It’s been all rhubarb, all the time lately. That’s not the only reason I haven’t been posting, but gardening in general and rhubarb in particular are a big part of my recent radio silence.
I’ve boiled a ton of the stuff into compote, which is a several-step process:
- Chop and simmer in a small amount of water, then roughly smash with a potato masher.
- Drain the slurry through a cloth-lined colander.
- Puree the result in a blender to remove any stringiness.
- Can it in pint jars (eight of them so far).
The liquid that drained out was used in smoothies. DF also mixed it with rhubarb simple syrup (more on that in a minute) and ginger ale.
I diced and froze 27 cups of rhubarb, which will become nine cakes in the year to come. That is a lot of dicing, and resulted in the rhubarb tattoo mentioned above:
It isn’t the best light, but my thumb and the first two fingers of my hand have a purple-y tinge. Which is weird, since rhubarb juice is a deep pinky-red.
The biggest (and best) task was making two batches of what DF calls “rhubarb Twizzlers”: burying thinly sliced stalks in sugar and, after 10 days, putting it into the dehydrator. Each batch filled both our dehydrators, so we’re talking a lot of rhubarb Twizzlers.
Just as well, because man oh man is that stuff good. Impossible to describe if you haven’t eaten rhubarb before; my best explanation is the flavor is a mix of lemon and cherry. Tart yet sweet and very chewy. I plan to give away samples during the garden open house we’re planning as part of the agriculture grant I received.
It also resulted in a lot of simple syrup and light-pink sugar. The syrup is rhubarb juice drawn out during the 10-day waiting period and mixing deliciously with sugar. As noted, DF uses it with ginger ale and rhubarb juice, and once the plain rhubarb juice is all gone he’ll keep using the syrup. The sugar we use for baking and, yeah, we’ve been known to snitch little pieces of it to nibble.
I tried making hard candy with the simple syrup, which would have gone much better if I’d paid attention for the last two minutes of the boiling. It got too hot and scorched ever so slightly, producing a confection that tastes more like horehound than sweetened rhubarb. The two of us will eat it, of course, and honestly it’s been soothing to my allergy-roughened throat. Next time, though, I’ll watch that candy thermometer mighty closely.
Other issues
DF has been dealing with a health issue that I’ll leave behind the curtain. It’s not fatal, but it’s been a hassle. The situation has taken up a fair amount of brainwidth, though.
It’s also led me to pick up more of my share of the garden work this year, due both to that health thing and the fact that he has less energy due to being six years older than me. (I knew he was serious when he hired Orion the free-range kid to mow.)
Since I’ve been working less lately, I have more time to pitch in – and I’m learning that I, too, don’t have as much energy these days. My body’s been awfully surprised by the effect of weeding and other grunt work, especially since I’ve got a couple of my own health issues that need to be balanced with the desire to get that doggoned equisetum out of the raspberry patch.
Finally, we’ve had noticeably less brainwidth due to health issues in our extended family. I won’t be more specific, to allow those folks their privacy. Short form: It’s taking a lot of phone calls, paperwork, medical appointments and home visits, and the cumulative effect is flattening us.
As they say, the trouble with life is that it’s so damned daily. Yet I’ve missed writing, and apologize for the extended silence. Part of me is sneakily glad that I’m finally, finally able to take the route that works best for me. It means fewer posts, but I still have things to say. Thank you for wanting to hear them.
Thanks for visiting with us! I hope DF’s ailment and those of extended family are resolved quickly and easily.
Thank you for checking in. Health issues and aging are a definite drain. My DH and I are finding it takes longer and longer to do what what needs to be done as the years pile on. Less frequent posts? No problem here. I’ll be waiting patiently.
I’m another one who will wait as long as it takes between posts. Life, aging, and health issues happen to us all. Please give my best wishes to DF and the extended family member(s), and keep a large share for yourself. Meanwhile, enjoy those rhubarb twizzlers!
Donna, so good to hear from you! I’ve been wondering how you and DF are doing.
I can relate to how health issues can drain away energy. My experience has been that you just don’t realize how depleted you’ve been until you regain some of your energy and look back. And looking back, it seems you hadn’t fully recovered even when you were convinced that you were back on track.
Best wishes for you, DF, and extended family in your progress toward stable health and recovery.
Good to read your words, sorry that life has been “life-ing” you all a lot lately – as it tends to do. Best wishes and Hope everyone is on the mend soon!
Hope everyone is feeling a little bit better soon. I’ll take whatever posts you can do as I love a peek into your life. I’m sure gardening season is short in Alaska so make the best use of your time.
Life happens. I am always glad to read your posts.
Thanks for checking in so we stop fearing the worst. I made rhubarb twizzlers last year at your suggestion, and will be doing so again this year. Fairbanks has had such a cold and windy spring that things are slow coming out of the ground, and that is saying something for rhubarb!
Forgot to add I hope you both are feeling better soon.
Boy, when rhubarb slows its roll we’re really in trouble…Hope it warms up soon, both there and here. Thanks for your good wishes.
