Converted

When I asked Husband years ago what his favorite kind of pie was (he's a cake guy), he said strawberry rhubarb.  I told him it was a good thing we were compatible in all things dark chocolate and raspberry related, because in pie tastes we couldn't be more different.  I told him I disliked rhubarb with every fiber of my being.  It's bitter in taste and chewy in texture.  Not things that belong anywhere near a dessert.

When I commented that the rhubarb in the grocery store actually looked quite good, he gave me his I-told-you-so face and suggested I try it.  I scoffed.  

Hi, my name is julo, and I was wrong.  Rhubarb is delicious.

But it was also nothing like I remembered eating in those disgusting strawberry rhubarb pies from my childhood.  I think the difference must be in preparation.  In other words, I ate me some nasty pie.

Of course, it's the fault of Deb at Smitten Kitchen, as usual.  She's been posting and posting about rhubarb and I finally caved and decided that, hey, if she likes it that much, I should give it one last try before I decide to banish to the will-not-eat list forever.

And in case you were wondering, yes, I'm still in my slaw mode.  I actually would have gone without a slaw this week (especially since the weather turned cold and rainy this weekend), but I wanted to make the pork wraps that I had made once before and were absolutely delish, and this slaw just went perfectly with it the last time.  I couldn't very well omit it this time!

Here's what I'm eating this week:

• Slow-cooked hoisin and ginger pork wraps, courtesy of The Kitchn.  I've made this recipe once before, and knew this one would be a repeat offender, big time.  It's ridiculously easy and super delicious.  I usually fear working with cuts of meat I have to ask specifically for at the meat counter (as in, there's no pork butt in the display case, they have to go and cut it for me especially), but that's the only uncomfortable part.  Well that, and having to actually ask for butt with a straight face.  Once I'm home with booty in hand, it's smooth sailing.  The one jar of hoisin sauce I've ever bought at a store I thought tasted pretty nasty, very salty and a hint of licorice.  Bleck.  I used this recipe, which is also linked on the pork recipe, to make my own hoisin sauce.  And man, oh man, was it tasty!  I'm not sure how close to real hoisin sauce it is...I didn't think it usually had peanut butter, but it was good, and that's what counts.
• Crunchy peanut slaw, also courtesy of The Kitchn, and also linked on the pork recipe.  That pork and this slaw go so well together.  Seriously.  Delish.  I bought some whole wheat wraps and Trader Joe's, steamed up some brown rice, and voila!  Pork wraps with slaw and brown rice.  Satisfying, tasty, and healthy.  That's what I'm all about.
• Big crumb coffee cake, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.  This is where the rhubarb came in.  This cake is wonderful.  It's light and sweet, but not too sweet, thanks to a touch of sour from the rhubarb.  Yum!  I highly recommend this one.
• I tried this whole wheat no-knead bread again (reminder that you have to register to view the recipe) because I'm stubborn and it was such a colossal failure last week.  I don't know if I had a bad batch of yeast or what.  This time I soaked the yeast in the water before I added both to the rest of the dry ingredients.  This time my dough rose.  It didn't rise a huge amount, but it at least hit the top of the loaf pan this time.  It's still pretty dense, but still good.

I also wanted to mention, I just discovered the ready to eat beets they sell at Trader Joe's (yes, I know I mention that place a lot, but they've got some great stuff!) in the produce section.  They are fantastic!  They are already peeled and soft and ready to chop up over a goat cheese and arugala salad.   Bit thumbs up over here.