Rhubarb and Pineapple Pie, from Rob

Rhubarb and Pineapple Pie, from Rob

2 cups rhubarb
1 cup crushed pineapple
pastry for double crust
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs beaten

Set oven to 425 F. Peel rhubarb and cut into half-inch pieces before measuring. Line a pie plate with plain pastry. Mix rhubarb with sugar, flour, salt and eggs. Spoon or pour ½ the mixture into bottom shell. Spread half the pineapple over the rhubarb, repeat these two layers. Cover with top crust. Press edges together and trim. Prick top to let steam escape. If a glazed surface is desired, brush top of pie with milk, cream or melted butter. or slightly beaten egg white. Bake at 425 10 minutes, Reduce heat and continue baking at 325 30 minutes.

Joby’s Salsa, from Rob’s Aunt Joby

Joby’s Salsa, from Rob’s Aunt Joby

Delicious fresh salsa from Rob’s Aunt Joby in Phoenix (“Joby” is short for “Joan, baby!”)

5 large tomatoes, diced
2 bunches green onions, finely chopped
7 ounces Ortega green chiles, diced
3/4 small can El Pato Mexican hot style tomato sauce (or any brand)
16 ounces regular tomato sauce
juice of 1/4 lemon
1 teaspoon garlic salt
no salt and pepper
teaspoon oregano
teaspoon sugar
touch seasoned salt if want

Mix it all together. Voila!

Split Pea Soup, from Rob’s mom, Grace

Split Pea Soup, from Rob’s mom, Grace

Rob loves this recipe. From the Evans split-pea bag!

2 cups split peas
2 quarts cold water
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon thyme, dried
1/4 teaspoon marjoram, dried
dash cayenne
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
hambone or andouille sausage, optional

Mix all ingredients. Be sure the thyme and marjoram are powdered. Better rub them between the fingers. Cover and cook slowly for about 1 hour, or even longer. The mixture must cook until the peas are very soft. Force through a coarse sieve. Return to range and bring to boiling point. Serve piping hot in bowls which have been heated. Optional: May be cooked with ham bone or pieces of cooked meat. I use a hambone and andouille sausage, which really helps make it delicious!

Golden-Crusted Brussel Sprouts, from Rob

Golden-Crusted Brussel Sprouts, from Rob
Rob found the recipe at 101cookbooks.com -- these are quite delicious! Gael and Rob first made them in December 2007. BUY SMALL SPROUTS.

The site where he found the recipe notes: "This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside. Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed.You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heaviercheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them offwith some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!"

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning.

Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover andcook for a few more minutes.Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flatsides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side.

Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.