June 07, 2004

Rhubarbarama! More information and recipes than you can shake a stick of rhubarb at.

In my humble monkey opinion, nothing is more summery than a good strawberry rhubarb pie. This raises a question: foodwise, what says "summer" (or the tropic equivalent of) to you? (i.e. lazy days, shoes off, no school for the kids, pour me another g&t sort of stuff.)

posted by shinything 20 years ago
  • root-beer popsicles!
  • Oh yeah! I love those!
  • Ah, shiny, strawberry-rhubarb. My grandmother used to make me tiny boy-sized pies when I was a lad. One of my favorite memories of her. Perhaps the best pie ever.
  • Rhubarb is great Roobarb is better ....
  • I loved rhubarb. Had it growing in the garden. I no longer eat it, though, because the oxalic acid causes kidney stones in vulnerable people. Like me. The stand of big green leaves and stems like huge red celery was very cheerful.
  • A big pitcher of margaritas. Mmmm. That's summer. I never had rhubarb before, but I tried it a couple weeks ago with some strawberries and it was okay. I'm not fond of strawberries at all, so that was interesting. The baby liked it (no berries, just apples and rhubarb), which surprised me, but he'll eat anything.
  • When I was young, and naive (unlike now), my older brother convinced me to eat the leaves from the rhubarb my mom grew in the garden . Cruel cruel boy. I do love the red stuff, and strawberry-rhubarb crumble is a summer favourite. esp. with vanilla ice cream. summer means excessive water-based activity: Splashdown Park (cheesy waterslide park) birthday parties, canoe trips, white water rafting, kayaking, surfing, even just taking my little sister to the municiple park wading pool -- absolute good times.
  • mmmmmmmmm, pie *cue disgusting drool especially rhubarb and strawberry pie Summer = FRESH MAY-TOES!! Pick 'em right offa th'vine Cram 'em in till the juices run down your chin Vary that with some Jubilee sweet corn shucked and eaten raw Scarf down a tiny baby zuchini Grab some green onions Ravage the raw bell peppers If you remember to take some bread and maybe the salt shaker, there's your lunch, but you really don't need either one Yummmmmmmm Yea, I can pretty well decimate a small garden. Nothing less than a half acre will do. *hangs head Things like strawberries, may-toes, sweet corn, canteloupe, egg plant are BEST eaten in season. Melinika: Good on you for feeding your baby things you're not fond of. Too many parents impose their food dislikes on their kids. Let 'em decide what they like and don't like and express their own desires. That way you create your own living hell when the little beggers turn into opinionated twelve-year-olds.
  • i say, let's play, "feed melinka's baby interesting stuff to see what it'll eat!"
  • Bok choy as far as the eye can see. Baby pears and tart cherries; blackberries, broad beans, squash and zucchini, fresh mint growing like weeds under the shade of the aspen. Grapes too sour to enjoy, but eaten right off the vine for the sheer novelty of it.
  • God, I love strawberry-rhubarb pie! Roma tomatoes right off the vine, fresh basil and rosemary, sweet corn, figs (FIGS!!!), apples and pears, walnuts, enough blackberries and raspberries to get sick. I figure a good day's gardening is when I'm too full from snacking to bother with dinner.
  • Rhubarb is a great plant for right up against the house, around here. Its prodigous growth hide a multitude of sins (like the Reflectix I never did get around to covering with something woody) and isn't at all harmed by ice or snow. Plus nothing, NOTHING around here eats it so the huge leaves are always in pristine shape. It's damn near impossible to kill, which is an added bonus for someone with my lackadaisical gardening habits. Now its all Mesclun, Sweet 100 tomatos, Brandywine tomatos, Sugar Ann snap peas and pattypan squash, Italian stuffing peppers (sweet enough to eat right off the plant), completely out-of-control and impossible to eradicate Jerusalem Artichokes, Yukon Gold peanut potatos; spaghetti, delicata, acorn squash waiting 'till the last minute before being harvested.... and in the wilder parts of these acres, naturalized apple trees: Northern Spy, Flowering Crab, several that have gone wild whose names I don't know but every tree has a different flavor and time of peak ripeness and will not take being stored or turned into applesauce (they just turn into mushy brown gunk) When I lived in warmer climes, the perfect late summer day involved walking barefoot along a hot dusty dirt road, soaked in sweat, stopping at my secret peach tree...you could smell it from very far away...circling the tree, using smell as well as sight to find the one peach on the lowest branch that was ready just for me....resting, my back against the trunk, sweat running freely down the backs of my thighs, beaded on my forehead and upper lip....the peach I use to rub the sweat off my lips and when the fine hairs are saturated with my sweat I sink my teeth deep into the warm, tangy flesh, the soft, furry skin torn free, the hot, sweet juice sliding off my chin, running between my nubile breasts..... oh god. clearly it is time for me to hose off.
