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Rhubarb continues to flourish in area gardens. Timely rains and moderate temperatures keep these hardy plants producing abundant stalks and preventing seed head bolt. Stalks tend to get tough and dry when temperatures near the mid-nineties. Stalks need to be harvested regularly to keep up production. Pull any seed heads that form to prolong the harvest season.

Rhubarb Cake, a recipe I cut from a newspaper in 1975 is easy to prepare and great for coffee gatherings or a potluck meal dessert. The cake features a crumb topping, but you may add a cream cheese frosting over the topping for a deluxe version.

Rhubarb Cake

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

11/2 cups finely chopped rhubarb

Topping:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking pan and set aside.

Blend together brown sugar, shortening, egg and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk one third at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in rhubarb and blend until rhubarb is evenly distributed. Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over cake surface. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Yield: 12-15 servings.

Kyle Tebow made mention in a Facebook post, he liked the carrot cake served at a recent wedding. The following recipe for Carrot Cake comes from the “Staff of Life II, Hospital Auxiliary Cookbook, submitted for the book by the late Marge Tebow, Kyle’s grandmother.

The interesting feature about this Carrot Cake is baking in and angel food cake pan makes plenty of surface to frost with a traditional cream cheese frosting. Hint, double the frosting ingredients included with the recipe.

Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

Dash of ground nutmeg, optional

Dash of ground cloves, optional

4 heaping cups finely grated raw carrot

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour an angel food cake pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine vegetable oil and eggs, beating until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and nutmeg and cloves if using. Stir into egg mixture until smooth,

Fold in grated carrots and chopped walnuts. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool completely before removing cake from pan. When cooled, remove cake from pan and frost with the following Cream Cheese Frosting or frosting of your choice. Yield: 12 to 15 servings.

Cream Cheese

Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter or margarine

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in mixer bowl and beat until well combined and fluffy. Frost cooled cake.

Rhubarb Custard Pie, attributed to Debbie Binder, is also included in the same Hospital Auxiliary Cookbook. The lattice top crust is important in the preparation as the open crust allows the custard to set properly.

Rhubarb

Custard Pie

Pastry for 2 crust pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten

2 2/3 Tbsp milk

2 cups granulated sugar

4 Tbsp all-purpose flour

4 cups thin sliced rhubarb

1 Tbsp butter

Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs well, stir in milk. In a small bowl, combine sugar and flour. Stir into egg mixture. Mix in the sliced rhubarb.

Turn mixture into the pastry lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Roll out and cut remaining pasty into strips and form a lattice crust oover the rhubarb mixture. Place pie in oven and bake 45 to 60 minutes until filling is bubbly and crust is nicely browned. Yield: 6-8 servings. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or ice cream.

Tuna can get boring as a sandwich filling. Try this Tuna Tortilla Roll-ups casserole for a change of pace. The recipe comes from the French’s Original Fried Onions recipe collection.

Tuna Tortilla

Roll-ups

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup

1 cup milk

1 can (9 1/2 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked

1 package (10 ounces) frozen broccoli, thawed, cut in 1-inch pieces

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups French-fried onions, divided

6 seven-inch flour or corn tortillas

1 medium tomato, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a small bowl combine soup and milk and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine tuna, broccoli, 1/2 cup cheese and 3/4 cup onions. Stir in 3/4 of the soup mixture.

Divide tuna mixture evenly among the tortillas and roll up. Place seam side down in prepared pan. Stir tomato into remaining soup mixture and pour down the center of the rolled-up tortillas.

Bake covered 35 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining cheese and onions. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes more or until onions are golden brown. Yield:6 servings.

Share your favorite recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Record-Times, P.O. Box 456, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Spend a few minutes each day removing weeds from garden plots.