Relishing Rhubarb

" Last rhubarb of the season ma'am."  I was at the farmers' market last week gazing longingly at the rhubarb, when these words broke through my reverie and galvanized me to action.  I must have rhubarb.  I picked up a bundle; the stalks were slender and very fresh.  I had not made anything with rhubarb yet this spring.  In fact the only rhubarb I had so far was in the form of a pie from the farmers' market.  The pie was okay, but a bit  disappointing.  It certainly did not satisfy my rhubarb craving.

I loved rhubarb as a kid.  I loved sour slightly bitter foods: rhubarb, lemon, beet greens. An apple that made my face pucker and my eyes water was a good apple.  When my nephew was a toddler he shared a love of rhubarb.  "Mm mm... boobarb pie and rumma cake." he would say, licking his lips.  Where he ate "rumma" cake I don't know, but it obviously was a memorable experience!

Rhubarb grew wild in a small patch of land near my house that was for a while practically my world growing up.  Forts, tepees, bows and arrows were made there.  I had my neighborhood lending library there, complete with a small bookcase holding some of my favorite books. Hours were spent lying in the grass amidst the grasshoppers, butterflies, toads and sometimes snakes.  I buried my pirates' treasures there: sparkly discarded costume jewelry nestled in matchboxes.

It is there on that small patch of land that I learned about the connection between the land and food.  I do not remember who first taught us that the leaves of the rhubarb plant were poisonous, but the pretty red stalks made great pie.  Come spring, my mother would remind us to keep an eye open for the rhubarb.  It was exciting to be able to pick the rosy stems and present them to my mum.  My mother made rhubarb pie; never with strawberries and never rhubarb anything else.  Locavore eating at it's best!


I did not see much food growing when I was a kid. We had a pear tree and apple tree, but the fruit was high off the ground and the squirrels ate most of it.  My dad grew tomatoes amidst the flowers, and when I was older we went into the woods to pick wild blueberries.  Even though we did not have a vegetable garden, we almost always ate fresh vegetables and fruit unlike many of my friends whose families ate mostly canned and frozen food.  I knew what fruit and vegetables were in season. We would stuff ourselves with fresh strawberries in May and June knowing that we would be another year older before we would see them again.  We have become people expecting to eat fresh strawberries in November.  I have met so many people who have no idea when specific fruits and vegetables are in season.  Feelings of anticipation and celebration have been lost.


Rhubarb season can be over in a blink of an eye here if you are not paying attention.  At least I was able to make a couple of tasty rhubarb dishes; one sweet and one savory.

Rhubarb Soup 

• 1 lb of rhubarb thinly sliced
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 star anise
• 1  whole clove
• 3/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger
• few leaves of purple basil
• 1/2 Tbl of lime juice
• 1 cup of strawberries cut into quarters

Add everything except the lime juice and strawberries and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender. The stalks I had were very slender and tender, so they cooked very quickly and were not stringy at all.  Add the lime juice and strawberries and allow to cool.  Remove the whole clove and whole anise. If you used ground spices, you can skip that step. Process in a blender or using an immersion blender until smooth.  Refrigerate until needed.


Serve in a small bowl with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

 

Rhubarb Relish

• 2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbl honey
• 1/4 cup  white vinegar
• 3 Tbl balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbl grated fresh ginger
• seeds of 3 pods of cardamon, crushed
• 1/4 tsp salt
• small jalapeno, minced
• small hot red pepper minced

Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 20 - 30 minutes.
Serve on cracker or crostini, with or without cheese. Or serve as a side relish to meat. I paired the relish with a goat cheese I had made.  After a couple of less than stellar attempts at making fresh mozzarella, I made a very easy fresh goat cheese.  This relish has all the tastes I love - tangy, sweet and spicy!