  • I was going to say that I really enjoy making rhubarb crumble, but PatB's comment makes that seem so inadequate now. *Sits in corner and twiddles rhubarb leaves.*
  • DAMMIT! WAY TO DERAIL A GOOD RHUBARB THREAD, PatB!
  • Y'all are givin' me garden envy. I only have an apartment so I can't grow much. Mmmm, fresh Roma tomatoes. Fresh basil. Someday I'll have a house and a nice big garden.... BlueHorse: Thanks, heh. I read that kids stick to bland and sweet foods because their taste buds aren't fully mature yet. I figure if he gets the taste exposure now, he won't be picky as he gets older. I've been blessed with a good eater and I'm lucky - I don't want to mess with that! SideDish: It's a fun game. He wants anything he sees Mommy and Daddy eating/drinking, and he's very, very persistent until you share. He hasn't rejected anything yet: black bean lasagna, cauliflower-cheese soup, mushrooms, dill pickles, black olives, roasted red pepper, asperagus, unsweet iced tea, cranberry juice, Tim Horton's iced cappucino (that was an accident - he wanted some so I let him play with the straw, and all of a sudden he figured out straws and had a sip before I could stop him).... as long as he's not too little for it yet (no berries, egg whites, or nuts) and it's vegetarian, he can try it. Obviously if it's too spicy or something like that, I only let him have a taste or two!
  • I for one would like to welcome PatB to our discussion. Please, have a seat. Now, for our next topic, who here has any vivid memories of, say, skinny-dipping in a nearby pond, or any pillow fights that you particularly treasured for some special reason?
  • Damn, I forgot to cut the rhubarb stalks from my sister's garden while I was there. I asked her if I could take some of her rhubarb, and she looked at me like I was completely bonkers. Apparently she's not a fan. I for one adore rhubarb-apple crumble.
  • *keeps skinny-dipping stories for another day*
  • ice tea gallons and gallons of ice tea and homemade lemonade, if you're so inclined
  • ~And momma said to me child what's happened to your appetite? I been cookin' all mornin' and you haven't touched a single bite...... and me I spend a lotta time pickin' flowers up on Chocktaw Ridge and throw them in to the bloody waters of the Tallahassee Bridge~
  • Why can't we eat the leaves? /rhubarb ignoramus
  • BlueHorse,do you live with the lemon tree? Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.... Oh god I'm stuck....Ah ah, oh no don't let the rain come down, ahah oh no don't the rain come down aha oh no don't let the rain come down, my roof's got a hole in it an' I might drown.... I can't I must oh please make it stop....she was 31 and I was 17....I knew nothin' 'bout love and she knew everything...I sat down beside her on the front porch swing and wondered what the coming night would bring....make it stop please it isn't i can't oh god.....
  • *shakes head, gazes blearily at the screen* Alnedra, the leaves are toxic as hell. So toxic even goats won't eat 'em. You want the stems. Slide your hand along the stalk till you come to the ground, then snap it quickly. It will come away for you....just cut off all the leafy part, or if you're like me just cut off everything after the leaf. I'd love to tell you what the toxin is but unfortunately I'm too intoxicated and searching madly for my Bobby Goldsboro album.....
  • I meant before the leaf. time for bed, methinks.
  • Yep. Definitely. Thank ye kindly, PatB. Have a nice night.
  • Not so tasty as the pie, but funnier.
  • Rhubarb leaf is full of oxalic acid, the same agent that gives dumb cane (Dieffenbachia) its bite.
  • Ooh, another good one. Take a ripe tomato from the garden, slice it up. Take a ripe avocado (from the garden if you're lucky), slice it up. Place equal amounts of ripe tomato and avocado on slices of good whole grain bread. Add a little salt and pepper. Eat outside in the sun on a warm day with lots of napkins. It's messy, but oh so good. Lather, rinse, repeat. And here's my favorite sangria recipe: 1/2 lemon, sliced 1/2 orange, sliced 1 lime, sliced 1/4 c sugar Combine in pitcher and stir until sugar dissolves. Add 1 bottle dry white wine and 1/4 c brandy OR 1 bottle dry red wine and 1/4 c light rum. Chill. When ready to serve, add 24 oz. club soda and ice cubes. Enjoy with good friends.