I’m not sure whether it was the cool weather or all the rain we had in late spring, but our rhubarb took off like crazy this year, as you can see from the picture above. Luckily, we love rhubarb…well at least my wife and I do. My 4 year old daughter isn’t so sure about it. A little too tart for her taste, but I have confidence that she’ll come to her senses and learn to love it like we do. I use it drinks, in all sorts of desserts and in sauces for both savory and sweet dishes, but I came to a realization. We tend to use rhubard as a “fruit” although it is a “vegetable.” I guess that’s because rhubarb is usually pretty tart and requires copious amounts of sugar to tame that tartness.

I wanted to try to use some of our rhubarb in a more traditional “vegetable” preparation so I decided to try and make some rhubarb pickles. I consulted various sources (numerous cookbooks and the web) and didn’t find many recipes for rhubarb pickles. Sure there were some, but not many. Maybe they know something I don’t!!! Well, I decided to go ahead and try to create my own anyway. I’m happy with the recipe I ended up with, but I will admit this recipe isn’t for everyone. You definitely have to like tart foods to enjoy this pickle, but since I am a fan of “tart” these were perfect for me. My wife, on the other hand, wasn’t so enthusiastic about them. She didn’t dislike them, but wasn’t overly thrilled with them. If you are a huge fan of rhubarb and/or like tart foods then I suggest you give these a try.

Before I get to the recipe though I have a couple of thing to make you aware of. First, these are meant to refrigerator pickles. They are not “processed” as I think the processing would turn the pickles to mush. Secondly, in the picture I provide, the rhubarb it cut into long strips. I found that this doesn’t work out well. Pouring the hot liquid over the raw rhubarb leaves them with a bit of crispness without overcooking them and turning them to mush, but it also doesn’t soften the fibers of the rhubarb. It is noticable trying to bit through a long spear of these pickles, but I found if you cut them into 3/4″-1″ chunks you don’t notice the fibers at all, so the recipe states to cut the rhubarb into chunks while the picture shows spears.

Rhubarb Pickles
makes 2 pints

2 pounds rhubarb
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. mustard seed
6 each cloves
1 each cinnamon stick
8 each allspice berries
2 each bay leaves
10 each black peppercorns
1 Tsp. salt
4-8 each Dried red chiles (optional if you want a bit of heat)

Wash the rhubarb and cut into 1″ chunks. Pack into 2-1 pint canning jars that have been sterilized first. Add the dried chiles to the jars also, if using. Combine the remaining ingredients in a nonreactive pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Strain to remove all the spices and pour the hot liquid over the rhubarb, covering completely but leaving at least 1/4″ of headspace. Cover with a sterilized canning lid and ring. Allow to cool to room temperature then place in the refrigerator. The pickles will be ready in about 5 days.

The other day my wife took our daughter to see one of my wife’s clients, who she had become good friends with. Her friend has a small farm and my wife took Genevieve to ride the horses. Genevieve (aka Gigi) is 4 1/2 years old and just recently told us that she wants her own horse. This has created no end of amusment for my wife because ever since Gigi was born I have been writing letters to Santa that Gigi has “dictated” to me. Most of them revolve around the idea that she wants a horse by the time she is five, so needless to say when she exclaimed that she wanted a horse my wife considered it cosmic justice.

So Gigi got to ride a horse, learn a little about horsemanship and help brush her. As an added bonus, Kate sent Wanda home with 2 dozen eggs, from the hens she owns. They varied in size from a standard large egg to ones about the quarter of that size and in colors from off white to various shades of brown and even to a pale green (yes that picture above is color corrected-it’s not your monitor). I was thrilled and set about coming up with an idea to really showcase the eggs. While simply poaching them or hard boiling them might showcase the eggs in all their simple glory I wanted to do something a little more adventurous and seasonal. Our rhubarb is growing quickly and I knew I wanted to incorporate that into something so I decided to make custards and top them with a rhubarb compote. I was also keen to use up some of the tarragon I grow and thought about infusing the custard with tarragon. While not often used in desserts, tarragon’s anisy, licorice flavor lends itself well to many dessert presentations. The only concern is not to overpower the other flavors with tarragon, which can quickly take over if used with too heavy a hand. The flavor combination, at first, might sound a little strange, but trust me it works well, with the tarragon adding a nice subtle flavor to the custard and complementing the simple rhubarb compote.

