Oh, do I love rhubarb. As I was growing up, my mother used to have a rhubarb patch in our back yard. She’d never let me go cut any of it, though, since the leaves are poisonous. My mom and dad liked stewed rhubarb. Period. Although once in awhile my mother would make a rhubarb pie, perhaps for guests. I rarely make anything with rhubarb because my DH knows that rhubarb requires a lot of sugar to make it palatable. Therefore, he avoids it most of the time and I never make it because of that.

But when were visiting our friends Sue and Lynn, and I asked to help with dinner, she handed me the printout for this one afternoon and I made it according to her recipe. Dave said yes, he’d have some. He loved it. I loved it. Sue and Lynn loved it, of course.

This recipe is quite simple – it comes from cooks.com. One of dozens of such recipes, but this one’s a winner, I think.

You mix up a crumble of oatmeal, flour, sugar, and some melted butter, etc. and half of it goes in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Then the fresh chunked rhubarb goes in on top of it. That’s what you can see in the top photo at left with the cornstarch-based clear sauce that’s poured over the top. The remaining crumbs are sprinkled on top.

Into the oven it goes for about an hour. Or longer if the top doesn’t quite brown sufficiently. You do want it to be a golden brown when it comes out of the oven. The baked version is in the lower photo.

During the baking the sauce and the rhubarb marry and create a lovely loose fruit mixture and the crumbs on top add a delicious crunch.

Serve it with vanilla ice cream or pour over some half and half. Whichever suits you! Thanks, Sue, for a great recipe.

What I liked about it: the flavor, the texture of the topping. Not too sweet. Not too sour. Just right, as the saying goes. Also easy!

What I didn’t like: absolutely nothing.

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A year ago: Caribbean Rice
Two years ago: Corn – everything you ever wanted to know about it
Three years ago: Peaches and Nectarines – everything you ever wanted to know about them
Four years ago: The BEST Bean Salad (a Paul Prudhomme recipe, very low calorie and VERY good)

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Sometimes – or maybe most of the time – as everyday cooks we may just steam or sauté some veggies and we’re done with it. We’re rushed or just not in the mood to make a simple veg something special. And sure, I do that all the time. Last night we had onions and bell peppers roasted on the outdoor grill with nothing but some canola oil on them. And they were delicious. No balsamic sprinkled on. No sesame seeds. No herbs. Not even any salt or pepper, actually. And they tasted fine.

But then there are times when you’d like to do a really SIMPLE sauce that will make a fresh, seasonal vegetable sing! That’s what this recipe is all about. Sue, my friend in Denver, made this little sauce that was drizzled over roasted asparagus. It was just scrumptious. Easy. Can be made ahead and reheated. You don’t make much of the mixture anyway, but it’s enough to give oodles of flavor for a vegetable for 4 people. In the picture you can’t exactly see the sauce – but it provided a bit of brown speckle (look closely) and just lots of flavor. Worth making. Do watch the butter so it doesn’t get too brown!

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A year ago: Moroccan Lamb Chop Sandwiches
Three years ago: One Bowl Thin Choc Chip Cookies (my favorite CC cookie to date)
Four years ago: Shepherd’s Pie with Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

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. . .  you arrive in the room, go into the bathroom and find Molton Brown products on the sink. Maybe a couple of other times in my life have I stayed at a hotel where Molton Brown was offered, but never so many different ones. I’m a fan of the products – they’re made in England – and likely that’s where I was first introduced to them. Here in the U.S. the stuff is pricey. Last summer when we took a trip to England, I stocked up on the body lotion, which comes in multiple scents. I love them. My skin likes them. We left behind the mouthwash and the shower gel. Dave took the shampoo and conditioner. AND he took the body lotion until I squawked about it.