It is always nice to see a new post. Always remember that your family and health comes before anything. Best wishes for good health to all. And We will b here when you feel up to it.
Know what you mean about aches and pains – wish I still had your ambition, though I’m afraid I’d substitute the rhubarb for something I actually enjoy eating. But I’ll bet if I ate anything made by you with rhubarb, I’d love it! Hope the two of you are feeling much better very soon – miss visiting with you and hope to get up there again ere long!
I will make a rhubarb cake in honor of your arrival, and save you some rhubarb Twizzlers.
Among other things we’re growing: raspberries (golden and red), strawberries, peas (regular and sugar snap), potatoes (several varieties), cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, apples and maybe fava beans if they survive our cooler-than-usual summer weather.
can you talk more about the garden grant!? more more more
Sure. The state, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, offers micro-grants for people interested in improving/increasing the amount of locally grown foods, including animal products. That won’t be us, since we’re not interested in being responsible for other living beings. However, we will grow, share and preserve as much as we can from our city lot.
We’re also focused heavily on sharing knowledge, seeds and seedlings. For example, we’ve already given away more than 125 Toklat strawberry starts, a lot of saved flower and vegetable seeds, a couple dozen golden raspberry starts, and a handful of tomato and cucumber seedlings. We’ll be giving away more as they pop up; the golden raspberries are particularly relentless about sending out shoots. Each person who gets these products invariably strikes up a conversation about their previous garden experience (or lack thereof). Some great stories have been shared with us, and we’re grateful.
We are inviting all of them, and all the folks in our Buy Nothing group, to attend an open house in early August. We’ll tour the garden and talk about how their own landscapes are doing, and share our experiences with food preservation. I plan to hand out samples of dried apples and those rhubarb Twizzlers; if I have time, I hope to make a batch of sugar cookies with our dehydrated raspberries in them (man, are they good!).
And to get an approximate head count to include in our final report, we’ll ask folks to sign a guest book and then choose two winners to receive e-gift cards. That report will include the number of seeds/plants and the total pounds of cucumbers and tomatoes we gave away. I expect the strawberry and raspberry starts will continue into the fall, and we also plan to split our rhubarb plants at that time and give some of those away.
We’re having a lot of fun with this.
That’s really cool! Thanks for the information. I started a seed library at my work and it’s been so fulfilling
There’s a Little Free Seed Library somewhere in my Sand Lake neighborhood. I should take over some of the columbine and marigold seeds — we’re inundated.
As you know, rhubarb is a spring tonic for “what ails you”. I am hoping it works it magic and the next post finds you feeling better. You might try canning some rhubarb chutney. It’s a great condiment to serve with meat and poultry. By the way, I also relish reading your posts. Thanks so much for sharing bits and bobs with us.
DF has made rhubarb chutney before. I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it enough to eat it. And yeah, it’s definitely a tonic; sometimes I imagine how the earliest settlers longed for some FRESH food vs. dried or canned. It probably tasted like manna.
I’m always glad to see one of your posts, whenever it appears, and I learn so much from you. Health and energy are so important, and I wish both of you and your families all the best.
I’m reading this taking a break after cleaning the bathroom and washing a load (big…I baked a lot yesterday), something that wouldn’t have slowed me down twenty years ago. I get what you’re writing about. I’m happy to read what you have to say anytime. I don’t mind waiting. Actually, when I miss your writing I go back to your archives! It scratches the itch. Best wishes to both you and DF in regards to your health.
Awww, thanks for reading the golden oldies. Appreciate the kind thoughts as well.
…a big load of dishes…
I look forward to a post whenever it comes. I hope you and DF take the time to recuperate and rejuvenate.
I am older than you and also have a bad left hip (surgery problem). My hubby is also six years older than me, so I know what you mean about aches and pains. I hope that both of you feel better much sooner than you expect. As always, I love your articles.
Thanks for your kind words, and I hope we all improve physically.
I don’t have access to a rhubarb growing space but the Twizzler idea is fascinating! Can this be done with store-bought rhubarb.
I don’t see why not. Hope it works out for you.
So happy to see a new post from you, and I hope everyone gets to feeling better real soon!
I’m so glad to get an update! Hope everyone’s health stabilizes smoothly.
I’ve never had rhubarb, so thanks for describing the taste for us. I don’t even know if you can get it here, but I could probably grow it if I really wanted to. I wouldn’t mind doing a little container gardening (very little), if and when I retire. Talk about lack of energy!
I hope you and DF feel better or more energetic or however you want to feel soon. I understand about relatives needing assistance but don’t burn yourselves out, okay?
You wrote an entire column on the rhubarb twizzlers but despite scrolling through old posts, I cannot find it. Can you give me the date so I can look it up? Thanks. I mentioned it in another blog and even though I have made it twice now, I would like to go back to the original source.
I do wax rhapsodic about them in the link below.
This year we found a new use for the simple syrup: Boiling it to 305 degrees and pouring it into a parchment-lined cookie sheet. It makes a very tasty hard candy. Best part is breaking it into pieces.
https://donnafreedman.com/strawberries-are-in-season/