Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb feels quaint and old-fashioned to me. Grandpas and old farmers grow it. You find it at the farmers market, but not front and center. It's casually placed off to the side, as if the grower plucked a bunch from the perimeter of the barn as an afterthought when loading up the truck. As a child, I remember my mom pulling a scarlet stalk from the garden at the studio. She would let us dip it in sugar to help tame the sour pink flesh. I'm sure my grandfather must have planted that rhubarb in the 1950's or 60's. There is something magical to me about a plant that is so long-lived and prolific that the kids who eat it might someday make pies for their own children, from the very same plant. I'm fortunate enough to now grow Grandpa Wally's rhubarb in my garden. Consider planting your own inheritance!

Rhubarb Pie

1 1/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
4 cups rhubarb, pink, tender
2 tablespoons butter
1 double pie crust

1. Mix together sugar, flour, orange peel & rhubarb.
2. Put in unbaked pie shell, dot with butter.
3. Cover with top crust, slit, seal & flute.  Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Cover edge with crust guard or foil strip.
5. Bake 425 for 40-50 minutes.

Seared Shrimp with Tomato, Lime & Avocado

1 pound tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
6 scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced thin 
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro 
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 
1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 
1 1/2 pounds extra large shrimp peeled and deveined 
1/8 teaspoon sugar 
4 teaspoons canola oil
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
 
1. Combine the tomatoes, scallion whites, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, chipotle, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl

2. Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat, until just smoking. Add half of the shrimp and cook until curled and lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

3. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl and cover with foil. Repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and shrimp and transfer to the bowl with the other shrimp.

4. Return the skillet to high heat, add the tomato mixture and cook until the tomatoes soften slightly, about 1 minute. Off the heat, return the shrimp to the skilled and toss to coat. Transfer the shrimp to a platter, season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with the scallion greens and avocado.

Chicken-Vegetable Soup with Ranch

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package powdered ranch dressing seasoning (1 oz.)
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 package frozen asparagus stir-fry or frozen vegetable medley such as Birdseye (14.4 oz)  WE DOUBLED THIS
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken breast


Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until beginning to soften, 3 minutes. Whisk in flour and ranch to coat vegetables, then whisk in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup until slightly thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in frozen vegetables and chicken; cook just to heat through, about 5 minutes. Add dill and season soup with pepper.

Carnitas

Pork
1 (3.5-4 pound) boneless pork butt, fat cap trimmed to 1/8" thick, cut into 2" chunks
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime
2 cups water
1 medium orange, halved
 
Tortillas and Garnishes
18 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed
Lime wedges
Minced white or red onion
Fresh cilantro leaves
Thinly sliced radishes
Sour cream

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine pork, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cumin, onion, bay leaves, oregano, lime juice, and water in large Dutch oven (liquid should just barely cover meat). Juice orange into medium bowl and remove any seeds (you should have about 1/3 cup juice). Add juice and spent orange halves to pot. Bring mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover pot and transfer to oven; cook until meat is soft and falls apart when prodded with fork, about 2 hours, flipping pieces of meat once during cooking.

2. Remove pot from oven and turn oven to broil. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl; remove orange halves, onion, and bay leaves from cooking liquid and discard (do not skim fat from liquid). Place pot over high heat (use caution, as handles will be very hot) and simmer liquid, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy (heat-safe spatula should leave wide trail when dragged through glaze), 8 to 12 minutes. You should have about 1 cup reduced liquid.

3. Using 2 forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Fold in reduced liquid; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread pork in even layer on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet or on broiler pan (meat should cover almost entire surface of rack or broiler pan). Place baking sheet on lower-middle rack and broil until top of meat is well browned (but not charred) and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, flip pieces of meat and continue to broil until top is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Serve immediately with warm tortillas and garnishes.

Guacamole Salad

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

4 scallions, sliced thin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 poblano chiles, seeded and sliced into 2-inch matchsticks
2 ripe avocados, pitted, skinned, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
 
Toss tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Transfer to paper towel-lined baking sheet and let drain 15 minutes.

Combine scallions, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Let sit 5 minutes, then slowly whisk in oil.

Add chiles, avocados, cilantro, and drained tomatoes to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.