Spring fruits are in season

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB COMPOTE
Braškių-Rubarbarų kompotas

3 cups strawberries, hulled, halved, quartered if large
4 cups diced (½ inch) rhubarb
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup water
6 small scoops vanilla or strawberry
ice cream or frozen yogurt
Heat oven to 250 ° . Spread cut strawberries on baking sheet lined with foil, bake 15 min. Meanwhile, heat rhubarb, sugar and ½ cup water in non-aluminum saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until rhubarb is smooth with some small soft pieces, about 10 mins. Stir in roasted strawberries and any accumulated juice. Serve warm in small bowls, topped with ice cream or yogurt.

APRICOT FILLED DUMPLINGS
Kukuliai su abrikosais

Dough:
2 medium potatoes
1 cup beer or water
¾ stick butter, cut in small pieces
1 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. baking powder
Filling:
10 to 12 small fresh apricots or canned whole apricots, pitted
Approximately 7 to 8 qts. salted water
To serve:
½ cup bread crumbs, sautéed in ½ stick butter
Boil potatoes until tender; drain and push through food mill or sieve. Let cool. Bring beer, butter and salt to boil; boil gently until butter has melted. Pour in flour all at once; beat with wooden spoon until dough forms a mass and leaves sides of pan. Off the heat, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating until completely blended. (If you have a food processor, transfer dough to processor bowl and beat in eggs one by one, using steel blade.) Beat in potatoes, sugar and baking powder. Remove to well floured board; roll dough out to a thickness of 1 / 8 – inch. Cut into rounds with 2½” cookie cutter. Place apricot in center of each round; bring up dough to enclose fruit. Roll into ball; dust with flour. Bring water to boil; drop dumplings into boiling water and simmer until they rise to the top. Remove with slotted spoon; arrange in buttered ovenproof dish. Pour buttered bread crumbs over dumplings; bake in 375 ° oven until golden brown. Serve immediately. Good with roast pork.
Note:
Try prunes as filling. Poach in a little white wine to soften. Proceed as for apricots.

RHUBARB BREAD
Rubarbarų duona

1½ cups brown sugar
¾ cup buttermilk
2/3 cup oil
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ cups chopped fresh rhubarb
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
Heat oven to 325 ° and grease bottoms only of two 8” x 4” loaf pans. In large bowl, combine brown sugar, buttermilk, oil and egg and beat well. Add remaining ingredients except ½ cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. butter. Mix just until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pans. In small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter in pans. Bake at 325 ° for 50-60 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 min., remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Store in refrigerator.

BLUEBERRY-PEACH PUDDING CAKE
Mėlynių-persikų pudingo pyragas

1½ to 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 diced or sliced ripe peaches
2 Tbsps. lemon juice
1½ cups flour
2½ tsps. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
¾ cup milk
1 large egg
6 Tbsps. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup sugar
1 Tbsps. cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
Spread blueberries and peaches in the bottom of a 9” square baking pan or an 11” x 7” rectangular pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Heat oven to 350 ° . In a bowl, blend flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and 1 cup sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla. Com- bine dry ingredients with egg mixture just until blended. Spoon over the fruit layer and gently spread. Combine the 3/4 cup sugar with cornstarch; spread evenly over batter. Carefully pour the boiling water over all. Bake 40-50 min.