Like I have said before, I am not good with vegetable growing, never had that luck to grow those luscious tomatoes, long green cukes, fluffy lettuce and robust radishes. Experimenting vegetable gardening this year has been an adventure, especially when MaMa got these boxes to put on top of the back patios rails. After my giddiness filled me with gardening power, we did plant tomato, butter lettuce, sweet peppers and cukes, but you would think we were growing for the little elves in the tree, or miniatures for doll houses. We have to laugh, but we were thrilled with the one or two we actually picked from our small, scant crop, few in between and long anticipated. But it was totally fun…Were we too late to enjoy our little bounty? What did we do wrong? We still have many little green tomatoes, and I have to admit now, that they are turning colors, we have been able to pick…6 or 7. LOL….Don’t laugh at me…Were thrilled! Those 6 or 7 mini tomatoes with the little 4-5 inch cucumber are soso delicious!! I envy all of you with those beautiful gardens, lush with green, tall and proud and with your bounties. Next year, I would like to be student when you plant, I would be helping you while I learn…Seriously!!! An opportunity to teach Scrappy Chef!

But my flowers, I was so proud of myself, I had beautiful Calley lilies, never seen such deep shades of purple, and then canary colored yellow little spiraled flowers showed up. Heavenly! How beautiful in such a perplexing time.

The side of the garage looked awesome with the sprinkle of reds, whites, pinks and purples that rounded off the area that I created for MaMa to put her patio table and a new bright blue umbrella, adorned with decadent bulb lights to have the opportunity to entertain her “besties” for “tea”, in extraordinary neighborhood beauty. My raised boxes look so beautiful with a rainbow of colors of chosen summer favorites. Yeaaahhhhhh!

My phlox is in a state of color adorned with the brightest hues of purple and purples, only because I can’t describe the color. Despite the hard working boys from M&H, rebuilding our street, who have been so gracious to us while their trucks are up and down from early AM to late PM, we were still able to keep the flowers growing, colorful and alive.

Thanks for the Thank You notes you sent to us, that mention how you enjoyed the beauty of our yard as you were doing your daily walk by every day. That was my confirmation of a job well done! The Dahlia lilies did grow so large, like the size of a pizza pan and bright, bright yellow in color, and wow! weren’t those cosmos so beautiful?

The pandemic put me in this zone, quarantined, endless books to read, crafting and movie binging, cleaning and cooking, driving MaMa crazy…So rolling in the dirt and planting the seedlings and the “Approaching Death” crop from Wally-World and Lowe’s just was so so fulfilling. It all just put a purpose in me for I have always enjoyed gardening, and was totally exhilarated to be able to do so, and I got Mama to like it!

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So looking at the rhubarb plant I planted last year, I got thinking, because it is not really enough to be harvested, I felt empathy for it…grow little rhubarb, grow! But Uncle Ray said it needed to be established. So Rhubarb, est. 2019.

Like the tomato, rhubarb’s identity is a bit arguable. Botanically speaking, rhubarb is vegetable, but most people consider it a fruit. In fact, a New York court decided that since Americans primarily used it as a fruit, it would be considered a fruit for the purpose of regulations and duties.

Now folks, read that again!

Who took Mr. Rhubarb to court, to distinguish whether it’s life span would be a fruit or vegetable? Who represented him? Froot Loop? A grand team of Vegetable Fry? and how about a jury of his peers? a classic California blend? whole sweet peas? a duo of broccoli and cauliflower? Hmmmm!

Rhubarb first appeared in North America in the late 1700s when it was introduced by a Maine gardener who had obtained seeds from Europe.

Because it takes several years to grow, in the span of 25 years, it had become so popular that you could find it in many farmer markets all over. Rhubarb has a celery-like stalk that falls into to distinct types, a hothouse variety has pink to pale red stalks and yellow-green leaves, generally have a milder flavor. Look for crisp, bright colored stalks that are fresh, tender and firm. Never eat the leaves, they contain high levels of oxaIic acid and other compounds that are toxic to humans, wash and cut to use. You can store the stalks in the fridge for up to one week in a sealed plastic bag. Rhubarb freezes well, so you can enjoy it all year round. In the early years it was nicknamed “the pie plant”. Today it is used in pies, tarts and sauces and has been included in recipes that are both sweet and savory.

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The Recipes

Rhubarb Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups of sliced ½ inch fresh Rhubarb

1/3 cup of sugar

¼ water

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Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in medium, saucepan. Cook over high heat until boil.

2. Reduce heat to Low, Cover and cook until rhubarb is tender.

3. Remove from heat. Let cool covered.

4. Refrigerate until serving time.

Rhubarb Cookie Cake

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This cake has a browned butter shortbread cookie crust as its base.

Ingredients

Crust

½ cup Butter

1 cup AP Flour

1/3 cup sugar

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Filling

4 stalks (2 cups) sliced into 12-inch pieces

2/3 cup sugar

¼ cup AP flour

¾ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. ground ginger

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2 large eggs

¼ cup of brown sugar

Topping

1 cup whipping cream

2 tbsp. packed brown sugar

Directions

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1. Heat oven to 350°

2. Melt butter in saucepan on medium/low heat stir, 3-4 minutes or just until butter turns golden brown.

3. Immediately remove from heat. Add 1 cup AP flour and 1/3 cup sugar, mix well.

4. Press firmly into bottom of ungreased 8-inch square baking pan.

5. In separate bowl, combine rhubarb, 2/3 c. sugar, ¼ c. AP flour and ginger. Beat in eggs with a wooden spoon until smooth.

6. Pour over crust. Sprinkle ¼ c. brown sugar, evenly over top of crust. Bake 40-50 minutes until golden brown. Cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.

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7. Combine whipping cream and 2 tbsp. brown sugar in a bowl. Beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Spread or dollop cream on cookie or servings.

 

Comments, love, ideas and recipes are always welcomed. Please share them with us.

scrappychef@yahoo.com.~ Happy Fooding~Happy Rhubarding! And the last words….

~”Good food ends with good talk”!~Geoffrey Neighor~

 

 

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