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| Raving about rhubarb |
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| After several failed attempts, there's enough rhubarb to cook with |
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I have a confession to make. For years I couldn't grow rhubarb. I know that is hard to believe when rhubarb grows so heartily around the central Oregon area.
When we lived in Redmond, one of our neighbors was an older couple who had a large garden. They were so good about sharing their harvest and recipes to go with them.
One spring they shared quite a bit of rhubarb and I had no idea what to do with it. I had never baked anything with rhubarb before and had no recipes to go on so I made a trip over to ask for some ideas. Margaret generously lent me one of her cherished cookbooks and I began my love of fresh rhubarb jam and pie.
Not long after we moved to Powell Butte both Roger and Margaret began to experience health problems and were not able to keep up with their garden. Roger offered to share some of his beloved rhubarb plant so I took my treasures home and very carefully planted them in my garden. They wilted and died and nothing ever came of them. I felt horrible!
So the next year I bought some starts at a local store and diligently followed all the directions and put them in the ground. They also died and again I was stuck looking to others to supply me with my rhubarb.
After several attempts I finally gave up.
About two years ago I finally decided to give it one more try. The first year was touch and go, but last year the plant took off and grew enough stalks I could actually make a pie.
This year I have taken half the stalks and will have enough for rhubarb cake, two crisps, at least one pie and some yummy rhubarb jam. Since once again I have an abundance of rhubarb I decided to try some new recipes.
I found one for a coffee cake with rhubarb. It tasted really good, but my husband wanted something with a little more texture. So I tried rhubarb crisp.
I couldn't actually find a rhubarb crisp recipe so I had to experiment. First I used just rhubarb and that was too tart. For the next one I added an apple and it turned out pretty tasty. While looking through some recipes that Powell Butte resident Dail Hacker shared with me, I found a recipe for Sour Cream Apple Pie. I think I will try it with rhubarb instead.
There are so many ways you can use rhubarb. Did you know that it is a vegetable not a fruit? Some people think it goes well in chutney paired with pork chops. So far I haven't found anything that sounds bad.
We have had a lot of desserts around the house this week due to all my testing of new recipes. I will have to say that you can't go wrong with any of them but the one recipe I will share with you this week will be a great one to take with you to a summer barbecue. It is sure to be a crowd pleaser. If you want to save it for later in the summer, no problem! Rhubarb freezes well. I always chop mine and freeze in plastic freezer bags ready to be pulled out anytime I get the hankering for a good old-fashioned pie.
Thanks again Dail for the fun recipes. Cam can't wait for me to try some. Happy baking!
Rhubarb Custard Bars
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
10 T chilled butter, cut into small pieces
Cooking spray
Filling:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2cups sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
5 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb (1/2 inch slices)
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup (8 oz) block-style cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tub (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed or 2 cups fresh whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To prepare crust, combine 1 1/4 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender, or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal (some people like to use their hands to crumble the butter and flour together). Press mixture into a 13x9 inch baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
To prepare filling, combine 1/3 cup flour and 1 1/2 cups sugar into a large bowl; add milk and eggs, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Stir in rhubarb. Pour rhubarb mixture over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until set. Cool to room temperature.
To prepare topping, place 1/2 cup sugar, cheese and vanilla in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping, spread evenly over baked custard. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
Makes 36 small servings
Becky Teater is a Powell Butte resident. She welcomes your recipe ideas and comments and can be reached at: cbmsdl@netzero.net. |
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