I am so happy to be sharing this beautiful old fashioned rhubarb cake recipe with you today.  It is not often you see a rhubarb cake with buttermilk!  This is the BEST rhubarb cake going.

So simple and yet, so delicious. This is the type of cake that you can dress up or dress down, depending on when you are going to serve it.

 

Left plain, it makes the perfect snacking cake. Beautiful served with an ice cold glass of milk, or with a cup of your favorite hot drink.  

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, however, it then becomes one of the tastiest dessert cakes going! 

You can even frost it with a simple vanilla buttercream frosting if you like.

 

 

I always like to dust it with a bit of icing sugar, or confectioner's sugar as it is also known.  I have also seen it called powdered sugar. Whatever the name, it is the sugar you use to make icings with.

Its like popping a frilly crinoline underneath your fullest skirt. It just becomes prettier!  And we all know we eat with our eyes first.

 

Rhubarb, or Pie Plant as it is also called, is one of my favorite spring time/early summer fruits!  On its own it is very tart, but sweetened up it becomes quite delicious!  

The roots and underground stem of the rhubarb plant are used to make medicine.  The stalk of the plant is used as food. The leaves of the plant are highly inedible and actually poisonous, so do not make the mistake of thinking you can eat them like a green.

You DEFINITELY CAN NOT! Its dangerous.

 

When we were children, during rhubarb season, my mother would often give us a stick of rhubarb to eat raw.  She would also give us each a small bowl of sugar to dip the ends of the rhubarb in.  

Rhubarb is so sour it would be darned near impossible to eat it without the sugar. Even with the bowl of sugar, it made our cheeks ache, but we loved it.  It was kind of like eating an all natural, no preservative or coloring added, pixie stick

 

For us, aching cheeks or not, it was a real treat.  Added to the pleasure was knowing that mom would probably soon be baking us a rhubarb pie, or this lovely cake.

Or maybe even a rhubarb crisp/crumble.  Oh boy, that was another real favorite!  I love LOVED the buttery oat-filled topping.

 

Don't you just love my mug and tea infuser?  My friend Noelle (who is like a daughter to me) sent me the mug as a gift recently. It is a Wrendale design, entitled "The Diet Starts Tomorrow."  I thought it very appropriate! 

It was so kind of Noelle to send it to me.  Thank YOU Noelle!  I love it!

 

The Tea Infuser is one I got on Amazon. It comes in several different colors and is not very expensive.  

I stumbled onto it when I was looking for an infuser. I thought they were really cute and I loved that they came in sets of two (perfect for when you are sharing), with each having their very own infuser rest for when you take it out of your cup. 

 

Now back to the cake.  This is a beautifully moist and delicious cake.  Unless your rhubarb is really red in color, you probably won't be able to see it once your cake is baked, but trust me, it is there.

Studding the cake all over with sticky tart, yet sweet bits of delicious rhubarb.  Buttermilk cakes are always incredibly moist I find. I love them!

 

I had buttermilk left that I needed to use after having made Dan's Buttermilk Chocolate Cake for his Birthday.  This was the perfect use for it (aside from biscuits or pancakes.)

I love that here in Canada I can buy whole liters of buttermilk! In the UK, I was only ever able to get it in 1 cup sized containers, although in Ireland, just a hop, skip and a jump away, you could also buy it in liter sized containers.

I suppose that is probably because the British didn't really use buttermilk a lot in their cooking, but the Irish do.  Supply and demand I suppose.

In any case, I am happy to be back in the land of buttermilk and am using it any chance I get!

This is, simply put, a beautifully moist and flavored cake. Perfect for enjoying with a hot cuppa, or for dessert, or for taking on picnics.  I think you best prepare yourself to fall in love, because it's going to happen.

I can almost guarantee it!

 

I love hearty salads such as this grain salad that I am sharing with you today. Not only are they delicious and filled with fiber, but they are very simple to make.

 

When I lived in the UK, there was a really delicious one that I used to pick up at Marks & Spencers. I loved the food at M&S. I always said if I won the lottery I would only shop at M&S.

 

They had the most brilliant food court!  All of their produce and meats were par excellence! 

You may have paid a little bit more, but everything had a much longer shelf life than from the other shops. I would rather spend a little bit more and know that I wasn't going to have to throw things away because they went off before I could get them used.

   

Their ready made sandwiches were a hundred percent better than anyone else's.  They were generously filled and the bread was always fresh tasting.

Likewise their salads.  Exemplary.  I loved their grain salad because it had a delicious dressing and was the perfect size for me to have for a lunch on two days running.

