May's Preserve Trifecta Part Two: Rosemary Rhubarb Jelly

All right, so I've already shared the Meyer Lemon Rhubarb Marmalade, and now it's time to continue on the rhubarb train with Rosemary Rhubarb Jelly, another great recipe I tried from Preserving by the Pint!

A Pop of Spice

I like to think outside the box.  I also sometimes like to sit inside the box and pretend that it's a time machine, or an airplane, or a silent padded room, but that's another story.  So when Curry's sent me their meat spice rub, using it on meat was the last thing that came to my mind.

The Meat Spice Rub is a very interesting mix of spices.  When you open it, you are immediately hit with an aroma reminiscent of sweets, almost like licorice and gingerbread.  That makes sense, because it has many of what I generally think of as "sweet" spices in it, like cloves, star anise, and cinnamon.  But then you can smell a hint of the smokier spices, and spices with more of a snap in there as well, like the cumin and the black pepper.  It was totally intriguing to me.  I love a good divergent flavor blend, whether it's salty-sweet like chocolate-covered pretzels, or salty-sour like salt and vinegar chips, or spicy-sweet like the smell of this rub.  It reminded me slightly of Chinese 5 spice (probably the star anise), and that made me think of an amazing caramel sauce that I made with Chinese 5 spice a while back.  Not wanting to do the same thing again, but loving that salty-sweet-spice direction, I decided to go with a spiced kettle corn.

Full disclosure: I have never tried to make my own actual kettle corn before.  I have let the people at the market with the huge copper kettles do it.  I have made my own popcorn, buttered it, and then sprinkled it with blends of salt or sugar or other flavors like cinnamon or garlic.  But I've never actually made the real deal in my kitchen.  Until now.

Saffron Mini-Muffins

Despite yesterday being the first day of spring, it is crazy cold around here.  Like, "high of 34, feels like 17" kind of cold.  And that's not Celsius either.  Freezing.  But on the upside, the sun has been shining, and I'm starting to see signs of spring cropping up.  Robins singing, the sun staying out longer, and the green starts of crocuses popping up in my yard.  It's on it's way.

(So, I could insert a long story here to make a smooth transition, but honestly, it's Thursday, my crazy day, and I'm going to skirt it.  If you'd like to imagine a magical, transcendent, witty, wordy transition, please do so now.)  

You know what spice comes from crocuses?  Saffron!