Readers are telling me that Bud Nelson’s “Cream of Cilantro Soup with Black Bean Salsa” is delicious and filling – just as Bud said it would be. Thanks again for the recipe, Bud.

Last week a reader asked for a beet jelly recipe, and Marjorie Forbes, of Morapos Creek, called with hers.

For Marjorie’s “Beet Jelly,” you’ll need: 3 cups beet juice, 1 package Pectin, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 5 1/2 cups sugar.

Prepare the juice by cooking the beets until they’re very soft.

Then put in a cloth and press out the juice. Do not get pulp in the juice.

Then mix together the juice, Pectin and lemon juice. Bring to a rolling boil. Add sugar and stir. Bring to a rolling boil again and boil for two minutes. That’s it.

To test the juice, Marjorie sticks a fork, tines down, into the juice and lifts it out carefully. If the juice fills up the tines, it will gel. If the juice runs out, it won’t.

I haven’t heard of this way of testing juice. I can hardly wait to try it. Thanks, Marjorie.

On Tuesday, over a cup of coffee, I enjoyed visiting with Anna Aughenbaugh, of Fort Collins. Anna is a frequent contributor to the “The Fence Post,” and that’s where I found her recipe for “Rhubarb Pudding Cake.” Anna graciously gave me permission to reprint her recipe, so here it is:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.

The ingredients for the bottom part of the cake are: 4 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen), 1 cup sugar and 1 cup boiling water. For the batter you’ll need: 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup sour cream or yogurt, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 3/4 cup flour.

Chop rhubarb. Put it in the greased pan. Sprinkle with sugar, and pour the boiling water over the top.

Mix up the batter ingredients and pour over the rhubarb. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top is browned and the rhubarb is tender. It’s kind of hard to tell when the rhubarb is tender, but mine cooked up fine within 40 minutes.

My son’s family came by the day I tried this recipe so we had the cake with whipped topping. It’s tart and delicious. I think it would be good straight from the oven. Thanks, Anna.

Next week, I’ll repeat the corrected entire recipe for “Rhubarb Coffee Cake” that was printed in this column two weeks ago.

Send your recipes to me at Box 415, Craig 81626 or call me at 824-8809.

Copyright Diane Prather, 2008. All rights reserved.