One evening, Mr NQN and I were watching a television show where a character had asked his spouse to describe him in five words. I turned to Mr NQN and told him the five words that I would use to describe him.
1. Sweet
2. Handsome
3. Messy
4. Clever
5. Naughty
Despite my better instincts, I asked him to give me five words to describe me. He was thoughtful-he always thinks before speaking and he came up with this list.
1. Caring
2. Loyal
3. Determined
4. Stubborn
5. Stubborn
Notice how the same word appears on the list twice, just for emphasis? I protested. I think most of the world is stubborn and it’s us Taureans that get a bad rap. There’s always the nod from a non Taurean to another “She’ a Taurus you know” followed by an exchange of knowing looks.
Then a few months later, I was flicking through my Moomins cookbook. I discussed making some recipes for Christmas dinner and we stumbled across “Little My’s Rhubarb Pie”. Pronounced “Little Moo” I didn’t know much about her except that fellow Taurean and eerily similar to me Queen Viv loved the character of Little My and so I looked her up on Wikipedia. I read it out loud to Mr NQN “she is a small, determined and fiercely independent Mymble. When she wants something done, she does it straight away. She is very aggressive, mischievous to a fault and totally disrespectful..” and I trailed off.
Mr NQN snorted “Sounds like someone I know” with that annoying knowing look at me.
I could have killed him all over again except that it would probably have proved his case.
In any case, whilst I doth protest at having similar characteristics to little My I’d have to say that Little My makes awesome cakes and pies. Mr NQN’s sister Amaya made this for Christmas and it was an absurdly easy, gorgeous cake with just the right amount of sweetness and crunch. I decided to make it a gluten free version just because there are so many gluten free NQN readers out there but of course you can use flour in place of the almond meal. The almond meal makes it slightly more moist and slightly less cohesive than flour but both are gorgeous with a wonderful tempered tartness from the rhubarb and a sweet crunch with the nuts and sugar on top. In the book it was originally called a pie but I see this more as a cross between a cake (albeit a shortcake) and a pie.
So tell me Dear Reader, what five words would you use to describe you?
Little My’s Rhubarb Pie Cake
Adapted from the Moomins Cookbook
Serves 6-8 people
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
- 100g/3.5 ozs melted butter
- 60grams/2ozs superfine or caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 60g/2ozs almond meal (or plain flour)
- 30g/1oz almonds, chopped
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (check that it is gluten free if you are making a GF cake)
For the topping
- 6 stalks of rhubarb, washed and chopped into small pieces
- 60g raw or demerara sugar
- 15g/0.5oz almonds, chopped
You will also need an 18cm/7inch springform tin or pie dish. Best served with vanilla ice cream.
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line a springform tin with a circle of paper that goes up the side of the tin (or grease a pie dish with some butter). In a bowl or a jug, whisk the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and egg until combined. In another bowl, mix the almond meal or flour, chopped almonds and baking powder until mixed through and then add the buttery mixture to the dry mixture. Place mixture in the prepared tin or pie dish.
2. Sprinkle the mixture with the extra chopped almonds, the raw sugar and rhubarb pieces. Bake for 30 minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream.
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64 Comments | Add your own
This looks lovely – pie, cake whatever! Actually, my mother-in-law makes a cranberry version quite like this and she calls is a ‘pake’ as a combo of pie and cake.
Wow that is easy! And the perfect thing to make with our surplus of rhubarb growing in the backyard. Thanks Lorraine!
Irresistible. I heart rhubarb and can’t wait to buy the first rhubarb of the year (April).
Cheers,
Rosa
I did not know that my childhood heroes,the Moomins,had a cookbook! Yummy,I love rhubarb and luckily here we have it too! What a delicious looking pie Lorraine!
This looks like a great gluten free recipe, and its nice to see rhubarb in recipes lately (I have to admit i am still yet to cook one). Did this hold together when you sliced it?
I think mine would be…
1) Kind
2) Sweet
3) Spastic
4) Obsessed
5) Never stops bouncing
Lorraine, love the stubborn(s), as my husband would say the same about me
I never used rhubarb…the cake pie looks delicious with lots of almond in it…yummie!
Five words to describe me..