 

I also used to buy all of my undergarments and nightwear there as well.  It literally lasted forever.  Good quality.  We also used to buy my estranged husband's shirts, trousers, socks, etc. there as well.

Quality merchandise that lasts. You can't beat it. I will really miss M&S.

 

This is actually a salad that my sister brought over to me the other day.  I thought it was so delicious that I just had to share it with you. It was right up my alley.

Perfectly cooked grains mixed with bitter baby arugula, sharp spring onions, toasted pecan nuts, and the sweetness of dried cranberries.

 

The grain mix she used was one which contained wheat berries, barley and oats.  It was a delicious blend. My sister is really into health foods, natural ingredients and whole grains.

She eschews anything with lots of sugar and preservatives.  She hates anything really processed.  I have to admit I am not fond of anything which is highly processed myself, although I do have a bit of a sweet tooth. (As you know!)

 

I do try to reign in in during the week and basically only bake treats at the weekend.  During the week, I do try to eat much healthier, and this salad was right up my alley! 

It was one of those salads that you can't stop picking at.  Yes, I can be very naughty at times! Okay  . . .  most of the time. Meh . . . 

 

Don't worry if you can't get that particular mix of grains.  You can use whatever grain mix you enjoy, just so long as it amounts to the same quantity. What you want to end up with is approximately 1/2 cup cooked per person or serving. 

So about 1 1/2 cups cooked grains. You can use wheat berries, wild rice, farrow, quinoa, oats, Ebly, brown rice, etc. Just pick your favorites and cook according to the package direction, in chicken stock, of course!

 

You could even add some cooked lentils or chickpeas for additional protein.

Baby arugula (or rocket as it is called in the UK) is one of my favorite salad leaves.  It has a slightly bitter, peppery, almost meaty flavor that I really enjoy!

 

It works really well in salads such as this one. It holds up well and doesn't wilt easily like other salad leaves do when they come into contact with salad dressings.  Arugula is a sturdy leaf! 

I have been known to eat it by the handful and I can tell you up front, it is excellent in meat sandwiches!  Bacon and tomato sandwiches, etc.  Its just great in sandwiches!

 

The dried cranberries add a touch of sweet and some color as well. I love dried cranberries and cranberries are very good for you.  I love to add them to things like this salad.  Excellent!

If you don't like cranberries, dried cherries would work well also!  I think a mix of raisins would also be very good.

 

Not only are the grains slightly nutty in taste and texture, but there is also a quantity of chopped pecan nuts in this salad.  I adore pecans. They have a beautiful taste, almost caramel-like, especially if you toast them first.

And as I always say, toast your nuts!  It doesn't take a lot of effort and the end result is a moreish nut that just tastes nuttier!

 

New look, new life, giveaway for you!  I recently did a big upgrade to my blog here on The English Kitchen. Hopefully I have created a space that is more interesting to read, nicer to look at and a page which loads faster. 

Linda at My Fairy Blog Mother did the revamp for me and I have to say she did an excellent job!  Very professional.  It was a complete pleasure to work with her. She was very attentive and did everything exactly the way I wanted it done. And she had it all done in a very short period of time.  I highly recommend her if you are wanting to have any work done on your own blog!  Highly professional and quite affordable as well! I could not be happier!  Thank YOU Linda!

I have been wanting to do something special to celebrate me beginning  my new start in Canada and I figured a giveaway would be a great way to do it.

Its also a great way to thank my readers and followers for all the support they have given to me over these past six months or so.

Haven't the last 18 months been hard on all of us, what with Covid and everything else.  So what better way to chase away the humdrums than by giving and sharing with  others!

 

To that end I have correlated a giveaway including some of my favorite things.  I love a good cookbook and who doesn't love vintage looking kitchen linens!

I am all about vintage here, and lets face it, at the ripe old age of almost 66, I am a bit vintage myself!  Here is what the lucky winner will receive.

 

During quarantine and while I was living at my sisters, waiting to find my forever-after home, I whiled away many an hour embroidering kitchen teatowels.

I love, LOVE embroidered teatowels and told myself I was not going to have anything in my new home that wasn't  A. useful B. pretty and C. something which I loved.

I adore hand embroidered teatowels and I think you just might also.  With that in mind I am including one of my hand embroidered teatowels.  

 

The Fanny Farmer Cookbook is my all-time favourite cookbook to use for inspiration. I have been using it since I was a young bride in the 1970's.  It is filled with gems.

I cannot tell you how many of these books I have worn out through the years.  I am including a copy of this classic, all-time favourite cookbook.

 

Another thing I did to while away the time while I was waiting to get started on my new life was to crochet myself an abundance of cotton dish cloths.  I am also including one of these.  They are perfect for washing dishes, mopping up spills, etc.  Every stitch contains a little bit of love.

