Be Silly. Be honest. Be kind.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Growing and Cooking With
Old Fashioned Rhubarb
By Brenda Hyde
My Grandma Maudie loved making Rhubarb Pie. I can remember
those homely looking plants with the reddish green stalks
that reminded me of rose colored celery. It seemed like
they had been in the same garden spot forever. It's hard
to image how someone discovered rhubarb's uses, especially
since only the stalks are edible, but the leaves are
poisonous! It's an old fashioned favorite that grows in
our Midwestern cities and in the country side. My husband
recalls his Grandma Ida making sauces, pies and jam with
the rhubarb that always grew behind their shed in somewhat
sandy soil. As a child, he thought it was a weed, but
loved her jam and pie.
If you would like to plant your own rhubarb, look for it
at your local garden center. It does need two months or
more of cold weather in Zones where the ground freezes.
You can start it from seed but the process is long and
often the seeds do not produce a true type of rhubarb. If
you can "borrow" three root divisions from a friend or
family member that would be plenty for one family. Choose
a sunny, well drained spot that is out of the way. Rhubarb
is very long-lived and you won't want to move it much,
since it takes two years to really become established
before harvesting. You can harvest the stalks that are at
least one inch thick the second year, but you won't really
have an abundance of stalks until the third year. However,
after this you will have all the rhubarb you can pick
during the spring months, which is the harvest time.
Plant your divisions in a hole you have prepared by
digging your soil and mixing in compost or other organic
matter, such as decomposed leaves or manure. It should be
planted about 2" deep, with one crown, or division, in
each hole. Give them plenty of room, about 3 foot apart if
possible.
More Tips
Be sure to remove the flower stalks before they bloom to
help the stalks develop. After several years if the stalks
start looking thinner you will need to divide the plants.
Dig up the roots in the spring as they begin to sprout and
divide so each crown has about 3 "eyes". Replant what you
would like to keep and give away the remaining divisions
to friends and family. Lastly, be sure to keep the area
around your rhubarb clean and weed around it so there is
plenty of air circulation, which will help keep it
healthy.
Once established, rhubarb will become a hearty, dependable
vegetable that will come back year after year. The
following recipes are ones I have collected over the last
15 years from Michigan cooks.
Rhubarb Cake
Cake:
3/4 cup margarine
2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped
Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 tsp. cinnamon
Cream together all cake ingredients and pour into a
greased and floured 9x13 pan. Before baking combine
topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the
batter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick
inserted comes out clean.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Unbaked pastry for 2 pie crusts (For the top and bottom)
1/3 cup flour
2 cups chopped rhubarb
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 cups fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together sugar and flour.
Place one of the pie crusts pastries in a pie plate for
the bottom crust, and place the rhubarb in the bottom.
Sprinkle with half the sugar mixture. Repeat with
strawberries and remaining sugar mixture. Dot with butter.
Place on top crust and crimp edges. Cut slits in the top
of the crust. Bake for 40-50 minutes.
Rhubarb Sponge Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
3 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. tapioca
2 tsp. grated orange rind
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons orange juice
Mix rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, tapioca and orange rind. Pour
into the pie shell. In a small bowl, beat together eggs
and sugar for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and
beat one more minute. Pour over rhubarb mixture in pie
crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until rhubarb
is tender and the batter is cooked.
Mix rhubarb and sugar, allow to sit overnight. The next
morning, boil the mixture for 15 minutes, stirring
constantly. Remove from heat. Add Jell-O and mix until
it's dissolved. Pour into sterilized jars. Cool, and keep
in refrigerator.
Rhubarb Bread
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups finely diced rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Stir together in order given. Pour into greased and
floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 to 60
minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 2 loafs.
Rhubarb Cobbler
1 cup flour
2 tablespoon margarine
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons milk
3 cups rhubarb, chopped
3 ounce package strawberry gelatin
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick margarine
Cut the 2 tablespoons margarine into the flour until
crumbly. Add eggs, milk, baking powder and salt. Make a
soft dough and press into an 8x8 inch pan. Press the dough
up the sides of the pan. Place the rhubarb evenly in the
bottom of the pan . Sprinkle with the strawberry
gelatin(dry). In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and
margarine to make a topping. Sprinkle over the gelatin.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until rhubarb is
tender.
