Rhubarb, rhubarb . . . rhubarb

So happy for rhubarb

It’s nice to have friends – and especially nice to have friends who have incredible rhubarb gardens.  My friend Rhonda lives on her grandparents farm.  The rhubarb patch on this beautiful farm is the biggest I’ve ever seen.  For the last couple years she has been very willing to share this wonderful spring crop with me.  This year I picked enough rhubarb to fill a large size grocery bag.  Here is what I did with my rhubarb . . .

 

 

 

  

Can you ever have too much rhubarb?

The first thing I made was bars.  I live in Minnesota and we all love our bars, ya hey!  I chose a recipe that included a butter, powdered sugar crust and a custard like topping.  I also made a family favorite – rhubarb ketchup.  It’s a savory, slightly spicy chutney like sauce that we like on pretty much everything.  I still had plenty of rhubarb left, so went in search of another way to use it up.  I decided to try a recipe that was posted on Orangette.  I made two batches of roasted rhubarb.  I made one batch with some left over white wine.  I put it in a container and then into my freezer.  I hope it will taste alright when thawed – sometimes I just experiment.  I also roasted more rhubarb with red wine and a little crystallized ginger.  Ginger and rhubarb are an amazing combination.  I highly recommend using a little crystallized ginger in any rhubarb recipe.  I can’t seem to get enough of the roasted rhubarb and red wine.  It’s a much more intense flavor and is really good with vanilla ice cream.

I washed and cut all of the remaining rhubarb (about 2 1/2 lbs) into lengths that would fit into freezer bags and will be able to use that over the next year for more bars or ketchup.  I love a ‘little taste of summer’  all year ’round. 

 

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