Mother's Day Meal

Why not try THREE totally new, more complex than normal recipes for a special holiday meal? All three turned out about as perfectly as I could imagine, and I would definitely make them all again (although not obvious with the piddly iPhone photo showing).

First up: Beet, Orange, Rhubarb & Endive Salad inspired by Epicurious
I had three ginormous beets, boiled them for an hour, peeled, sliced and chilled them for another hour. The rhubarb, fresh from Watauga County Farmers Market, was sliced diagonally dropped in warm but not boiling water/sugar mix and left to simmer 2 minutes, followed by chilling. Mix those two together with cut navel orange chunks and endive, plus a dash of feta, and you have a sweet tangy crunchy salad.

Next on tap: Vegetables Wellington Redux from Vegetarian Times
This was actually pretty simple, but required a lot of prep. Chop red pepper, asparagus, onion, and Rowan County chard, then saute for 10 minutes (adding chard at about 6 minutes). Mix in some homemade pesto and set aside. Working with thawed pastry crust sheets laid on parchment paper (essential, do not skip!), line a loaf pan with the pastry like a box. Spread marscapone on the bottom, sprinkle with rosemary and garlic powder and poke holes in the pastry. Add the asparagus mix, sprinkle with parmesan, and fold the top edges around and over to make an enclosed roll. Brush exposed pastry with an egg and chill 20 mins. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake another 45 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce on the side.

And lastly: Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
I combined and modified about 5 recipes into the following.

1 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/4 t ginger
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 c softened butter
1/2 c packed brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
1 c egg beaters

2 c mashed sweet potato (just nuke 'em for 6-8 mins)
dried cranberries


Combine first eight ingredients and mix well. In separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except sweet potato, mix well. Gently fold flour mix into wet ingredients. Do not over mix, and then gently fold in sweet potato (clumps are ok!). Place into greased muffin tins and bake 20-24 minutes until springy.

1 package low fat cream cheese
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 T cinnamon
1 T vanilla extract

Stir cheese to loosen, then gently beat in remaining ingredients until creamy. Frost cupcakes and top with dried cranberries.