So, now, down to the point. Here’s where we were:

The Broadmoor. Does that look idyllic, or what? Makes me think it’s a modern castle on a lake in Switzerland. But no, it’s right here in the U.S. of A. On the foothills side (west) of Colorado Springs. And it’s a huge complex. Yet, despite the fact that they do conventions, and have a huge parking garage buried underground a block away, once you’re happily settled in, you’d hardly know there could be several hundred people staying here. You see, there are numerous hotel buildings – meaning you can stay in several of the different buildings which range from rooms, to suites to apartments to houses. Here in the picture above, I was standing on the west side of the famous Broadmoor lake looking back toward the main building side, although that structure you see isn’t the main building. But do note the pretty arched bridge. There’s a paved walkway all around the lake with a few well situated benches for sunshine or shade. Our room was on the ground floor just behind the big tall tree on the far right of the photo. We had a tiny, little terrace surrounded in shrubs. Mostly it was too hot to sit out there, though.

There’s our room with Dave standing in an anteroom that faces the lake. The décor was lovely. The room was very roomy. The bathroom (around to the left in the photos), was large and luxurious with both a shower and jacuzzi tub. We had a nice, big television, a desk (behind Dave) and two small desk-type chairs.

If there was any complaint, it’s that there was just one comfortable chair in the room, which meant if we spent time in the room relaxing, the other of us was either lying on the bed or seated uncomfortably in one of the small straight chairs.

So here’s a collage of photos from the Broadmoor.

(1) Walking out of the main building at lake level, they have a very large patio with big and small tables, some with umbrellas. We sat out there for a few hours reading.

Waitresses are available to bring beverages if you want them.

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(2) On the other side of the lake is one of the fine dining restaurants (they have 3 fine dining and several others that could be called family friendly).

This one was Charles Court, and we were sitting outside on the terrace there, overlooking the lake.

If I turned around 180° I’d have the view you saw up toward the top of the post.

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Lastly, there’s another photo looking up at one of the lower mountains. Everywhere you turned there was a lovely view.

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And all the bathroom towels had the beautiful big B monogram. They were ever-so puffy and fluffy and white.

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I think this may be my favorite shot of the hotel. With the drooping trees framing the photo.

There’s no question we want to return to the hotel. It’s just a matter of when. Staying at The Broadmoor was on my “bucket list.” I’ve wanted to stay there ever since I lived in Denver back in the 1960’s. I’d read about it – never visited it – and yearned to actually stay there. This isn’t your down-the-street Best Western, if you get my drift. It’s for a special occasion. We talked with people who were there for a week (wow, would that bill be expensive). We got a summer special rate, which made it still more expensive than almost any hotel where we’ve ever stayed before. (An aside, I think the most expensive hotel we’ve ever stayed – in a room with a view – was on the Isle of Capri, and it was over $400 per night. And it was lovely.)  But, The Broadmoor was really nice. I wanted to buy something with the logo on it, but couldn’t find anything I thought I’d actually use. There are several stores within the hotel, including one with kitchen stuff. That store carried a nice collection of McKenzie-Childs furniture, dishes and accessories. I’m enamored with their black and white check line, and wanted to buy one of the cup and saucer sets, but since I drink (usually) just one espresso cup of coffee per day, it made no sense whatsoever for me to buy a large enamelware coffee mug and saucer. Which would languish on a cupboard shelf somewhere and rarely get used. Besides, it wasn’t a Broadmoor mug. I’d just have remembered that that’s where I bought it!

So, if you’re ever looking for a special place, to celebrate a special occasion, think about The Broadmoor. Or if you’re vacationing in the area, include it in your itinerary. Do plan to stay at least two nights so you can spend the in between day enjoying the surroundings. We had their famous Sunday brunch (it was amazing). But do go there. Someday.

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Have you ever heard of them? I hadn’t. Until someone from Freida’s Produce contacted me asking if I’d like to try them (and if I liked them, hopefully tell you about them). They’re a unique variety of apricots, a hybrid of an Iranian and a Moroccan apricot. And when I tell you it has a short growing season, we’re talking days. Maybe a couple of weeks at most.