I had to ask hubby for the five words because i found it too hard, this is what he said, Outgoing, sexy, adventurous, determined, smart. Ohh, what a gorgeous husband!! Xx
Yum! There needs to be more rhubarb cooking in the world:)
Oh this is my type of cake! You and your hubby are too cute. I love hearing about other couples bantering as me and the boy do. I think everyone is stubborn in their own way. Some are just more subtle and manipulative even about it. Better to be straightforward, no?
How delightful indeed!
hehe and I am pretty sure that ‘stubborn’ would also be used to describe me
My daughter is on a strict Gluten Free diet so this is one for the recipe books thank you.
Scrummy looking cake. I’ve still not cooked with rhubarb yet. I will have to rectify that.
Five words to describe me….
1. Caring
2. Sensitive (sometimes too sensitive)
3. Fun
4. Accident prone
5. Worrier
This looks amazing. I love rhubarb and love the fact that you substituted the flour for almond meal, I think that would taste way better anyway.
E x
Ummm… YUM!
I’d love a giant slice with a lashing of double cream please.
5 words?
Friendly, shy, paranoid, excitable, lazy!
I’m sure Adam would add stubborn to my list too!
Yum i love rhubarb, ill be making this soon!
Just 5 words to describe myself is hard.
Nurturing, driven, funny, very stubborn, and pregnant!
I had too much rhubarb presented to my in childhood – walk past it in the supermarket! Methinks it was the cook and not the fruit!
Myself: Too disciplined, basically happy in a working mode, interested in absolutely everything, very positive and all over the place all of the time – what on earth do you expect from a typical Gemini?
Lovely Rhubarb recipe! Wish I could find some to make it…
ME:
Dreamy
Lazy
Sensitive
Caring
Creative
picses….
Your teapot set is so cute!
Great post! It’s given me a good idea for what to make this weekend
5 words: Friendly, Inquisitive, Argumentative, Agressive, Introspective. My partner’s list for me is very different, but it includes some rude words so I won’t put it here, lol.
Love the look of this cake – will have to take a look at it (have the cookbook, of course!)
I fear what Mr Mélanger would come up with if I asked him to describe me in five words.
Your pie looks really delicious! Im not sure I can describe myself in 5 words but I’ll try
Sensitive
Caring
Loyal
Messy
Crazy!
You’ve made a number of things from this cookbook, I’m thinking I should get one too!! It seems like a fun book to read as well
and I loveee Moomin!
Lovely looking and simple – I always have rhubarb growing so this is a lovely change from rhubarb crumble for me
What a lovely photo, TRUE!
Make something very similar with slice granny smith apples too!
5 words to describe me?
SPONTANEOUS
P-A-S-S-I-O-N-A-T-E (especially about food!)
B-U-B-B-L-Y
UPBEAT
OPTIMIST
WHOO HOO!
What a gorgeous looking pie – rhubarb does not get used enough in my kitchen.
lovely pie – all my favourite pies are like cakes – and I love the ground almonds in it
btw I seem to find myself always being friends with Taureans so I think they are lovely – even married one – no wonder I love coming here!
Ooooo this looks devine and sounds delicious too!
Hahahah Mr NQN better watch out, one day you will have that rolling pin in your hand at the ready LOL! Nah, he’s got a great sense of humour and that’s why you love him
Umm, I don’t know if I dare suggest my words…
At a pinch:
Short
Earnest
Prolific
Loving
Honest
This looks absolutely to die for…LOVE rhubarb, is joining my list I fear…
My oh Little My! Gluten free AND rhubarb, my lucky day!
I know how you feel, I am a fellow May baby, and at a doctors interview once, I was asked if there was anything that ran in my family, I replied ‘no’ but my husband coughed/choked, and said ‘stubborness’. Neither the doctor or I were amused.
5 words: quirky,suspicous,loving,loyal, determined.
Ohhhh! This story made me feel all happy but also sad inside, because I don’t have anyone to describe me in five words. Luckily there’s your gorgeous cake to distract me from my lonely single-ness…
I like the sound of almond meal in place of flour here. It would add a much nicer flavour.
I’ll have to think about my five words.
Looks delish!
What a cute cake! I bet my mom would like it, she eats gluten-free and enjoys almond meal. I’m bookmarking this for her!
You had me at rhubarb. I also have a few coeliacs to cater for so gluten free options are always wonderful!
Looks delicious and I love that its gluten free. Lol I’m a taurus too and always being told I’m stubborn!
