Rhubarb In Season!

Rhubarb has been in season around Seeley for about 1 month, so we've had lots of opportunities to try all sorts of fun recipes.   This year I had to beg, borrow, and steal rhubarb from friends, family and neighbors, - thanks to my neighbors MaryAnn, the Byrd's, and my friend Tabby.  I did plant my own rhubarb this year taken from my grandparents house in Osseo, so I hope to have my own rhubarb next year.

My daughter Greta is the only person I know who LOVES to eat this vegetable raw.  We keep it in a jar of water and she picks it out and eats the stems when she's hungry.  Most of my rhubarb recipes have quite a bit of sugar, so I was happy she could keep eat this veggie raw.

My running friend Stacey Raymond told me about this lemon, rhubarb muffin recipe which also happens to be the healthiest of my recipes. 

LEMON RHUBARB MUFFINS

 These muffins require applesauce instead of oil, whole wheat flour and uses a small amount of sugar.  Despite the healthiness, my kids ate them up and all 16 were gone in one day.  I'd say that's a pretty good sign.  The website with the muffin recipe is http://wp.me/p14M1k-1ld

Our most unhealthiest rhubarb recipe must've been the rhubarb ice cream.  Yum, it was delish though!!

RHUBARB ICE CREAM

Ingredients

• 3 cups sliced rhubarb, fresh or frozen
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Place rhubarb in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; sprinkle with sugar; toss to coat. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly. Process in batches in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a bow; cover and refrigerate until chilled.
**This is my Grandma Evelyn's 60 plus year old Cuisinart.  Works great every time!!
2. Stir in lemon juice. In a mixing bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into rhubarb mixture. Transfer to a shallow 2-qt. freezer container. Freeze, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cover and freeze overnight.

Next up:  STRAWBERRY RHUBARB SOUP

This soup was absolutely fantastic, but because of the high sugar content I limited our serving sizes to about 1/4 cup which seemed about right. 

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lb. rhubarb, ends trimmed, cut in 1/2″ slices
1 1/2 lb. strawberries, hulled, halved
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whip cream for garnish
Combine rhubarb, strawberries and sugar in a large pot. Cover slightly. Cook over medium heat until rhubarb and strawberries give off their juices and rhubarb is very tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Chop in blender. 


STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE

So, it's not the most beautiful pie in the world, but it tasted wonderful!!

Here's the recipe I used: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/strawberry_rhubarb_pie/

And here's another picture of the pie on my Grandma Evelyn's china:

RHUBARB BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and sour cream; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold in blueberries and rhubarb.
2. Fill 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups about two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

These muffins are not as healthy as the lemon rhubarb muffins, but they were very tasty and the kids ate them right up.

Equally as delicious:

RHUBARB BREAD

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
3. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

Now the muffins lasted an entire day, but the bread only lasted hours so I would consider it a big hit.

ASPARAGUS WITH RHUBARB COMPOTE

The asparagus was fabulous, but my rhubarb compote needs some work, so I'm going to hold off on sharing a recipe until I get it right.

Last but not least, my daughter's favorite rhubarb cake recipe.

RHUBARB CAKE

I got this recipe from my Grandma Evelyn's old church cookbook, but there's also many websites with the same recipe.  Here's one from cooks.com  http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,186,145172-253202,00.html

Along with the Spring vegetables comes the fawns.  We saw this one right next to our house the other day!

Next are the Spring flowers.  Here Greta poses by our neighbors Poppie garden.

The purple Lupines and Bleeding Hearts also make us happy.

Greta and I found this flower today on the side of the road coming back from the Farmer's Market in Cable.  I believe it's some sort of a Poppie, but I'm not sure.  My grandmother left me this vase when she passed away.  The vase was given to her mother in 1915 and has been passed on to me.  The flowers look amazing in the vase. 

We are all rhubarbed out in the Frane household!  Happy Spring!!