They’re a delicate color (with just the slightest bit of rosy hue on some of the skins) and they have a very delicate taste and they’re exceedingly juicy. And very tasty.

The flavor is lovely. Subtle, though. And truly, they’re only available right now (at Trader Joe’s and Ralphs). I didn’t end up baking with them – I’d thought about it – but the flavor is so delicate I was certain they’d be lost in a tart with other (perhaps more predominant) flavors. If you buy them, do plan to eat them right away. They won’t keep. Freida’s suggested a no-bake tart, adding the sliced angelcots last with a glaze of melted jam. We ate ours right there, poised over the sink, dripping juice down our chins.

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Whenever I fix a pork roast or thick pork chops, I like to serve some kind of sauce, or relish, or something to go with it. When we were in Denver recently, my friend Sue did a delicious small pork loin roast and had made the chutney you see in the photo, to go along with it.

She didn’t remember when or where she got the recipe, but she has tweaked it a bit – and she did so for us to try to reduce the amount of sugar in it, so Dave could enjoy more of it. It was absolutely delicious. I think it was great the way it was, so would be happy anytime with this version.  I haven’t made this myself, so can’t really attest to the ease of making it, but it doesn’t look to be very complicated at all. If you make it ahead, just reheat over low heat and serve on top and on the side. It’s a full-flavored kind of compote (mostly from the balsamic vinegar) – so you will use just a little of it with each bite of meat. Thanks, Sue, for a great new recipe.

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A year ago: Fresh Corn Confetti Salad
Four years ago: Mojito

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When we flew to Denver recently, we visited and stayed with our friends, Sue and Lynn (left) who live in Morrison, a foothills suburb of Denver. They’ve been friends for years, having moved last fall from where we live in California, to Denver, to be closer to their daughter Megan (who reads my blog – hi, Megan), their grandchildren, Lynn’s parents and sister and family.

We stayed in Sue and Lynn’s lovely new home, enjoyed many a delicious meal (and some of Sue’s recipes will be posted in coming days), sat many hours out on their superb deck, watching for deer and fawn, sipping on Colorado wine and Bombay Sapphire Gin and Tonics. It was warm while we were there, but it’s so dry – we didn’t notice the high temperatures so much.

For two of the days the four of us drove up into the Rockies. That’s when we saw this:

I think it looks like a postcard. So beautiful. It was really pleasant temperature-wise, and the snow was melting away (very late this year, they said). We spent the night in Leadville – an old mining town that’s still a lot like it must have looked like more than 100+ years ago.

We spent the night at a cute Victorian bed and breakfast in Leadville: The McGinnis Cottage. Rooms are very small (and I mean really small), and the bed was just so-so. The house is cute, though, with lots of interesting history. The owner is charming and helpful. We had dinner in town at a really good Italian restaurant, Zichittella’s. I don’t remember what other people ordered, but I got a crusted chicken dish, kind of like chicken Parmesan, and it was delicious. It was good enough that if we went back to Leadville ever, I’d go there again. It’s a good family friendly restaurant.

One of the days we visited, we went into downtown Denver to a spectacular restaurant:

Rioja

1431 Larimer St. (Larimer Square)

Denver, CO 80202

303 820-2282

We took Sue and Lynn there for lunch and enjoyed sandwiches, salads and I ordered a kind of charcuterie plate. My DH ordered a lamburger.  The food was outstanding. The service was excellent. I’d recommend it to anyone – anytime. It’s not inexpensive, but we thought it worth the cost, no question!

Our second day out on our road trip with Sue and Lynn, we stopped in Vail for lunch. I don’t recall the name of the restaurant, but it was open (not all Vail restaurants are open during the summer – the off season). We sat outside on their patio and enjoyed a very lovely meal.

This was the picture from our table. It’s located in one of the Vail hotels, on a side street.

More stories to come.