Yum and Yum, must try soon
Five words :
Loyal
Creative
Loving
Generous
Tenacious
Love the pie but I have to think about the 5 words that describe myself… STUBBORN is definitely one of them…..
OooOo.. those fabric flowers look gorgeous! So does the cake of course!…
HmMmm.. I’d say I was :
Caring, Stubborn, Funny, Headstrong, Determine…
All points to being stubborn tho (and no I’m not a Taurean.. my mother is tho!)
I’m stubborn and I’m a Pisces. Nothing wrong with being stubborn – it prevents you from being a pushover and makes you determined
And your rhubarb cake sounds lovely!
Ohh, I want that cookbook!
Little My is a fierce little creature, you seem a lot nicer!
This is making me yearn for spring and rhubarb at our markets! The almonds and extra rhubarb on top look great. (I have a feeling ‘stubborn’ would appear on my list too.)
To be called stubborn twice — oh goodness. Cautious?
I’ve only had rhubarb once and was completely surprised by the flavor thinking it would taste like the strawberries it was cooked with. I keep promising to try it again, and this cakes sounds like a good reintroduction.
Ha ha , arent ur hubby and u sooooo cuteeee?
Im in loveee with this pie cake , lemme look for this book too!
Best parts i can add any fruit and still have winner!
Does the book have lodsa pics too??
What a wonderful sweet treat with rhubarb! Rhubarb is my husband’s favorite, I must make this for him!
My hubby always says I am stubborn, I agrue that I am not and hold firm to that point of view which apparnetly only proves his point! I get alot done out of sheer stubborness.
ha! I love Moomins!! Although My is not my favourite character. I like Moomin & Snork Maiden. ^__^
Btw, inspired by you and your top 10, I finally composed my own.
http://theasianpear.blogspot.com/2011/01/foodies-biography.html
Hahaha! Aint nothing wrong with a bit of stubborn!! I used to not like rhubarb but have in recent times liked them more for the tartness they add to crumbles etc. One of my friends loves rhubarb so much that on her b’day hr bf bought her a bouquet of rhubarb instead of a bouquet of flowers! How sweet is that?
What a lovely use for rhubarb, Lorraine! I love cakes with a crumble topping and this one is gorgeous…I’d love a slice with a cup of tea right now.
I think top-crunch-lover might be in that list for me. Great recipe
That pie looks delicious and easy to make (unlike some of your other projects which look like they would take me days to make!)
stubborn goes on my list, too, as well as picky, silly, hungry, and observant. yeah, that sums me up quite nicely.
Creative, insecure, caring, meticulous and chocoholic should cover the most of it…
About the Y in “My”: It’s not really so much an “oo”-sound, it’s more of a cross between I and U. It’s a fairly weird and unfamiliar sound to isolate and pronounce for “non-Nordic”-speakers, and I’m not sure how to explain it. The Y-sound in “platypus” is somewhat close, and the first sound in the word “young”.
But no matter how we pronounce her name, Lille My is still my favourite!
Lilla My is my favourite!
The cake looks gorgeous Lorraine! Hmmm, 5 things huh, I think stubborn would definitely be one of them for me too!
Piecake!I’ve got rhubarb ready in the garden and now I know what to do with it. Thanks!
Looks gorgeous and so easy. Always looking for great rhubarb recipes.
That looks so scrumptious, I would love to have a bite.
That cake looks gorgeous. We’ve started getting rhubarb here, I need to bake with it soon!
I’m probably -
gullible
naive
fun
excitable
gullible – again!
Truly a fabulous cake and now I can’t wait for rhubarb season! I really think that my husband would choose the same words to describe me as yours you except for one of the stubborns he may replace with “crazy”.
I love anything with rhubarb…pair it with macerated strawberries and you are in heaven!
Tried it, Loved it, pie looked luscious, friends impressed, super easy, and will be baking this one again and again and again! THANK YOU!
Baked this pie cake and it was amazing!! Was a bit scared to begin with when making it as there seemed to be very little cake batter for the large amount of rhubarb going on top. But it turned out perfect! So easy. Thanks!
Making this now, waiting on boyfriend with eggs. I added ground cinnamon and ginger, and instead of chopped almonds I used pecans just because I saw them and they looked yummy. Used 4 stalks rhubarb and added one cup of strawberries.
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