R is for Rhubarb
Most people are familiar with this plant which although in actual fact a vegetable, has been declared a fruit in the US. Reading up on it I was reminded that as kids we were often given a stick of rhubarb which we dipped in sugar and ate as a sweet or candy. It is an excellent food to assist in the relief of constipation. In laboratory tests it has also been found to contain parietin which in experiments has slowed the growth of cancer cells in mice and may even work for lung cancer.
I personally love rhubarb but Matt doesn't like it. We had a plant in our back yard in the first house we owned in Canada and it was eventually pulled up because I couldn't be bothered to cook it just for me. Nowadays, once in a while, I buy it from the local asparagus farm and cook it in a very little water, adding sugar and some ginger. 1lb does me for a couple of days. As most people are aware, the leaves are poisonous. I am looking forward to getting some by the end of this month. Although we had a lot of snow at the beginning so I hope it hasn't retarded the growth of either the rhubarb or the asparagus.
There are, of course, hundreds of rhubarb recipes, but this one from Chatelaine appealed to me today.
Rhubarb-buttermilk tea cake
Try this fresh Rhubarb-buttermilk tea cake recipe as a creative alternative to banana bread.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped pecans
FOR GLAZE:
1 cup sifted icing sugar
4 to 5 tsp lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray bottom of an 8 × 4-in. loaf pan.
2. Stir flour with baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Whisk egg with brown sugar, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in large bowl, then stir in flour mixture. Add rhubarb and pecans and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in centre of oven until a cake tester inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean, 70 to 75 min. Transfer to a rack to cool in pan for 10 min.
4. Stir icing sugar with lemon juice in a small bowl, adding juice 1 tsp at a time until thick and smooth. Drizzle glaze over warm loaf, letting it run down the sides.
5. Crunchy pecans and tangy rhubarb make this moist banana-bread alternative addictively good.
Servings: 8
Substitution Tip:
You can use frozen rhubarb instead of fresh – just thaw it completely before adding.
Storage Tip:
Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to a month.
Source: Chatelaine
Have a great day
I personally love rhubarb but Matt doesn't like it. We had a plant in our back yard in the first house we owned in Canada and it was eventually pulled up because I couldn't be bothered to cook it just for me. Nowadays, once in a while, I buy it from the local asparagus farm and cook it in a very little water, adding sugar and some ginger. 1lb does me for a couple of days. As most people are aware, the leaves are poisonous. I am looking forward to getting some by the end of this month. Although we had a lot of snow at the beginning so I hope it hasn't retarded the growth of either the rhubarb or the asparagus.
There are, of course, hundreds of rhubarb recipes, but this one from Chatelaine appealed to me today.
Rhubarb-buttermilk tea cake
Try this fresh Rhubarb-buttermilk tea cake recipe as a creative alternative to banana bread.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped pecans
FOR GLAZE:
1 cup sifted icing sugar
4 to 5 tsp lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray bottom of an 8 × 4-in. loaf pan.
2. Stir flour with baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Whisk egg with brown sugar, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in large bowl, then stir in flour mixture. Add rhubarb and pecans and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in centre of oven until a cake tester inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean, 70 to 75 min. Transfer to a rack to cool in pan for 10 min.
4. Stir icing sugar with lemon juice in a small bowl, adding juice 1 tsp at a time until thick and smooth. Drizzle glaze over warm loaf, letting it run down the sides.
5. Crunchy pecans and tangy rhubarb make this moist banana-bread alternative addictively good.
Servings: 8
Substitution Tip:
You can use frozen rhubarb instead of fresh – just thaw it completely before adding.
Storage Tip:
Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to a month.
Source: Chatelaine
Have a great day
My father absolutely loves rhubard and my husband is a bit of a fan too. I can take it or leave it. I do like my mother's rhubard crumble though - there is no taste quite like it.
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
I have lots of rhubarb recipes Tasha because I belonged to a cyber cooking group and all of us were fans of rhubarb. I was never a fan of rhubarb crumble even though my mother used to make a good one.
DeleteWe make up for the rhubarb mis-classification by calling squashes vegetables instead of fruit. If it has seeds inside, it is a fruit. You would think the food folks in our gov't would have figured it out by now. I am not a fan of rhubarb either. Do not mess up my strawberry 'whatever' with rhubarb.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to mis-classify a lot of things Denise. I like my rhubarb on it's own not with strawberry.
