The last couple of weeks, here in Wisconsin, have been unseasonably warm. We hope for days in the 70′s in May, though often it only gets into the 60′s, but the last week or two has seen temperatures in the upper 80′s and even lower 90′s. Looking for ways to cool off I decided to make a few drinks based on rhubarb, seeing as I have a huge patch of the stuff just begging to get used up.

Rhubarb has the same tart quality that makes citrus fruits such wonderfully refreshing drinks when the weather gets hot. Unfortunately it doesn’t contain much sweetness so the first thing I needed to do was create a syrup with the rhubarb to sue as a base for any drinks I made. After doing some experimenting I decided on pairing the rhubarb with sugar and lime to form the syrup from which I would then create a couple of drinks.

For the alcoholic version I wanted to create I decided to use rum as the liquor. After numerous experiments and tastings (oh, the sacrifices I make for this blog) it was determined that standard white rum worked best. While, generally, I am more of a fan of gold or dark rums, I found that these rums had too much character that tended to overpower the taste of the rhubarb. Rhubarb may be quite tart, but its flavor profile is rather delicate and can easily be overwhelmed by other strong flavors.

Rhubarb Lime Syrup
2 pounds rhubarb, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 cups water
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Combine rhubarb, sugar, and water in a nonreactive sauce pan, bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until the rhubarb starts to fall apart. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain liquid into a pitcher and add the lime juice. Chill until ready to use.

Rhubarb Spritzer – nonalcoholic

4 oz. rhubarb syrup
seltzer water

Fill a glass with ice. Add rhubarb syrup and top with seltzer water. Give a quick stir and garnish with a lime wedge.

Rhubarb Rum Cocktail

3 oz. rhubarb syrup
2 oz. Bacardi rum
1/2 oz. grenadine (preferably homemade)
seltzer water

Fill a Collins glass with ice. Add the syrup, rum and grenadine. Stir to combine. Top with seltzer water and garnish with a lime wheel.

Today was the first big snow storm of the season. 12+ inches of wet, heavy snow, accompanied by high winds, shut down schools and businesses across Wisconsin and, according to news reports, across a good portion of the nation.

Living 45 minutes away from where I work, there was little chance that I would be making it in. A call to the jail administrator, where I work, confirmed that driving would not be in my best interests as long as I made sure there was enough staff on hand to feed the inmates. Luckily most of my staff lives much closer and they were able to make it to work. While I would still be doing some work from home, that meant a full day of hanging with the wife and daughter, the former also not able to go to work and the latter, kept home from day care.

First priority though would be shoveling out the driveway, a task I was not looking forward to considering the amount of snow we received and the heaviness of said snow, but it had to be done. My wife and I have a very set division of labor when it comes to shoveling snow; I shovel and she makes the Hot Chocolate for when I am done. Somebody is getting the better deal out of this and I don’t think it is me, though a cup of homemade cocoa is a nice reward for an early morning workout. I’m not talking that crappy, instant Hot Chocolate, but the real deal, made from scratch.

I don’t know why instant Hot Cocoa is so popular. First off, it tastes like crap. I don’t care how much of the stuff you use, it always tastes watery and insipid. Secondly, homemade cocoa is not that hard to make and it doesn’t take that much longer than the instant. Even the simple recipe on the side of cocoa powder containers is 100 times better than the instant stuff so why do yourself the disservice?

As you can probably tell, I am sort of a closet Hot Chocolate snob. It’s true. I can admit it, and I have numerous recipes to prove it. many of my recipes are rich, decadent adult versions of Hot Chocolate but I also have quite a few less sinful recipes, for every day consumption, that will please all tastes.

Since the whole family is home the recipe I offer up is a great all around cocoa recipe. It is rich enough and has just a hint of a bitter edge to please adults, but is still sweet enough and not so overly rich, that kids enjoy it also.

Every Day Hot Chocolate

3 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Half and Half
1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 pinch Salt

Combine milk, half and half, chocolate, chips, cocoa powder, and sugar in a pot and heat over medium high heat, stirring regularly so that the chocolate doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. Once the chocolate has melted simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Serve immediately with your favorite garnish.

Summer is upon us and that means many things to each and every one of us. To me it means swimming, blended margaritas, watching baseball, dinner outdoors, picnics and a whole host of other things. It also means sun tea. I love sun tea and personally feel that tea, brewed by the sun over a couple of hours makes the best tea for iced tea. Come to our house in summertime and you will find a jar of sun tea either in the fridge or brewing on the deck. Like a good boy hailing from Indiana, who take their cue from Southerners, I prefer my iced tea sweet, though not as sweet as they do in the south. I also like my tea accented with mint, Spearmint to be exact. I just find it so refreshing and rejuvenating after an afternoon of mowing or yard work.

Sun tea is not hard to make, just fill a clear glass jar with cool water and toss in a few bags of tea leaves. I usually add 10 bags to a gallon jug. Place outside in direct sunlight and allow to steep for 2-4 hours. Remove tea bags and chill. To add mint, rinse the mint, after picking and place it in the jar before adding the other ingredients. With a wooden spoon bruise the mint to help release its essence then precede with the above instructions. To sweeten the tea, while the tea is brewing dissolve 3/4 cup of sugar in 1/2 cup of water over high heat. When all dissolved remove from heat. Add simple syrup to the sun tea when you remove the tea bags. That’s all there is too it. Enjoy!!

And now for my rant. Do a web search on sun tea and you will come across numerous sites spouting the CDC (Center for Disease Control) warning against making sun tea. Because the brewing tea sits right in the middle of the temperature danger zone (the zone at which bacteria grow like wildfire) there is a risk of foodborne illness. Okay, I admit, in theory they have a point. It is possible to get sick from sun tea, and I am sure there are some cases on record to prove their point, but I have never in my life heard of anyone getting sick off of sun tea, and many in my extended family have been making it for years. Sure there might be a risk, but there’s a risk with just stepping outside every day, crossing the street, driving a car, etc. If you listen to all the CDC and the FDA has to say then no more soft set or sunny side up eggs, all steaks and burgers would be cooked well done. Forget about sushi, sashimi, carpaccio, and steak tartar. As it is, they won’t let you make your own decisions about whether you want to drink unpasteurized milk or eat cheese made with unpasteurized milk if it has been aged less than 60 days, all to keep you safe. Don’t get me wrong I think people should be made aware of the risks involved in eating and preparing certain foods, but so many of these statements come across as scare tactics. They often are made to sound dire, like “Drink this and die!” What they won’t tell you are the stats. It seems to me we’ve become scared of our own shadows. Thanks for the warning CDC, but I think I can handle the risk factor of sun tea and just to up the ante, I think I’ll order in some sushi also.