rarely roused by rhubarb

I am rarely roused by rhubarb. I do feel a strange interest every spring, since they are the first fruit (?) of the season. It's like the spring need to revitalize always spurs me to give it another chance. Then I pick some, make something or other, usually pie, compote or muffins and then am bored immediately again. I once read that adding 1/2 banana to a pie, takes away some the stringency. I don't know about that, it helped a bit but.....

We once had rescued a pot belly pig (he was an adorable pet) and often fed him our dinner scraps. He got rhubarb pie one day and the poor fella gobbled it all up, as pigs are known to do, and was gagging intermittently while doing so. Have you ever seen a pig gag. Quite the site. It cracked us up then and still gets brought up every spring, sadly when the rhubarb shows up on the table. By the way, who throws out pie??? A crime in my sweet toothed world but well that sums up the status of rhubarb around here.

That is, until now.

I have found the most delightful recipe for rhubarb and spinach , which if you are a "good" gardener (and on top of things) is ready at the same time.

Rhubarb dressing. It is pink, creamy, delicate and delicious. I am not much for sweet dressings but this one has just changed my view. A perfect accompaniment to spinach.

Enjoy

Rhubarb Dressing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (although I think just olive oil is fine too but cut back the sesame oil then)

2 tablespoons sesame oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar ( or to taste, i tend to add more)

1/4 cup stewed and pureed rhubarb.....the red kind will give the pink colour

salt and white pepper to taste

Just whir this all up with a hand held blender and serve. It even stays emulsified.

lilacs are lovely

I can't imagine that there is a single person that does not like lilacs. Their powerful fragrance might push someone too much, but where too? I only sense heavenly splendor when the fragrance approaches me.
SO, how the heck did I miss the fact that they are edible. Well better late than never and this timing was perfect. I was preparing for a wedding event and the bride finally confirmed the dessert as cupcakes. She introduced me to parchment tulip holders and I discovered lilacs.
My first experiment with lilacs was to soak the blossoms in spring water, like making a sun tea. The suggested hour was not sufficient and after an afternoon the blossoms were still vibrant and the water was divine. Imagine a punch bowl with the blossoms floating around. I found three different shades so the artists palette was inspired.While sharing this with others, I had a report back on using that lilac water in the evening bath. !! A super treatment for this worn out woman.
I  then decided that lilac would make a great edible decoration on the wedding cupcakes and cake. I used some of the lilac water with the icing but alas that did not come through in the taste. I tried out some cupcakes and decorated with the lilacs and was delighted that the parchment tulip holders even held the fragrance in, so that when one went for the cupcake they would be given a little aromatherapy beforehand. The lilacs themselves are very delicate in taste. The weather was my friend and the wedding day approached with my local lilacs in full bloom.

lilac cupcakes

Don't miss this easy treat next year.

Mysteries of Growth

October 2010
The Mysteries of Growth

I found some nasturtiums in my garden yesterday, that I didn’t know were there. This gardener (if I dare call myself that and if forced would call myself a guerrilla gardener) should explain, that despite aspirations of at least having some flowers this year, I wasn’t even able to handle that. I was lucky that the petunias that guarded the top of the path, lasted as long as they did, a whole month.Our south exposure means that a one day lapse in watering can be fatal. It was a rather wet summer, with only a three week heat streak. By the end of August, once the rain and cold started again, the few hints of flowery pleasures around me were gone. Yet imagine my surprise to find the nasturtiums in a full bush of glory yesterday. The dark big leaves were climbing up and over the dead sunflower stalks and the intensely yellow and orange flowers were peaking out abundantly down below. Happy Thanksgiving!

Nasturtiums are one of those plants I love to have. They fill out so nicely, the flowers are somewhat exotic and offer a variety of vivid colours. The best part though, for this foodie, is that you can eat them too. Not just the leaves but the flowers also give a nice zing dingy taste to the salad bowl or sandwich. How this one plant made it thru is my question. I have had some seasons that the plant, despite all my best watering efforts just sits in a stunted sad state all summer long. So what conditions helped this plant survive all the wet cool weather, then the August heat forced upon it, more wet and cold and now in October suddenly blossom into a prize plant. Little gifts from the plant kingdom, is all I can be thankful for.
Now I can show my one son what I meant about pickling the Nasturtium seeds. We were joyfully eating some capers one day (yes eating them individually) when I told him we could make our own, if only we had some nasturtiums. When the flower dies away and the seed is formed, you can harvest and pickle them for a taste similar to a caper. It helps to have a lot of nasturtiums if you really want to produce a small jar at a time. For this year I will just have to work at a small jar with extra attention, for the sake of the demonstration.
This miraculous survival has me wondering about some of the other flowers and herbs I like to harvest. For some reason this year, the wild clovers did not seem to produce. I usually get to pick my yearly stock in June when the first crop of clover appears. Maybe I was too lost in my blur of work or they suffered a season of rest. Hm .... I suffered the plant just rested. The second crop in September did not seem to appear either. Now my nerves that are generally maintained (or some of you might say not) by the loyal clover in my daily tea are needing a replacement. Ergggg....arghhhh ............Cut the drama. Just go and buy some at Anna's Vitamins in Vernon. They always have a great supply of freshly dried herbs.
I meant to pick some daisies this year too, as one cheerful friend claims it brings cheeriness thru her teas. I forgot. How can one forget cheeriness medicine?
I also needed to go find some kinnickkinnik last month. It has been years since I really suffered from a urinary tract infection, so quite frankly it was easy to ignore the glorious herb. Glorious because it always heals this infection rather quickly. Off I went to the patch to harvest. But where were they? Why was there no sign of them? A hardy perennial weed, like that, should not just disappear, should it? Did I over harvest it and kill it off the last time I came? I noticed the little trees were no longer little and really had to admit that it had probably been 8 years since I had a calling for Uva Ursi.(Latin name) I made the most of the walk and strolled some more around the other deer paths. Strolling might not be the right word used when walking a deer path but I am not sure what word would best describe it. Then suddenly there was a patch of the lovely Uva Ursi.

