Memorial Day, The Perfect Excuse...

I broke one of my cardinal rules today. Usually when I bake something I balance it for the rest of the day (i.e., muffins for breakfast=no desserts), but today is a holiday. Everyone else is busy barbecuing hotdogs, eating chips by the handfuls, and drinking lots of beer, so if we forgo that stuff then we can justify a little extra sugar, right?! My guy is outside manning the rotisserie as I write this; we have one of our hams spinning slowly, caramelizing and getting really juicy to later slice and serve on homemade whole wheat kaiser rolls with locally made blackberry BBQ sauce. I had to make a pie for dessert! It's Memorial Day and our rhubarb plant has been beckoning me for weeks now; what more of a perfect excuse can we have?! I went all out this time, full sugar (rhubarb is slightly unforgiving on sugar reduction in recipes, being so tart) and a flaky white flour, full fat pie crust. The lighter versions are never quite as flaky, and the whole wheat versions tend to over power this particular dessert, especially since we're also having whole wheat buns with dinner.

How did I break my rule, though? Well, I made Honey Orange Knots for breakfast. Last night I was trying to think of something yummy to make that wasn't too high in sugar, and I remembered these light, fluffy, slightly sweet rolls. They're not that high in sugar, considering, but they're kind of a splurge (compared to...oatmeal), and they have a drizzle of icing. Still, they have at least half as much sugar as a muffin, which makes them perfectly acceptable in my book (I'm falling back on that "it's a holiday" excuse here).


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
I used my ceramic Emile Henry pie dish, which is closer to 10". You may need to adjust your filling amounts (rhubarb and berries) to accommodate your pie size. Keep in mind that it will shrink as it cooks, so you'll want it to be piled in the pie shell generously.

two 9" pie crusts (one cut into strips for lattice, if desired)
about 7 nicely sized rhubarb stalks, washed and chopped (3 1/2-4 cups)
2 1/2-3 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp tapioca flour (thickens nicely, but you may use more a.p. flour)
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten
coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss together berries, rhubarb, sugar, flours, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour into pie crust. It should be nicely mounded in the shell. Place top crust on, or weave strips of dough into lattice, and seal edges. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until bubbly and the top is nicely browned. Cool on a wire rack.





Honey Orange Knots
This recipe makes 12 rolls. It's easily doubled if you want extra for a crowd or to munch on during the week. Yeast breads are intimidating for breakfast, but if you make these the night before, you can let them proof while your oven preheats in the morning (about 10 min), and you'll have an easy, quick breakfast made!

2 cups white whole wheat or spelt flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4-1 cup bread flour (or all-purpose)
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup, plus 2 tbsp very warm milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp honey
1 egg
1 tbsp shredded orange peel, preferably organic
2 tbsp orange juice
orange icing (see below)

In a glass measuring cup, heat the milk in the microwave until warm (but not too hot). Add the yeast and honey; stir well to combine. Set aside until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine flours and salt (starting with only 3/4 cup of white flour). Add the yeast mixture, egg, butter, oil, juice, and orange zest. Fit with the dough hook, turn to speed 2 and let run until dough forms a ball. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour, up to 1/4 cup. Dough should not stick to the sides of the bowl; it should form a ball and clean the sides. Continue mixing on speed 2 to knead, 2 minutes longer.

Grease a bowl, place the ball of dough in it, cover, and place in a warm place to rise, 1 hour. Punch dough down. Pat into a rectangle about 12x7". Using a pizza wheel or bench knife, cut the rectangle in half. Cut each half into six long snake-like pieces. Tie into loose knots and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap.

To bake the next morning: Place the tray in the fridge overnight. When you wake up, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and let the knots stand on the counter until it's hot, about 10 minutes.

To bake right away: Let knots stand, covered, in a warm place 40 minutes-1 hour.

Bake at 400 degrees 12 minutes, or until golden. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool, at least 10 minutes. Drizzle with glaze and serve.

Orange Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp orange juice

Whisk together sugar and juice until you have a consistency to drizzle over the rolls.