into account that cupcake has no Polish word (well, You could call them „babeczki“, but again this word is used to call small tartalettes, friands or other small size cakes, even muffins as well).
Nevertheless this miss-translation made me to make a batch of choux („ptysie“) that later on could be filled with whipped cream or crème anglaise and strawberries.
To make pate choux I used a great recipe from a great (and obligatory for everyone who lie to cook) „Eggs“ by Michel Roux. The recipe called for 4 eggs. So after all was done and a batch of choux was growing in the oven I was faced with 2 lonely eggs resting on the table. So I decided to use them to prepare a batch of waffles from the recipe few pages before of after the one I used for „ptysie“.

I think Michel’s Roux recipe is the best waffle recipe you can get. Waffles you get are fluffy yet hearty, lightly sweet (but not to much). Just ultimate. Here’s the recipe:

Ingridients:
160 g sifted flour
270 ml milk
50 g butter, melted
2 eggs, separated
15 g caster sugar
pinch of salt

Preparation:
Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add 1/3 of the milk, melted butter and egg yolks. Whisk till smooth. Add rest of the milk, mix well. Cover the bowl with cling foil and leave for 5-10 min. Heat the waffle iron. In the meantime beat the egg whites (not too much). Just before making waffles fold egg whites into the batter.
Grease the iron with some butter  (You need to do it every 3-4 waffle) and pour batter onto it. Bake for 3-4 minutes (or till they will be as brown as you wish).
Serve on warm plate with cream, strawberries or whatever you want.

Having a pile of those delicious waffles by my side and book on my lap I realized quite important thing – that it would be great to live such life that I could make waffles for the breakfast.