Herb Pot de Creme
makes 6 servings

3 cups half and half
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1/ tsp. vanilla extract
3-5 sprigs fresh tarragon (feel free to try other herbs also such as thyme, mint, lemon balm, even rosemary)

Pre heat the oven to 350°F. Bring the half and half to a simmer. Add 3 sprigs of tarragon and allow to steep for 10 minutes, off of the heat. Taste the mixture. The herb flavor should be just a little stronger than you want it to be in the final product as this will be diluted with other ingredients. If it isn’t strong enough add a few more sprigs, return to a simmer, remove from heat and steep a few minutes longer. Remember, it’s easier to add more flavor than take it away so don’t go over board in the beginning. As the herbs are steeping combine the egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla, stirring until most of the sugar is dissolved. Add 1/2 a cup of the hot half and half to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Add another 1/2 cup and stir. Now that the eggs are tempered you can add the remaining half and half. Stir until well combined then strain. Skim off any foam on top of the mixture and pour 3/4 cup into 6 ramekins. Place ramekins into a large baking dish and add hot water to come about 1/2 way up the ramekins. Cover with foil, adding 4 or 5 small vent holes and carefully place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and check for doneness. The custards are done when the center still slightly jiggles like jello. If not done yet, replace cover and bake 5-7 minutes longer and check again. Continue doing this until custards are done. Don’t overcook or your custards will “souffle” and instead of a silky, smooth texture it will more closely resemble scrambled eggs. Still tasty but not quite as appetizing. These will take anywhere from 25-50 minutes depending on the size and depth of your ramekins. When done carefully remove from the oven then remove from the water bath. Cool on a rack until room temperature then chill. Serve topped with a couple tablespoons of Rhubarb Compote (recipe below).

Rhubarb Compote
makes about 1 /2 cups

3 cups rhubarb, diced
2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup water

Add all ingredients to a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, at a hard boil, for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Test for doneness on a chilled plate. Allow a small spoonful to chill on the cold plate. It is done if it holds together like a softly set jam with just a bit of liquid separating out. Once done chill for 2 hours to allow time for the compote to set up.

I had meant to post this recipe a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve kind of been off my game a little the last few months, as witnessed by the fact that I have been posting rather sporadically. Sorry, I’ll try and do better. Yeah, I know I’ve said that before, but this time I mean it!!!!

If you have followed this blog, or taken a look through the recipe indexes you will notice that I love rhubarb. While technically not a fruit-we use the stem of the plant-people most often refer to it as such since it is mostly used in the same context as fruits-meaning it is most often used in making desserts.

Here in Wisconsin, rhubarb is on of the first edibles to break ground in spring and by mid May it is ready to start harvesting. Because it is ready so early we often associate it with spring and early summer, often pairing it with other early summer fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. But, rhubarb can be harvested all summer long and into early autumn.

While pairing rhubarb with peaches is far from new, ground breaking work it’s not a pairing that you see regularly, so I thought I would whip up a Peach and Rhubarb pie to make use of our rhubarb patch one last time before it was done for the season. While this recipe comes a little late, I still see plenty of peaches in the markets and if you have a rhubarb patch you probably still have a couple of weeks left before the hard frosts kill it all off, so hurry up and make yourself one of these. You won’t be sorry!

Peach and Rhubarb Pie

3 cups peaches, sliced, with or without skins-your choice. I left them on.
3 cups rhubarb, sliced
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Your favorite pie crust for a two crust pie.
1-1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ deep dish pie tin with one pie crust. Combine the peaches and rhubarb with the flour, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, tossing to coat well. Pour into the pie tin and top with the remaining crust. Pinch the edges of the crusts together, fluting the edges for a decorative look. Cut 4-5 steam holes in the top of the crust and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes then sprinkle the top with the remaining sugar and continue to bake another 15-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. I like to wait an hour or more to make sure the pie has set up properly.

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.