This time it toke more herb than usually to heal the infection so I needed pumping the tea up with extra healing herbs, like horsetail and corn silk. The corn silk luckily, just in it;s prime season and ever so easy and quick to dry for some back up. Plus I got to eat the delicious fresh corn from Dolmans farm. When the corn is fresh like that, I like to even eat it raw.
Anyway, I am glad to say that I am over my pissed off ailment ( a Loise LeHay prognosis) and I am thankful for all the free and useful herbs that got me there.

Some days I wish I had taught the kids more of the local herbal lore. Lately I notice how easily they can be lead into a world of pharmaceutical consumerism, even for the simplest of ailments. Then I remembered that while looking for some Uva Ursi in my dried herbal bin, I found an interesting stash. I found a packet of dried plantain that my son had dried and stored, neatly labeled, Plantain for Eli. This family knows the handy use of plantain on slivers (and stings) which we seem to get a lot of. Larch firewood is great for burning in our wood stove but great for slivers too. Even the deepest set sliver, needs only some plantain poultice to lift it out. So,in a moment of being prepared, the smart kid put a hardy stash of medicine aside.
Modeling, it seems, has had an effect and it is so much easier than teaching.

Now all I need to do, and I am sure my kids would agree, is remember the daisies next year.

Pickling Nasturtium Seeds
Pick seeds when dry. They look similar to a caper bud, a round and green bud, where the flower fell off. Sterilize a small canning jar and fill with seeds. Pour hot vinegar over the seeds and put lid on. In 4 weeks you have a product similar to capers.

Peachy Keen

It's the peaches that really excite me, when it comes to local fruits in the Okanagan summertime.

I think it was possibly a large contributing factor to actually moving here. Driving thru the valley of orchards ( more plentiful 18 years ago) was like reliving a distant childhood dream. To run freely thru an orchard of various trees in full prime season, was one of my dreams. I guess, even at a young age, I've always been a foodie at heart.

So yes moving here, was in a way, like a dream come true. Every summer I get to re live it again. I can always count on something nice and peachy on my birthday celebration menu.

This fruit, to me, is the epitome of heaven. Or perhaps even hell. I am convinced, that if Eve did tempt Adam, it was with a peach not an apple. For me, the mere colour alone can lull me into a state of blissful calm. The fuzzy skin hints of erotic pleasure and well, then the taste of the sweet and creamy flesh.... it is the tipping point.

When they are in season I am gorging like a bear, preparing for a possible long and cold winter, my theory obviously ,”to be prepared”. The memory and promise of the return of those tree ripened jewels, is so strongly vivid that they alone, can brighten my bleakest winter grind.

What more can one ask for?

Simplicity!

To me the peach achieves it. A peach can stand alone no problem. Simple.

Dried peach is divine. Unfortunately I have yet to figure out (albeit I only tried once) how to dry a perfect peach.

Sure I can cut thin slivers and dehydrate them. I can also make nice fruit leather but it rarely lasts long. My boys tend to think that 10 of those peachy rolls constitutes a snack. I guess gorging mama bear does not set the best example.

But I am thinking of the likes of a dried peach that I like to buy from my favourite fruit and nut supplier, Rancho Vignola. It is a half peach, dried to perfection.. Incredible skill to be able to take that half peach and preserve it to such beautiful result. One of my most memorable recipes is of a Christmas cake laden with local dried fruit and nuts. The peach, obviously, is the star. This recipe highlights all our local treasures .....peaches, cherries,currants and raisins, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts. Each slice an attempt to create a piece of edilbe stained-glass art. Sublime.

Then there are canned peaches. I personally rarely can anything. Storage space has always been my excuse but maybe I have never improved the space dilemma, due to a deep down belief that drying is simply, a better way to go. Either way, I still love a can of peaches. A few of my attempts at canning peaches were great, while others less so. No actually, horrible. Nonetheless, even brownish tinged canned peaches will keep me happy. That is because of the taste. Open a can of peaches for topping that winter oatmeal and suddenly a fragrant memory of the summer is added to the morning. The texture of the canned peach almost improved with its preservation. Well almost, but especially, if I have afforded some vanilla beans or rum for flavouring.

These things that the peach is able to achieve is nothing compared to the simple knowledge that I relish: the luxurious simplicity of the heavenly peach, is right here. Just reach out and grab it.

Peach Clafouti

1 tsp water

1/3 cup + 1tbsp sugar

3eggs

1 cup milk

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp almond extract

½ cup unbleached flour

4-6 peaches

Skin peaches. Cut into 1/4's and place into greased pie or cake pan in a single layer.

Beat eggs, sugar, water for 2 minutes.

Add flavourings and milk. Beat in flour. Pour over peaches and bake at 350 o degrees for 40-45 minutes or until firm.

Cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar and eat warm or cold.