Rhubarb is in season, which means I am serving rhubarb for dessert. I spiced-up my Peach Cobbler recipe slightly and came up with a very satisfying treat.

I started with 6-8 stalks of rhubarb (tops cut off) and coarsely chopped them into bite-sized chunks. I added these to a sauce pan on medium heat and cooked them down with 1/4 cup maple syrup until they were softened. I did not cook this until it was a completely mushy mess because it needed to be baked. I just got it started and incorporated some maple into it.

I poured it into a Pyrex pie pan and topped it with a mixture from my peach Cobbler Recipe.

Then I baked it at 350 for approximately 30 minutes until it looked ready to eat. I let it cool a bit… patiently.

I served it with homemade maple whipped cream.

This month’s Taste & Create inspired me to tweak my Best Walnut Banana Bread recipe just a bit, thanks to Tamy and Always Eat On the Good China. It took me a few tries to perfect my own banana bread recipe, and now I’m ready to start creating a few new variations. Here is a new one for me.

I immediately went to my Best Banana Walnut Bread Recipe. Then I realized I was out of some ingredients. Good planning on my part (smile). So I altered the flour in my recipe as follows: 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup unbleached white flour, and 1/2 cup crushed rolled oats.

Other than the flour substitutions, I followed my banana walnut bread recipe and added some great ideas from Tamy, such as 1/3 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened), 2 teaspoons granulated ginger, 2 crushed cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and zest from one large navel orange. I added some chocolate chips to half of my batch to mix it up a little.

I baked muffins. I just now realized that I baked Aussie bites (also muffins) for last month’s Taste & Create. What’s up with me and muffins lately? Are all of my Vita-Mix smoothies making me crave muffins?

There is, in my and many locals’ opinion, nothing better than a Hazel Dell mushroom. They are quite simply the best mushrooms you can buy around here. They really make a meal.

Now, I don’t eat red meat, so the entire meal was actually a grilled steak topped with a mushroom saute, hon tsai tai, and freshly baked bread with Camembert cheese. I just ate the side dishes…

I sautéed some shiitake and cremini mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. I added a little white wine and let them cook a little before adding a tablespoon or so of dehydrated chopped shallots from Savory Spice Shop. Everything is better when Savory Spice Shop is involved!

And my dinner was: bread and cheese, mushrooms, and greens… but it was perfect for me.