Category Archives: rhubarb

Shrubs, part one

No, this is not a post about shrubs, bushes and trees. Shrubs, deriving from the Arabic word for beverage, are the original soft drinks.  A recent New York Times review calls them sipping vinegar and the rediscovered ingredient in chic cocktails. … Continue reading

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Rhubarb-ade

I concocted a new summer drink with rhubarb. With three huge rhubarb plants, I have more stems than I know what to do with. I again pulled out enough stems to thin out the rhubarb, trimmed and washed the stems, … Continue reading

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Rhubarb, part two

So as promised in my earlier rhubarb post, I’m writing about a rhubarb meat stew, a traditional Middle Eastern use for rhubarb. I found a Persian version which was delicate, delicious and very special. The tart rhubarb lends a wonderful and … Continue reading

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Rhubarb for early spring eating

Rhubarb is always one of the first things up in any edible garden. It’s a hearty, cold weather perennial plant. Only the stalks, called petioles, are edible. The leaves are toxic because of a concentration of oxalic acid (which also … Continue reading

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What’s up

Edible gardens too have perennials, plants that have a life span of more than two years. They go dormant each fall and return in the spring. The perennials are always the first up. Here’s some of what’s appearing in my … Continue reading

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Rhubarb ready for cooking

This year, the rhubarb has flowered or bolted early and has an abundance of tender stalks for cooking now. Since rhubarb stalks dry out quickly once picked, here’s two tricks to storing the stalks in the refrigerator and preserving their moisture before … Continue reading

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