Truthfully, the first time I heard the words "ruhbarb cake" I thought, "bleh!"I couldn't imagine how a cake made with rhubarb could taste good at all.

    In one of our horse paddocks we have a large rhubarb patch though, and a neighbour asked if she could take some to make this "rhubarb cake". I only really use it to eat the crazy sour stuff raw (it's alarming and refreshing!), and I've made a paleo strawberry rhubarb bare bottom pie last year for national strawberry rhubarb day, but that's it. I never even went out to cut it down and freeze it because I just never really loved much that was made from rhubarb. 

    Anywho...back to my neighbour....she got some rhubarb from our field, made some cake, and brought some over for me to try...and, let me tell you people, this freakin' cake was so good! So, so, soooo good!!! I'm a little excited about this cake. I plan on making 2 more today! I feel some sadness over the rhubarb I've let go to waste because I didn't know about this delightful cake. 

    This cake is a very simple white cake with rhubarb mixed in, and a crumbly, buttery, cinnamon-sugary topping. It is very moist, and not too sweet, not too sour. 

    After I had made 3 pans of my own rhubarb cake, I brought some over to another neighbour who said that he quite hates rhubarb, and has never had any cake, pie or jam of it that he enjoyed. So I told him I wouldn't be offended if he didn't try it, but he said he would anyway. He said he was always willing to try something, just in case. Well, didn't I go back to see him the next day and he couldn't believe how good the cake was! He said (in a thick Italian accent) that his face didn't pucker, and that the sweetness wasn't too much and he loved the cinnamon in it. 

    Enough said.
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Rhubarb Cake
Adapted from Oma's Rhubarb Cake


Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 1/2 Cup white sugar
• 1/2 Cup brown sugar
• 1 Tsp baking soda
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• 2 Cups flour
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1 Cup buttermilk/sour milk (measure 2 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup, and fill to 1 cup with milk, stir and let curdle)
• 4 Cups chopped rhubarb

For the Topping:

• 1/2 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 Brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup butter, soft (room temperature)
• 1/4 Cup flour
• 2 Tsp Cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (I accidentally wrote "plant" instead of "pan" because I'm listening to the broadway recording of "Little Shop of Horrors" which is about a man-eating plant!!!) Haha, anyway, don't grease any plants....moving on....
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, baking soda, salt and 2 cups flour
3. Stir in the eggs and buttermilk until smooth, then fold in the rhubarb. The batter will be pretty thick, but fear not, it should be! Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly
4. To prepare the topping, in a small bowl blend together the sugars and butter until smooth, then stir in 1/4 cup flour and cinnamon until the mixture is crumbly
5. Sprinkle the mixture evenly onto of the cake
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes. 

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   The first time I tried making this it was a gloomy Saturday. The weather was gloomy, and I felt gloomy.

​    By the time the cake was finished and cooled, the sun had come out and the weather was no longer gloomy - and neither was I! The cake smelled so good, and looked so beautiful, and tasted so wonderful! 

   So, that's all there is to this lovely little cake!

   Tonight the girls have a soccer game, then I think we'll let them have some time playing at the splash pad, and maybe we'll have a campfire tonight too. We plan to go and visit some friends tomorrow who we don't get to see too often, so I am looking forward to that also. 

    I hope you all have a lovely weekend.


xo

    So, yesterday I went with my middle child on a field trip to a place called "Sky Zone Trampoline Park". I wasn't sure (at all!) what to expect, but it turned out be a really fun day (except for the long bus ride there and back!). I don't know how to describe the "park" exactly, except to say that everything is trampoline based! It was fun, and (total) I probably jumped on a trampoline for at least an hour - which is a lot for an old gal like me! : )  Ok, the jumping itself wasn't too bad, but I did need to take a lot bathroom breaks to make sure I didn't pee myself! Hahaha, seriously though, having kids (and vaginal births!) really makes things like jumping on a trampoline more like playing a game of Russian roulette! Whomp whomp.

    Anywhooooo, this recipe today is really tasty, and not difficult to put together. 

    There's a new Thai/Japanese restaurant in Belleville that we've been to a few times, and it has opened my eyes to the many wonderful Thai (and Japanese) dishes I've never known about. I also tried sushi (well, I tried it once before, about 10 years ago and hated it!) and really loved it. So, all that to say I've been experimenting at home with different Thai flavours, and I was pleased as punch with this dish.

