The Easiest Rhubarb Sauce Ever on Toned-Down Baked Oatmeal

A Preface:  My family is not terribly keen on rhubarb, but it is local, healthy, and cheap.  It will be making an appearance on our table.  No one is allowed to complain, but no one chooses rhubarb for their birthday meal.

I recently discovered that the apples I had been buying all winter were not local since January.  And the potatoes that I thought came from a local farm, had been shipped in from California until the local potatoes are ready in two weeks.  Unfortunately, both products were presented in a way that made me think they were local.  I think it's fine to ship food within reason (I love lemons, for example), but I am very firmly against lack of information and the sense of entitlement to any food in any season.  Hence, it seems reasonable to me to eat rhubarb and strawberries right now.

Easiest Rhubarb Sauce

1. Chop 1 pound of rhubarb into rough 1-2" pieces.  Place in casserole. 
2. Pour in 1/4 or 1/3 cup sugar.  Cover. 
3. Bake at whatever temperature your other stuff is baking, for about 20-30 minutes.  The rhubarb should be completely soft, some of it dissolved into shreds.  It is not attractive. 
4. Allow to cool.  Puree in blender or with a stick blender.  Consider adding a drop (a drop!) of red food coloring. (I resisted temptation in these photos.) 
5. Serve warm or chilled, just as you would applesauce.  And if you like to jazz up applesauce with ginger or cinnamon or something, you could probably do that here too.  Or serve as a sauce over dessert biscuit or tapioca.

I served it for breakfast with a new variation of baked oatmeal that I am in love with.  I cut the sugar back even more, axed the cinnamon, and added a smidge of vanilla.  The idea came from Marilou's Favorite Oatmeal Cookies.  For simplicity's sake, I'll just re-type the oatmeal recipe here.

Margo's Toned-Down Baked OatmealIn blender, mix very well on high:
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. plain yogurt
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Grease a 9x9 baking dish.
Pour in 3 c. quick oatmeal (I use part rolled oats).
Pour liquids in on top, mix evenly.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Serve warm with milk, yogurt, applesauce, or saucy fruit.

Little Soap Bags

I always let my bars of soap dry out and harden for a while before I use them.  Suddenly last week (my new room has unleashed lots of ideas), I thought I could let them scent the closets while they do that.

I whipped up several little net bags with ribbon handles. I put a bar of soap in each one and hung them in my closets.

I gave one to my mom on Mother's Day with a bar of rose soap.  Genevieve is carrying one around these days with a bar of white Dove in it.  My little room smells of "1000 Flowers." (I have not forgotten my promise to take pictures of the rooms to show you - I'm just happily buried in sewing projects.)

Is this not genius?  My soap gets dry, the closets smell nice, and there is no musty, used-up dried sachet to throw away.  I am so pleased.

The Green Calico Dress, Altered, With Strawberries Again

Genevieve's first day of preschool calico dress was getting too short; I only put in a 1" hem.  When I let it out, there was a white faded line.  Drat.

I made a tube of the green calico, ironed it flat with the seam in the middle back, and topstitched it down over the faded line.  Then I added a wide ruffle at the bottom. 

We'll see how many years we get out of it.  The fresh calico is just a tiny bit brighter than the dress, but you have to really study the dress to notice.

Last spring, Genevieve was wearing this dress when I took pictures of the first strawberries.  We had our first strawberries last week.  First we ate them with lemon chiffon pudding, then we had dessert biscuit, strawberries, and homemade ice cream.  We are just getting started on this happy season!

Mr. Thrift's Special Asparagus Dish

Spaghetti topped with pan-roasted asparagus, sunny-side-up egg, freshly ground pepper and salt, and lots of freshly grated Parmesan.

Break the egg to mix it up into a glorious sauce.  Delicious.

And there was a green salad, too, with lettuce from our garden.  We're eating it as fast as we can so we can plant green beans in that spot.

It's a lovely homecoming meal after a long day at my job.

Sugar is Not a Flavor

Sugar is not a flavor – it brings out flavors that are already there, or should be there.  I like sweets, but I like flavors first. 

I've been thinking about that when I cook and bake.  Rebecca and I have talking about this too, in light of the recent sugar intake guidelines.  I like the contrast of something sweet with something less sweet.

For example, I made Pan Eclairs for my sister's birthday recently.  The eggy crust has no sugar.  Then the creamy part is moderately sweet.  I added only a smidge of sugar to the whipping cream on top of that, but the final layer of ganache is decadently rich and sweet.

Do you control sugar in your diet?  How?

Brushing Teeth in a New Nightie

And brushing one less tooth!  My big girl lost her first tooth in a casual way at school (surprising, because there was a lot of drama up to this point). 

She's wearing a new nightie that I sewed for her. I used this pattern again, and the cherry one still fits her as her other summer nightie. 

I adore this story fabric so much that I was almost paralyzed about cutting and sewing it.  But my fabric stash feels large right now, so I told myself this was a great way to sew it down.

If she keeps growing up like a string-bean, the nightie should be just fine into high school. 

The Daisy Clock That Grew On My Wall

It's the electric clock of my childhood kitchen, where its cord was tucked behind it out of sight.  But in my little workroom, there was nowhere to hide the cord.

So I hid it with a patchwork tube, sewn together at 11pm one night in a very happy burst of creativity.  It's the fastest sewing ever, with raw seams and purple thread.

I love it.  It makes me happy.  Daisies have always been special to me.

My little room is coming along nicely.  I did my first sewing in this space yesterday, Mother's Day.  Lovely.

Linking up with No Minimalist Here, DIY Show-off, and Nifty Thrifty.