It’s the middle of May and that means that the rhubarb I’ve been watching grow for the last 6-7 weeks is finally ready to start harvesting. That may not mean a whole lot to many people, but I get all excited just thinking about it. Yes, I know I need to get out more! But seriously, I love the tart flavor of rhubarb. Paired with strawberries, it becomes the ultimate late spring/early summer food pairing, at least in my book.

Last year, I wrote about rhubarb a couple of times and you can expect the same again this year. I’ve got 3 huge plants in my backyard; enough to keep my family constantly in rhubarb desserts for the next 2 months and still have enough to give away to friends not blessed with their own plants, and, depending on how rhubarb crazy we get this year, enough to freeze so that we can have rhubarb pie later in the year, when the craving hits.

While my favorite way to eat rhubarb is in pie, we try to find other ways to use it to keep things fresh and lively. This recipe is a great way to showcase shortcake early in the season, when many of us have to still rely on strawberries shipped in from California, instead the the more flavorful sun ripened strawberries that can be picked closer to home.

The recipe calls for sweet vermouth in which the rhubarb is poached. I like the added subtle flavor this adds, but if you don’t have sweet vermouth and don’t want to buy any, the fruit will still be plenty flavorful if you substitute water.

Poached Rhubarb with Strawberries

12 oz. rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
2 Tbsp. grenadine
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

Combine sugar, vermouth and grenadine in a nonreactive saucepot and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the rhubarb, bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes. The rhubarb should still be slightly undercooked when you remove it from the heat, or it will overcook and turn to mush. Leave out on the counter and allow to cool to room temperature. The rhubarb will finish cooking and sweeten up as it cools. Once cool, add the strawberries, stir and refrigerate. This can be made a couple of hours ahead.

Shortcake
I used this recipe originally for this dessert.

2 cups All-purpose Flour
1/4 cup Sugar, granulated
1 pinch Salt
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 each Egg, beaten
1/2 cup Half and Half
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
6 Tbsp. Butter, chilled and diced

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. In another bowl combine the egg, half and half, and vanilla. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in using a pastry blender or 2 knives. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs when done. Add the wet ingredients stirring only to bring the dough together. Don’t over mix the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead 4 to 5 times. Pat into a cirlce about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter 3 inches in diameter, cut out 6 rounds. Place on a sheet tray that has either been greased or lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with an egg wash made of 1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. of either water or half and half. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar then bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool.

To Assemble

Split 4 of the shortcakes in half and place bottoms in a bowl. Top with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and equally divide the poached rhubarb and strawberries over top. Cover with top half of shortcakes and serve.

Mint

Despite the near blizzard conditions I experienced in the early morning hours of April 8th, as I drove to work, Spring is starting to really make its presence known here in Wisconsin. And it’s about time!!!! Today, I took the first good look at my herb garden to see what was starting to sprout. Most of my perennial herbs have broken soil. The tarragon, always an early starter, is already a good 3-4″inches high, while the sage has just started to sprout out from the woody remains of last season. The mint, once a joy, and now a beast that needs constant taming less it take over everything, has popped up all over the herb and flower garden. While my lemon balm, my favorite herb for herbal iced tea has just barely peaked out of its winter rest below the soil, the rhubarb is already looking robust and I look forward to my first pie of the season. Rounding out the rest of the lineup is my thyme plant. It’s hit or miss whether it will come back. Some years it makes it through the winter while in others I need to replant, unlike it’s cousin, the creeping thyme. This herb is more of a ground cover and while it can be used culinarily, its flavor is not nearly as refined as that of other thymes. It is also much hardier than other thyme varieties and comes back year after year.

I haven’t decided what to add to the garden this year, but a basil plant or 2 usually make the cut as does cilantro, both of its leaves and for the seeds (coriander). This year I might add some lavender again, another plant that borders on being hardy in this area. It survives mild to normal winters here in Wisconsin, but won’t make it if the winter is harsher than usual. Ultimately though, the decision won’t be made until I get out to the nursery and see what strikes my fancy at that time.

No recipe today, but look for these herbs in the future as I’m sure they will play prominent roles in a number of recipes to come. Until then enjoy a few pictures of my freshly sprouted plants.