A year ago: Chicken Breasts with Apricot Onion Pan Sauce

Three years ago: Onion Pepper Marmalade

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Remember, we’ve been remodeling our bathrooms. It’s now been about 9 weeks, I think, maybe longer. The powder room and full bath downstairs are nearly done. The upstairs guest bathroom is nearly done also, and next week they start on the demolition of the master bathroom. Don’t know how many weeks it will take to do that one. Hopefully not as long as the others.

That’s the guest bath upstairs. We’re in the process of moving into it while the master bath is being done. We don’t yet have mirrors on the wall in front of the two sinks, or any hardware except the toilet paper holder. And we will have some kind of window treatment. Don’t know what yet, but nothing really to block the light. Haven’t yet used the shower, but will in just a few days. The granite is a greeny-black-brown color and blends nicely with the mosaic tile in the shower. My big ceramic urn (I think it’s an olive oil pot, but decorative only) I bought in Italy years ago blends well with the color scheme. My DH, bless his crazy, silly heart, has computed that the new cabinet above the toilet will hold 52 rolls of toilet paper. Only problem is, I don’t know how you can reach it while you’re, uhm, sitting.

There’s a picture of the nearly finished powder room downstairs. Only thing missing is the toilet paper holder at this point. I just love the copper vessel sink. Dave hates it. Thinks that in 3 years it will “date” the bathroom.

I need some nice, new green finger towels for this room. The mirror is the same. So are the sconces and the wallpaper. It’s just the cabinet and toilet that are new. Do note the cute little feet on the cabinet. It’s supposed to make it look like the cabinet is a piece of furniture.

Darci tells me I simply must have a new rug in this room. She’s going to pick it out for me.

And there is the downstairs bathroom, fondly called “Dave’s bathroom.” A little hard to wash your hands at the moment with no plumbing hardware. There’s a leak in the shower mechanisms, so we don’t have water to this room yet. To be finished tomorrow, we’re told. The granite is the same as the one upstairs (green-black-brown). This is an ADA type of shower – you can’t see it, but there’s a slight slanted ramp to get into the shower (you can barely discern the glass shower barrier – see the right edge just to the right of the vertical green mosaic tile. Anyway, if either of us were in a wheelchair, we could wheel in, as they say. The wall color is a kind of moss green.

I love how everything looks so far. Our decorator, Darci, has done such a good job of coordinating colors and design.

There’s a photo of our master bath and dressing room area. It’s a chaotic mess right now as we’re both moving things to our bedroom, to the other bathroom, to the guest room and to the studio up another half level.

Along the right side are two closets that house my dressy clothes and my way-too-many jackets. On the left is another odd-shaped impractical closet that will stay the same (doors ajar) where I have extra shoes, dress heels I never wear at all, extra sweaters etc.

I think this would be the right opportunity to get rid of some of those things. Shoes that don’t fit, sweaters that are very out of date, or whatever. On the left side there’s a mirror, showing a reflection of my DH’s separate sink (and his 2nd set of artificial legs propped up against the cabinet). There’s also a large walk-in closet (his) that’s off to the left. The toilet is on the immediate left.

And down at the far end you can see a big white tub – that’s the jacuzzi tub that’s departing. I never – ever – use it. At the far end and to the left is a big shower. It will be bigger, and also adaptable for wheelchair access. We’ll have a small, free standing tub at the end on the right, kind of angled. We’re going to have a new window (behind the hanging light) down there at the end – one that will open to provide a ventilation path in the warm summer months. My sink is on the left just past those doors, and behind it is a very small walk-in closet (mine). But then, I have clothes completely filling the large closet in the guest room, so I have no room to complain!

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If I could just reach into that picture, I suppose I’d reach for the toast first. Oh, was it ever delish. Well, the salmon was too, but the toast was memorable! With oodles of butter, garlic and herbs. Could I just have that for lunch, please?

