Alisa Fleming, www.GoDairyFree.org ~ With so many creative food bloggers vying to create the best recipes with the freshest seasonal ingredients, it is no surprise that rhubarb has been making an appearance in so many sweet treats these past spring and summer days.  You won't find these red stalks in many savory applications, as they are lip-puckeringly tart when eaten alone. However, when combined with a good dose of sugar, this vegetable comes alive.  Last week we featured a Wheat Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble, but we just couldn't leave well enough alone, at least not while rhubarb is in season!  Below is a recipe for Rhubarb Muffins from The Parve Baker ...

Rhubarb Muffins
Recipe and photo from The Parve Baker

½ cup parve margarine
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup vanilla soymilk
2 cups rhubarb, diced small
12 pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper cups.

Cream the margarine and sugar. Add the egg and blend well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Add to the margarine mixture alternating with the vanilla soy milk. Do not overmix. Fold in all of the rhubarb at once. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, distributing evenly. Place one pecan half in the center of each cup on top of the batter.

Bake on the center rack for 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are lightly browned.

Makes 1 dozen.

Based on “Pecan-Topped Rhubarb Muffins” in Rolce Redard Payne and Dorrit Speyer Senior’s Cooking with Fruit (Crown Publishers).  These muffins taste best warm from the oven. Try them with some good strawberry jam. I use non-fat vanilla soymilk in this recipe.

The Parve Baker, Rebecca Joseph, keeps a kosher blog, loaded with great recipes.