VICTORY GARDENS in SCOUT MAGAZINE: On Rhubarb Hitting It’s Local Peak And What You Should Do With It
Rhubarb season generally runs from mid-spring through summer. In our region, its prime time is May. Not only is it delicious with its acidic tang, rhubarb is also great for ornamental purposes with its massive, glorious leaves. It’s perfect in a potager-type garden, front yard garden or in a street boulevard. Technically a vegetable but widely regarded as a fruit, rhubarb (or botanically speaking, Rheum rhabarbarum) is a species of plant in the family Polygonaceae; it’s related to sorrel, another perennial edible treasure. If you’re contemplating growing some, it has few pests to speak of, and it’s super low maintenance. Rhubarb will thrive in the sun, and can grow in a container, provided it is big enough.
Before it was regarded as a culinary ingredient, rhubarb was originally cultivated for it’s root, important in Chinese medicine since about 2700 BC. Remember, the leaves contain toxic amounts of oxalic acid, so when harvesting, compost the leaves! In Europe in the 17th and 18th century, when consuming rhubarb as food was relatively new, this was not common knowledge (unfortunately).
Baked Rhubarb Compote
Rhubarb compote is incredibly versatile: Put a dollop on yogurt and granola in the morning, eat it with ice cream, wrap it in galette dough, or pair it with a fish. Make a fruit wine, or pickle it if you’re feeling adventurous. We love it when its season merges with strawberry and raspberry season!
Ingredients
2 pounds (6 cups) rhubarb (or enough to fill a glass baking dish)
1 Valencia orange
1-cup local honey
A teensy bit of water to barely line the bottom of the glass pan
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut rhubarb into 1″ pieces.
- Barely cover the bottom of the glass baking dish with water.
- Grate some orange zest, and squeeze the juice into the glass baking dish.
- Add rhubarb, zest, and drizzle honey; mix until rhubarb is coated in honey and juice.
- Bake for 20-30 mins, or until the rhubarb is soft. Serve warm or keep in fridge for later!
(Source: victorygardensvancouver)
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Best Made Guide Bio: Charlotte Sullivan, Urban Homesteading
Urban homesteading is described quite well by the Hussin Brothers, of the America ReCycled project: “The act of transforming a city or suburban home to produce some sort—or all—of its resident’s subsistence needs. [Thereby] reducing environmental impacts and returning to a home based, family centered, self-sufficient, way of life.”
Having lived on both small farms and in various wildernesses, I now find myself living in a home very much connected to the grid. Rather than try to escape this suburban reality, I have embraced it on multiple levels. I try to bring the lessons of the woods and the barn into my house and community. Luckily where I live, “town” isn’t too far away from farm land, so I’ve been able to continue working in agriculture. Working on a farm has allowed me to obtain as much of my food as possible directly from the fields. Throughout the busy, busy summer I’ve canned enough tomato sauce to last myself and domestic partner the winter. Since we are in New England, we also preserved a great deal of fruit. (My knowledge of forested landscapes led us to find gallons of wild—and therefore free—black raspberries and blackberries in scrubby, unmaintained grounds just down the street).
And there are things I do to remind myself of the wilderness life I sometimes miss. For example, once a month I live without electricity. These days always create a wonderful and uninterrupted stillness (no computers and cell phones)! These days have also inspired a lot of backyard grilling, usually whole chickens over a woodfire. This chicken will then last the whole week—both for dinners, or transformed into chicken salad, for lunch.
I would say that anyone can really be an Urban Homesteader. It simply involves coming up with a new economic strategy. Instead of working full-time, for example, I say: try working part time, and see if there’s extra time to make more of what you need. Time is money, is ______ , so just cut out the middle-man. And lastly, I can’t say enough about bike-riding. Ride your bike/get a bike!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leggz29ozo1qbqgxwo1_r2_1280.jpg)
Best Made Guide Bio: Charlotte Sullivan, Urban Homesteading