What you do with leftover salmon, I don’t know, but I’m always at a loss for how to use up a serving or two of salmon, other than just reheating it in the microwave. One of my favorite company meals is a Grilled Salmon with Watercress Salad. Invariably I have just a little bit left over and the salad part isn’t edible the next day. So I end up with a chunk of salmon with nothing else to go with it. Now I have a solution with this recipe. Phillis Carey always has such great ideas for making use of leftovers, this being a perfect one. It will become part of my regular repertoire.

The recipe below assumes you need to cook the salmon from scratch, but if you have leftovers, you’ll know where to pick up in this recipe. The big flakes are marinated in a dressing for a couple of hours, then it’s mounded on the baby Romaine (Trader Joe’s carries that) or use some other kind of tender lettuces, like butter lettuce. As you toss the salmon (gently, gently) you’ll find that the bigger chunks will break apart some – that’s fine – but that’s why you start with bigger flakes to begin with.

Meanwhile, do make the toasted bread. It is just so good. Undoubtedly loaded with too many fat grams, but hey, you’re eating omega-3 fatty acids in the salmon, so it balances out, right?

printer-friendly PDF for the complete recipe
printer-friendly PDF for just the ciabatta herb toasts

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For those of you who printed out the PDF or copied the recipe in the post, there was a little mistake. I forgot to add the cocoa in my recipe write-up. Apparently in David Lebovitz’ blog version (which I went online to copy and paste when I wrote up the post) he didn’t include it, but in his book, he did. The book version is the recipe I followed – and it’s a big, whopping 1/2 teaspoon, I think. But it did make a subtle difference – I do believe. Click HERE to go back to that post. Thanks to my reader, Donna, who noticed the error! Thanks, Donna.

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This recipe had been languishing in my to-try file for about 5 years, just waiting for the right opportunity when I had some good tasting, ripe and very red tomatoes. This is a Mario Batali recipe, from his cookbook that he did with some help by Gweneth Paltrow, Spain…A Culinary Road Trip. But actually, I’d clipped the recipe from an article in Food and Wine Magazine.

In the headnote to the recipe, Mario explained that the tomato concoction resembles a gazpacho – the very traditional type they make in Spain – that contains a goodly amount of fresh, toasted country bread in it. Since I love gazpacho, I thought this was a shoe-in for me.

You start with some freshly chopped garlic, then add the chunked-up tomatoes (no need to peel or seed them) into a food processor. Add some olive oil, sherry vinegar (an essential ingredient – do not substitute regular vinegar) and some salt and pepper. That’s IT. I stopped the processor once to scrape down the sides and blended it until it was smooth. Poured it into a serving bowl and refrigerated it for a few hours before serving.

Now, the garnishes are a little unusual. The recipe calls for Serrano ham, a unique ham from Spain. A quite salty ham in case you’ve never had it. In Spain the ubiquitous noontime snack is a ham sandwich. Almost always made with Serrano ham. I could hardly eat such sandwiches because the meat is SO salty. I’m not even sure you can buy Serrano ham in the U.S., so I substituted some andouille sausage I had on hand. Then I added the diced-up hard boiled egg. From the photo at top, you can see the little bowls of both. But I’d suggest that if you garnish the baguette slices (with the dip on top) it’ll be a lot easier than asking your guests to do it. If you had shaved pieces of ham, that might be fine. If you had slices of egg, that might work too, but to get diced egg and diced ham to stick on the dip was difficult. Just so you know.

What I liked: The flavor was wonderful. Everybody liked it – we had a bunch of family at our home that day and even the grandkids liked it. You don’t have to add on the ham or egg. But in any case, the flavor combo was really delicious. I’d make it again. The recipe also said that if you have leftovers of this, just add some water (a little bit) and serve it as gazpacho (soup). The dip was also very easy to make!

What I didn’t like: As I explained 2 paragraphs ago, diced garnishes were a bit difficult to stick to the dip, so either compose the bread slices in the kitchen or make the ham and egg pieces much larger.

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Three years ago: Sweet and Sour Eggplant
Four years ago: Joan’s Pasta Salad (one of my favorites)

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