Lemon Balm

Tarragon

Sage

Rhubarb

Today was Father’s Day so I should have left the breakfast cooking to my wife, Wanda, and just sat back and enjoyed. She was more than ready and willing to cook this morning, but I had something very specific in mind and I figured it was best to do it myself rather than explain it to her and then watch over her shoulder the entire time. Don’t get me wrong, she is an excellent cook, but when I know exactly what I want its often best just to let me do it. Wanda was happy to oblige. I don’t offer to cook breakfast often so when I do get the urge Wanda is more than happy to let it run its course. Today I was hungry for rhubarb, once again, so the thought of pancakes topped with a Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup sounded like just the thing to satiate my appetite. The topping is vibrant and refreshing, just the thing for a warm summer’s morning, especially when served atop thin, light pancakes, though it works well on any type of pancake or waffle. It also makes a great topping for ice cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup
2 cups Rhubarb, sliced
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Water
1 pound Strawberries
2 Tbsp. Lemon Balm or mint, finely julienned (optional)

Combine the rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring often to prevent the rhubarb from sticking and burning. As I have stated in previous posts regarding rhubarb, if all you have is the green rhubarb as opposed to the red variety, you can add a splash or 2 of grenadine or a drop or 2 of red food coloring if you want a prettier looking syrup. Strain the rhubarb syrup and chill for 5-8 minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile, hull and slice the strawberries and toss with the lemon balm or mint, if using. Pour rhubarb syrup over the strawberries (the syrup should still be warm but not boiling hot) and toss to coat. Mound the strawberries in the middle of a stack of pancakes and drizzle the syrup over top. This makes enough for 6-8 servings.

Rhubarb is one of those foods that you either love or hate. I absolutely love it and would venture to guess that a good number of the people who claim to hate it have never actually tried it. it wasn’t always that way with me though. As a younger child I wouldn’t touch the stuff, but then, when I was around 8 or 9 years old, I braved my first bite of rhubarb pie and it has been love ever since. To this day, my favorite way to eat rhubarb is in a pie although I don’t think I have every turned my nose up to anything made with it. Technically a vegetable, rhubarb is most often treated as a fruit, making its way into pies, cakes, muffins and various other desserts. For the more adventurous, rhubarb makes a great sauce or chutney for rich or fatty meats, its tartness cutting through the richness of a country style pate or terrine, or complimenting any number of pork preparations.

Although in pies is my favorite way to eat rhubarb, the Internet is full of rhubarb pie recipes, so today’s recipe offering is for a Rhubarb Curd. Use this curd in the same way you would normally use lemon curd; slathered on scones or biscuits, as a filling for pastries, make a Rhubarb Meringue Pie, or use it as a base for any number of fruit tarts, the list is endless. I also like it just topped with freshly whipped cream.

Rhubarb Curd

1 pound Rhubarb, chopped (about 3 1/2 to 4 cups)
3/4 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Water
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
6 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, cut into chunks
3 each Eggs, large
2 each Egg yolks
1 pinch Salt

Combine the rhubarb, sugar and water in a nonreactive saucepan. Cook over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated and the pulp is just starting to stick to the bottom (about 15 minutes). Transfer the rhubarb to a food processor and process until completely smooth. Meanwhile beat the eggs, yolks and vanilla extract until combined. Return 1 1/2 cups of the rhubarb to the saucepan along with the butter and place over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted. Add the salt and stir to incorporate. Temper the eggs by whisking in about 1/4 rhubarb puree then pour the egg mixture into the pan with the remaining rhubarb. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, making sure to continually scrape the bottom and sides. Cook until the mixture thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise and reaches a temperature of approximately 165-170 degrees. Don’t allow the mixture to get too hot or the eggs will curdle. When done remove from heat and quickly whip the mixture to smooth out any lumps. Pour into a clean bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the mixture to avoid a skin forming as it cools. Place in the refrigerator and allow to cool completely before using.

Note: If, like me, you aren’t blessed with the red stemmed rhubarb, you can add a little red food coloring to the mixture to give a more desirable color, but be careful and don’t add too much. It should be more a delicate pink than bright red.