DeleteI have rhubarb growing but rarely cook it. Don't know why not now I think about it.
ReplyDeleteWell you should Helen. There are so many things one can do with it.
DeleteWhen I was little, there was a German couple that lived a couple houses from us and she made so many great baked goods. However, I was not a fan of the rhubarb pie. I remember it being so sour or bitter, even with the sugar. Haven't had it since.
ReplyDeleteI have never been big on baked goods, but I like my rhubarb as described above JoJo.
DeleteYummy!! Brilliant post! Really Enjoyed reading it :D
ReplyDeleteHeather
http://heathersstitchingstory.blogspot.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/xstitchchick
Thanks Heather.
DeleteI'm like the only one in my family who doesn;t care for rhubarb. They make pies out of it.
ReplyDeleteI’m exploring different types of dreams and their meanings.
R is for Running in Slow Motion
Stephen Tremp’s Breakthrough Blogs
Funny how some like it and others absolutely loathe it Stephen. Matt says it makes his mouth feel furry.
DeleteI have yet to try a rhubarb pie; want to do that sometime!
ReplyDeletebetty
Well, as I said Betty, I am not big on pies but I do like rhubarb as I described above.
DeleteWe had the plants in our yard when I was a kid. Interesting taste. I've never had strawberry rhubarb pie, not a fan of either in a pie. Too odd flavors to mix, I always thought. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the taste but Matt doesn't. As I have said, I am not big on pies and nor do I like the idea of rhubarb and strawberry either.
DeleteRhubarb crumble is one of my favourite desserts - we have it regularly at the weekends. Yorkshire is the rhubarb capital of the world
ReplyDeleteMust admit I haven't eaten it in years Bob. Didn't know that about Yorkshire.
DeleteI have five hills and need to divide one of them. I have a friend that loves to eat it plain or even with salt. I have never tried that. I do make rhubarb tea. Cook rhubarb together with water for an hour and strain. Add sugar to taste. You can use fresh or frozen.
ReplyDeleteAs kids we used to eat rhubarb stalks dipped in sugar Ruth. Never heard of rhubarb tea before.
DeleteWe often ate it raw as children. My mom would cook it and eat with sugar as you described.
ReplyDeleteIt's the way I like it best Susan. But there are so many recipes for rhubarb, I have a lot of them too.
DeleteI love rhubarb and this sounds like a great recipe. My mom in law ( she passed away a few yrs back) made a great rhubarb and strawberry pie and it was not too sweet which was great. It wasn't tart either.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said Birgit, not much into pie and never tried strawberry and rhubarb. I hope you have her recipe.
DeleteFor some reason, I've always associated rhubarb with strawberry pies so it's refreshing to see this plant incorporated into other recipes.
ReplyDeleteMany people do Cynthia, I'm not sure it's not a North American thing, don't remember having it in the UK.
DeleteThey sell it at stalls on the side of the road here. I don't think I've ever eaten it. Maybe in an apple/rhubard pie. I love your story of dipping it in sugar when you were a child.
ReplyDeleteIt is very tart and does need quite a bit of sweetening one way or another Pinky. People either seem to enjoy it or hate it.
DeleteHi Jo - love rhubarb ... but the cake looks an interesting version for anyone who cooks cakes - not me! It's interesting I've never heard of dipping the early stalks into sugar and eating them ... we used to put sugar cubes into an orange and suck and squeeze the juice out - rhubarb sticks ... not so sure! Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI used to make cakes a lot Hilary, but then I decided my hips didn't need them any more LOL. Matt doesn't eat much and I end up eating too much. Never heard of the sugar cube in orange idea.
DeleteI love rhubarb. I used to have a plant in back of my old house. I didn't always use it, but I did sometimes--I love the color of it. The recipe sounds delicious! Since I had to go gluten free I usually make a rhubarb sauce or a strawberry rhubarb sauce to serve over ice cream or just eat plain.
ReplyDeleteSounds a good way to eat it as a sauce over ice cream Susan. Never tried that.
DeleteSusan, I couldn't find your blog. Can you leave me a blog link please.
DeleteThey sell this at the Farmer's Market in town each year. Maybe I'll give it a go.
ReplyDeleteI hope it is something you can eat Ivy. Needs quite a lot of sweetening.
Delete