Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb

Rhubarb is cheap and awesome and grows like a weed. If you've never eaten it in any other form, you might have had it in a pie or cobbler with strawberries. Here's an easy way to use it if you find that your garden is overrun with it, or if you saw it in the market and wondered what it was for.

Note that if you have rhubarb in your garden, it'll grow faster the more you pick it. Don't be shy about harvesting. Just grab the stems and pull them along their length so that they come out of the ground without breaking.

1. Remove the leaves. Rhubarb leaves are toxic, while the stems are edible. Just cut or break them off just below where the leaf meets the stem. (Check the bottom end as well, to make sure there isn't a new stem with a small leaf growing there. If there is, discard that leaf too.)

2. Wash the stems and chop them into one- or two-inch pieces, as if you were cutting celery for dipping, but shorter than that.

3. Put the pieces in a pot, and add water and sugar (white or brown). You don't want to cover them; add enough that half the rhubarb is underwater. For every two footlong stalks, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sugar.

4. Put a lid on it and turn the heat on medium-low. Let it simmer or gently boil until the rhubarb gets soft and turns into a syrupy fruit mixture. Stir it occasionally and taste the juice; if you want it sweeter, add more sugar, and if you want it less watery, let it simmer with the lid off for a while.

5. Let it cool. You can store this in the fridge for a week or so, or indefinitely in the freezer. It can be mixed into muffin or cake batter, poured over ice cream or pancakes or hot cereal, or just eaten straight up. Be creative!