Rhubarb Curd Pudding Cups

I owe my love of lemon curd to Aimée White - Food Je t'Aimée. It was during a tea party at her house that I had my first encounter with this gorgeous tart and creamy spread.

It's been an ongoing love affair and since that afternoon, I've played with recipes for lemon, lime and Clementine curds. Walking through the farmer's market the other day, I noticed that Noggins had lush bunches of fresh pink and green spring rhubarb. After the obligatory rhubarb crisp for Sean, my thoughts turned toward curd and I thought, why not?

Totally winging it, as I normally do, I used my favourite lemon curd recipe and just substituted a pound of washed, chopped rhubarb for the lemon juice and zest. I thought about straining out the chunks of rhubarb but in the end said screw it and decided to leave them in for flavour and texture.

Oh my.

You want to make this. Trust me.

I made this Vanilla Pudding Recipe from CHOW.com and layered it in cups with the rhubarb curd and a sweet little Amaretti cookie on top.

Rhubarb Curd

1 pound (454g) fresh rhubarb, washed, chopped (use as many bright pink pieces as possible including the parts around the bottom of the stalks)

1 Tbsp water

1 C sugar

4 egg yolks

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1/2 C butter

- combine rhubarb, water and 1/2 C sugar in a pot - cook on medium-low heat until rhubarb is very soft, about 14 minutes - smoosh all pieces with the back of a rubber spatula or mash with a potato masher

- whisk egg yolks, kosher salt and remaining 1/2 C sugar - scoop out about 1/2 to 1 Cup hot rhubarb and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture a little bit at a time to temper the yolks and then add everything back to the pot with the remaining hot rhubarb - whisk together

- add butter and cook over med-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy

- dish into clean Mason jars or other airtight storage containers

*I usually halve this recipe and it makes two 250mL Mason jars full of curd

Strawberry Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches and Eat In Eat Out Magazine

 

Click on the picture below to see my feature.

Avocado Basil Jalapeno Soup with Greek Yogurt, Watermelon and Pepitas

Sean makes the best guacomole in the world. Well, at least, in MY world.

So when Sandy Avvari messaged me about participating in the 2013 Avocados From Mexico blogger campaign, I knew FOR SURE I wasn't making that. I also knew that I wanted to make something different - something that was new and interesting. I received my little package from Avocados Mexico in the mail, along with a $25 RBC gift card (yay!!) and spent two weeks brainstorming recipe ideas. And then, one night it hit me. Avocado soup. Could such a thing be possible? The answer is yes.

A few things to know about avocado soup:

1. The richness of the avocado took me about 45 minutes to balance. I included the strong contrasting flavours of lemongrass, coconut milk, fresh basil, jalapeno and lime. It works BUT brings me to the second point.

2. Although the bowl of soup pictured above LOOKS pretty, because of the richness, I think it would be hard to finish an entire bowl. If you're curious and want to make the recipe, I'd suggest serving it as an amuse bouche at a dinner party, maybe in cute little shot glasses?

3. I didn't photograph the soup until the day AFTER I made it. The acidity of the lime kept it nice and green in the fridge stored overnight in an airtight container.

4. I tried it both cold and warmed up (not hot/boiling) and it was fine either way.

Avocado Basil Jalapeno Soup

1 Tbsp butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 Avocados from Mexico

2 C chicken stock

1/2 C coconut milk

1 lime, zested and juiced

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1/4 C basil leaves, rough chopped

3-4 inch piece lemongrass, finely chopped

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

- Sautée onion in butter until translucent

- Combine with all other ingredients and purée until smooth

- Serve warm or cold - garnish with dollop of plain Greek yogurt, julienned watermelon, handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sesame oil drizzle