So what do you have to do to get in on the giveaway?  Its simple really.

1.  Follow me and sign up for my newsletters.  Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

 

 One of my favorite fruits next to cherries, watermelon and pears has to be peaches. I simply adore peaches and will happily gobble them up however I can get them. 

Usually its just tinned peaches, but I don't mind.  I just love them. In the UK, I didn't often get to enjoy fresh peaches. We did get them on occasion from South Africa and from France.  The ones from France were excellent! 

 

Singed Angel Wings.  I suppose that is what happens when an angel flies too close to the sun. Their wings get singed.

No worries. There have been no angels hurt today in the making of this very easy and simple dessert. This is a very old, old recipe. I discovered the original in the desserts section of the Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book. 

 

Now that the rules for lockdown are relaxing a bit, they have opened local restaurants for outdoor dining. My father goes every Tuesday for Fish and Chips at his local with his lady friends.  That leaves Cindy and Dan free to do their own thing.

When I was still living with them, we would take the opportunity on Wednesday nights to eat something we knew dad wouldn't like that much.  We would explore Tex Mex and Indian cuisines, etc. take a bit of a walk on the wild side as it were.

 

This week I decided to invite them over here to my place for Chili Dogs. Dan likes Chili Dogs and Cindy usually has to work on Wednesday, so it would be a chance for her to have a bit of a break and for Dan to have a bit of a treat!

I am a person who doesn't like chili with beans on my hotdogs. It has a bit too much going on for me. I prefer a much more unadulterated, meat only chili.  Without chunks of onions and beans, etc. 

 

This recipe I am sharing with you today is just that.  A meat only, unadulterated, chili sauce, meant to be eaten on Chili dogs.

I  actually ground my own meat for this. It was very lean.  What you want is a nice and lean ground beef, without a lot of fat in it.

 

Hot dogs are fatty enough without adding even more fat to them. As you can see this sauce is not really soupy either. You want a sauce with a thickish consistency, but not dry.

The best I can describe it to you is to show you the above photograph. As you can see it is neither overly wet, nor overly dry.  It is nice and meaty and well flavored. 

 

There is a beautiful mix of flavors and spices in the sauce.  Because I didn't want chunks of onion or garlic in the sauce, I opted to use powdered garlic and onion. This gives you the flavor without anything else.

If you have a family member who doesn't like onions in things, slipping a bit of onion powder into the dish is a great way to inject onion flavor without them realizing it. Be careful to use the powder and not the salt.  What you don't want to do is be adding more salt.

 

I always use all beef hotdogs.  Today I used ball-park all beef hotdogs. They had a nice snappy skin and were surprisingly lean! I was quite happy with them.  I grilled them on my electric grill. 

I actually ended up having to finish them in the oven.  I recently purchased a Gotham Electric smoke free grill and I have to say, I was not impressed.  I had never heard of them and it was on sale, half price, so I bought it. 

If the cooking of the hot dogs was any test, I would say don't waste your money.  There was no smoke, but I also ended up finishing the dogs in the oven. Of course that is only the first thing I have cooked on it but so far not impressive.

 

You also want a sturdy kind of a hot dog bun.  I used D'Italiano buns.  I hate it when I am eating a burger or a dog and the bun is falling apart with every mouthful.

These buns stayed the course and remained pretty much intact.  Keeping your buns from getting overly soggy is also a reason for making sure your sauce is not too thin.  

 

You can of course adorn your dogs with whatever toppings you enjoy. My sister added additional mustard to hers (There is some mustard in the sauce.) I offered all the traditional hot dog toppings as well as grated cheese and finely chopped raw sweet onion.

I used a Tex Mex blend of cheese with spicy Jack and Cheddar in it.  It was perfect.  You don't want to overdo the cheese. Well, maybe YOU do, but I didn't. lol

 

To me this was perfect just as is.  The sauce has a lovely smoky spicy flavor.  North American style chili powder, which is not as spicy as the chili powder in the UK, along with chipotle chili powder, ground cumin and celery seed.

I can remember the first time I used chili powder in the UK. I had not realized it was PURE chili powder, essentially ground dried red chilies. I about blew our socks off.  Hot. Hot. Hot.

 

If you are in the UK, do not make that mistake. Use mild chili powder and judge accordingly. Add and taste.  Add and taste. Stop when it gets to your preferred level of heat.

I like chipotle chili powder. It is a bit hotter, but adds a lovely smoked flavor to the sauce. In the UK, you could add a quantity of smoked paprika which will give you the same effect.