It is
rhubarb season again. I’m back in the field for the fifth year, picking then
peddling the beautiful stalks. Just raking in the dollars!
Beauty in a Banana Box
I have the
same intern. He has the same complaints---hard work, poor pay.
Super-Tom: Rhubarb Intern
K-9 Security
is still with me, a little slower, deafer, blinder, cuter.
K-9 Security: Nuggett
I always
think of my great grandmother, Alice, while I am picking rhubarb. Although I
have absolutely no memory of Old Gram, we lived in the same house for the first
two years of my life which were the last two years of her life. She is really just a
myth living in my mind.
Robert, Alice and Baby Bob
Old Gram called rhubarb “Spring Tonic”, the idea being
that the first fresh food available on the farm could revive you after the long
winter. “She used it as a physic,” my mother said. A physic? Here you go: www.dictionary.com/browse/physic Physic
definition, a medicine that purges; cathartic;
laxative.
A Physic
There
are a couple of stories about Old Gram that stand out in my mind. One is that
she would go out to her verandah and yell to her adult sons who lived on farms on either side of her. She did not need a phone. She just
stood on the verandah and hollered out "GEOOOOOORGE" to the right of her, and "FRAAAAAANK" to
the left of her. I have the impression she liked to be in charge.
Alice-in-Charge
One of my
older sisters has a vivid memory of Old Gram cutting her toenails on the
verandah. With a knife. In my imagination, it is a rhubarb knife.
Pedicure Anyone?
There is so much you can do with "Spring Tonic". I recommend just stewing it if you want to use it as a physic. Rhubarb pie is a sure hit---my mother always added a handful of raisins to soak up the excess juice. There are TONS of Rhubarb Recipes online, from Rhubarb Chutney to Rhubarb Punch. Here is an easy but delicious Rhubarb Cake recipe from my sister-in-law's kitchen.
Rhubarb Cake
1/2 c soft shortening
1 1/2 c light brown sugar
Cream above together
Add:
1tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
Mix all above
Add 2 c flour mixed with 1/2 tsp salt + 1 tsp b powder
Stir until almost combined
Add 1 1/2 c raw or still frozen rhubarb
Mix until combined
Put in a greased oblong pan
Sprinkle with a bit of white sugar mixed with cinnamon
Bake at 350 until done
Rhubarb Cake
1/2 c soft shortening
1 1/2 c light brown sugar
Cream above together
Add:
1tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
Mix all above
Add 2 c flour mixed with 1/2 tsp salt + 1 tsp b powder
Stir until almost combined
Add 1 1/2 c raw or still frozen rhubarb
Mix until combined
Put in a greased oblong pan
Sprinkle with a bit of white sugar mixed with cinnamon
Bake at 350 until done
Rhubarb Cake
I leave you with a few “Fun
Facts” about Rhubarb:
·
It
is native to China
·
The
leaves are toxic
·
The
word “rhubarb” can also mean a heated argument or dispute
·
It
is very high in calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, dietary fibre and more
·
It
is considered a vegetable, not a fruit
·
rhubarb - Word used to describe anywhere you
didn't originally intend to be, usu. a roadside ditch or somewhere off of a sled or wheeler trail; "He got goin' too fast
and put 'er in the rhubarb." Occasionally, rhubarb functions as a verb, as in "He got goin'
too fast an' rhubarbed 'er." See also: pucker-brush. (From Carleton County Colloquialisms)
Barb's Pie Social
...Until Next Time...