    The sauce is adapted from Stupid Easy Paleo's Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce, and the meatballs are just a few ingredients with nothing fancy. Well, unless you consider sesame seeds fancy? If you want to make your own Asian cuisine at home, just get yourself some sesame seeds! Just commit to it; they aren't terribly expensive and they are delightful and (in my opinion) essential in making Asian foods! All that said....you can omit the sesame seeds if you don't have any. But just get some. : ) 

Thai Meatballs with Sweet & Spicy Sauce

Ingredients:

For Meatballs:

• 1 ib ground beef
• 1 medium sized carrot, grated
• 1 Tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• Pinch of salt & pepper

For the Sweet & Spicy Sauce:

• 1/2 Cup apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• 4 Garlic cloves, minced
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger (or 1/4 Tsp ground)
• 1 Tsp chili flakes
• 1/4 Tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 Tsp Arrowroot starch (if not paleo, you can use corn starch)

Method:

For the meatballs:

1. Place all ingredients for meatballs into a bowl, and, using your hands, combine. Don't over mix though, just work everything together gently
2. Place a large skillet on medium, and drizzle some olive oil into the pan
3. While that's getting nice and hot, begin to make your meat into balls. In order to get uniform sized balls, I use my small Pampered Chef scoop, but if you don't have one of those, simply use a tablespoon to scoop out the meat mixture and gently roll into balls (you may need to put a little oil onto your hands to keep the balls from sticking)
4. Once the pan is hot, place a few meatballs into the pan, and sear to create a nice "crust" on the meatballs. I generally place a few into the hot pan, then take the handle of the pan and give it a smooth shake so that the meatballs rolls around and keep a nice shape as they brown. You can also just use tongs or a spoon to gently roll the meatballs over so that all "sides" are being browned. Don't overcrowd the pan though! Do this is batches (the exact number depends on how big your pan is) until all of the meatballs have been browned and in the pan for at least 5 minutes and nearly cooked through. Remove each batch of meatballs from the pan and set aside on paper towel or newspaper to drain slightly
5. Once all the meatballs have been cooked, remove some of the grease from the pan, either by pouring it off, or using paper towel to dab it out (we're using the pan for the sauce now) : )

For the sauce:

1. Once the grease has been taken out of the pan, return it to a medium heat
2. Add the vinegar into the pan, and deglaze, scraping up the nice browned bits from the pan that the meatballs left behind
3. Add in the other ingredients for the sauce, except the arrowroot
4. Once the honey is melted, and the sauce is warm, add in the arrowroot starch and whisk to combine (make sure you don't leave any lumps behind!)
5. Once the sauce is well combined, add the meatballs back into the pan to warm back up as the sauce gets hot and thickens (this should only take a few minutes)
6. You're all set! Serve it up!

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***If kids are eating this, and they don't like spicy food, just leave some of the meatballs out of the sauce. They still taste great on their own!***


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    So, really, a pretty strait forward recipe, but with really fantastic results! 

     I like to eat this with a quick fry of shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, thinly sliced peppers and onions, and spiralized zucchini. I'll just top it with the meatballs, and spoon a little extra sauce on it. 

      Anyway, on Monday on my health & fitness post I talked about dealing with stress. One of the things that had been causing me anxiety was a decision to cook at a camp this summer. Once I decided I would do it, I got started on menus. I like creating menus, but I've only had to do it for my family, and special menus for if guests are coming over. 

    So, I'm putting it out there - what kind of food would you consider quintessentially "summer camp", and what foods would you think could work on a summer camp menu? I always lean towards healthy options, but I realize (and my husband keeps reminding me!) that the whole world, and most children, don't eat or believe in eating the way I do. So I need to balance healthy foods with camp foods, oh, and all on a budget too! This might be a challenge, but I am totally up for it! Input would be welcomed though!!! 

    So please, if you've read all this way, give me some suggestions! 

    Have a great weekend! 

   Hello!!

   I'm still here! 

   Life has felt a little topsy turvy lately, but I'm here today to share on my Health & Fitness page some tips for dealing with stress! Check it out, would ya?

    And here, to help with any stress, is a few funnies! : )       

   
​ I know, right?!? I didn't realize this, but now that I know....life changed forever! 

 

     My sister sent me this one and it made me laugh out loud, and want cupcakes...(whomp whomp)

      Alright, well, I'm signing off here! Happy Monday one and all! 
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