rhubarb update

 

the rhubarb began to flower/bolt so we cut it all down.  I gave some away.  I made stewed rhubarb, crisp, jam, tea, chopped and froze some,  juice, muffins and i still didn't get through it all.  hopefully the compost pile will enjoy a few stalks.

rhubarb update may 17

 what do you mean i thought i'd been posting rhubarb photos this past month and i had actually not been?

we've already cut it down and given away the rhubarb once this year, but apparently that just encouraged it.  why can't my berries grow crazy like this?

 

rhubarb update april 13

 

spring has sprung - here comes the rhubarb

 

lots of stuff

 I swore this year would be different for me and the rhubarb plant.  I wouldn't just let it sit there and get all old and fibrous and unusable.  I would use it, all growing season!

I cut maybe 3 or 4 bunches and then was like my god, who can use up all this bloody rhubarb???  Why can't my teeney blueberry bushes that have each produced 2 berries be as hardy as this rhubarb?

I made Rhubarb shrub, which is rhubarb picked in sugar and vinegar,  Once it's had its pickling time, the liquid is the shrub, to add to cocktails or mocktails, and the pickled rhubarb can be eaten.

It smelled very vinegary, but also sort of delicious when it was done.  But no one would try it but me, and I did not enjoy either the shrub or the pickled rhubarb.

rhubarb and star anise shrub 

Below is an AMAZING rhubarb and apple crisp, that was so good, but I can't find the recipe.

I also made a whole bunch of rhubarb butter.Recipe here.

These were delicious roasted carrots with parmesan.  Maybe from tick tok?

Also from tick tok - my kids were dying to try the smores cookies where you put a graham cracker on the baking sheet, a marshmallow on top,  and then cover with cookie dough and bake.  I think 2 things went wrong for us - the kids eagerness to help meant none of the marshmallows were fully covered by the dough, which I think was important, and also I think you need A LOT of dough, and I only bought one tube, because I'm cheap.  And, they tasted gross anyway.

Yes, I am an old lady,  These applesauce prune muffins were SO DAMN GOOD.

We always seem to have bags of frozen ham in the freezer.  This ham tetrazzini was delicious.

I am truly upset that I can't find this recipe.  These were pork tacos with pickled onions and they were some of the best tacos I've ever had. 

Also, a recipe without a photo - we bought some peaches and I decided to roast the ones that were still around after a week.  I used this recipe and man, they were so freaking good.  I'd planned to take a photo of the leftovers, but my dad scooped them all up and took them home. 

And lastly, these chocolate and peanut butter cookie bars were chefs kiss.

Life List - Make a pie with fruit from our garden

Our rhubarb and mint plants are the only things in our garden you can count on to grow - besides the weeds of course.  Every year the rhubarb explodes seemingly overnight and I give away bags and bags of it.  This year I put some in the kitchen at work with a sign that said "Free" and ran away.  Hee.

I have made lots of crisps and crumbles over the years but I rarely make pies because I am not good at making pie dough.  I hate it.  And it hates me.  Thank goodness I picked a pie with only one crust.

This rhubarb crumble pie was pretty tasty, and while I thought it was too lemony, others didn't even taste the lemon.  So there you go.

I also made Nigella's Irish Tarte Tatin which was not my favorite - too doughy.

Rhubarb- Muffins, Stewed,and Fooled.

Our garden here isn't great - poor soil and sloped - and we don't have a lot of luck. Potatos have never grown, or onions. Carrots do ok. A few years ago we tried kale and it went bonkers.

 Two things that grow well though, are our herbs (the chives, mint and oregano come back year after year) and the rhubarb. 

This year has been a banner year for the rhubarb. Pretty much the second the sun came out the plant just exploded with lovely red stems. I cut what felt like a ton of stalks off the plant last weekend to do some cooking. 

 First I made an old standby - Stewed Rhubarb. I decided to follow a different recipe instead of my usual. Big mistake. The recipe called for 1 cup of sugar and against my better judgement I put in the whole cup. It looked and smelled gorgeous, but when I tasted it, it was just too sweet. 

I figured I could buy some plain yogurt and mix it into that for breakfasts, but then I decided on a more decadent treat - Rhubarb Fool. 

Unlike the Rhubarb Strawberry Fool I made years and years ago for a Weekend Cookbook Challenge which also had sour cream and brown sugar, this one had just 2 ingredient. Stewed rhubarb and freshly whipped cream. It was good.

And to use up a bit more rhubarb, I made a batch of Rhubarb Muffins from the Canadian Living website.

They were really good.  The crunchy strusel like topping added just enough sweetness.  I should probably make another batch.....

Recipe Rhubarb Muffins

Strawberry and rhubarb crisp

This is the glorious end result of the rhubarb post down below.

It was so simple and so delicious. I used this recipe and it is definitely a keeper.

Have a great Friday!

First Harvest

Gorgeous rhubarb I picked from the garden yesterday.  Making it into a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp for dinner tonight.

Taste Canada

What does Canada taste like to you?

Jennifer at Domestic Goddess wants to know.

To me, Canada tastes like sunshine, summer and the smell of grass. Spring and summer are my favorites times and when I truly feel the most Canadian. Canada is a truly awesome country - full of water, mountains, trees and wonderful people. I think it is most beautiful in the spring and summer; green and bold.

My happiest childhood memories are from summers - swimming, playing, visiting, and eating with friends and family. My parents used the barbecue as much as possible throughout the year, and in fact still do; on Boxing Day 2004 my dad was outside barbecuing steaks in a -30' snowstorm.

Rhubarb is of course not native to Canada. It dates back to ancient China, and is also native to Siberia, Mongolia and Tibet. Up until the late 1700's, it was used solely for medicinal purposes. In the 1780's people began using it as a pie filling. At one time, it was known commonly as "Pie Plant".

It's uses seem unlimited - liquor, sorbet and ice cream, chutneys and relishes, sauces, jams and jellies, pies, cakes, breads, fools, and of course crisps. In some countries rhubarb is used solely in savory dishes.

While Rhubarb is not original to Canada, I think it is a food that we Canadians can and do embrace. Rhubarb thrives in Canada. It easily tolerates our cool winters and occasional cool summer temperatures as well. According to at least one website, some say that the finest quality rhubarb is grown in Canada.

Rhubarb is everywhere in Canada. In everyone's backyard garden and at every farmer's market. Do a search on the web for "Canada Day Recipes" and almost every site will have at least one recipe for something made with rhubarb.

My Mom had a massive rhubarb plant in our garden, and one of the first things she taught me to cook was stewed rhubarb. To me, rhubarb announces that the warm weather is here to stay for at least a while.

The picture at the top of this post is a recipe called Rhubarb Crunch. I found it on the Allrecipes site after my boss gave me a garbage bag full of rhubarb last week. We like it, especially the contrasts; the rhubarb is tart and smooth, the topping is sweet and crunchy. Add some cream as we did, and have a safe and happy Canada Day.