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The rhubarb is exploding out of the ground – it’s time to make a crisp! There are many ways to eat this tangy plant but my favorite way is in a crunchy, nutty, sweet and sour dessert.
Ingredients:
- Fresh rhubarb stems
- 1/4 cup tapioca or flour for thickening the juices
- 2 cups sugar
- One cup flour
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- One cup nuts
Here’s how to make this tasty dish:
Harvest rhubarb stems by pulling them firmly up and out of the base of the plant. Trim the leaves and the ends off so you are left with the ruby stems.
- Wash and cut into pieces about 1/2 inch wide.
- Put the cut pieces into a baking dish, set the oven to 375 degrees
- Sprinkle tapioca or flour and, depending on the amount of rhubarb and the degree of your sweet tooth, about one cup sugar over the cut rhubarb
Streusel topping directions:
- Mix melted butter, oats, remaining sugar, nuts and flour together so it is a crumbly mixture.
- Sprinkle this over the cut rhubarb
- Dust with cinnamon
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the dish is bubbling, the top is brown and the rhubarb is soft.
Ready to bake!
Let cool a bit then serve as is or with ice cream or milk.
Posted in Cooking | Tagged fruit crisp, rhubarb, rhubarb crisp | 2 Comments »
Spending a day with basket master Peter Greer at his Golden Bay, New Zealand studio was a wonderful experience. He’s an amazing craftsman and an excellent teacher.
He grows his own willow near his studio.
Once cut the willow is sorted by putting it in barrels and pulling it out and bundling it by height. He soaks the dried willow then wraps it in wet material to keep it flexible.
Here’s a hand peeling tool to strip bark from boiled willow.
To get started choose eight pieces of the same diameter and length.
Peter showing us how to start the base.
Make a cut in the middle of four pieces and feed the other four through.
Once you’ve gone around twice with four start weaving over and under two.
Once you’ve done a few rounds of over two go to over and under individual pieces until you reach the desired base size. Let this dry and set for a few hours.
To begin the upright weaving cut the rod right next to the base and use an awl to open a space.
Bend the rod over the awl tip to correctly position it.
Gently bend all the rods up right into a birdcage shape and tie a string to hold them st the top.
Set a heavy weight on the base to hold it in place. Use a 3 rod wale to stabilize the base.
Here’s how to do this weave.
A French weave is used for the body of the basket.
Putting down the border is next
Here’s a video by Hanna Van Aelst on how to do these.
Last comes the handle. Insert a thick rod then wrap and tie it off.
Contact info
Once you’re done, you can pack up your basket and head out for a picnic in the glorious NZ countryside!
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Visiting my daughter in NZ we went to a fall harvest market. A bit odd as it was spring when I left Seattle!
Love the idea of a cup library.
Train station in the background.
Lots of seafood.
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Visiting my daughter in NZ we went to a fall harvest market. A bit odd as it was spring when I left Seattle!
Love the idea of a cup library.
Train station in the background.
Lots of seafood.
Posted in Cooking | Leave a Comment »
Walking on a beach with friends in Otaki, New Zealand I mentioned I was interested in basket weaving. “Oh the man who made the baskets in Lord of the Rings is just up the street” said one of them. So off we went!
Mr. Douglas welcomed us in and shared tips for good baskets:
- Don’t hurry your work; a well-made basket can last 40 years.
- Use the cleaver tool to tighten the weave.
- To test a willow variety for suitability. Hold it by the narrow tip and twist in a circle.
- Good tools make good work.
Mr Douglas in his workshop.
Recommended tools – Felco sécateurs #8
Opinel knife
Cleaver to be sure the weave is tight.
A bodkin for making holes to feed strands through.
Soaking trough for dried willow.
Finished products
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Walking on a beach with friends in Otaki, New Zealand I mentioned I was interested in basket weaving. “Oh the man who made the baskets in Lord of the Rings is just up the street” said one of them. So off we went!
Mr. Douglas welcomed us in and shared tips for good baskets:
- Don’t hurry your work; a well-made basket can last 40 years.
- Use the cleaver tool to tighten the weave.
- To test a willow variety for suitability. Hold it by the narrow tip and twist in a circle.
- Good tools make good work.
Mr Douglas in his workshop.
Recommended tools – Felco sécateurs #8
Opinel knife
Cleaver to be sure the weave is tight.
A bodkin for making holes to feed strands through.
Soaking trough for dried willow.
Finished products
Posted in Cooking | Leave a Comment »
By Garrett Okrasinski
Last year I planted a new rhubarb plant and excitingly awaited for it to grown large enough to make my favorite strawberry rhubarb pie. However, I was upset to hear that rhubarb take at least a year until it is large enough and producing beautiful stalks for consumption. So patiently I tended my rhubarb last spring and summer. This spring I was so excited to see it coming back and starting to send out beautiful green leafs, knowing this is my year for rhubarb!
It you are lucky enough to notice a young leaf before it emerges, it is one of the coolest things! Tightly bound up, a tinder green leave almost looks like a brain! Rhubarb is an exciting and rewarding plant to watch grow (especially if you have been anxiously awaiting to harvest it for over a year!!).
Today, I noticed my rhubarb had a tall stalk leading to an odd looking bud. Last year, I did not notice my rhubarb had any buds or flowers. Concerned, I first took a picture and then did some research on why in March my rhubarb could be flowering.
Rhubarb can flower for multiple reasons including; maturity of the plant, stress (lack of nutrients in the soil), variety of plant, or heat.
Due to the age of my plant and the warm winter and spring we are experiencing, I deducted that the heat was causing my rhubarb to flower. Flower heads are common on rhubarb plants during the spring but need to be cut out immediately. If left, the plant sends it energy to producing the flower instead of growing big juicy stalks.
Posted in Growing | Tagged rhubarb, rhubarb flowers | Leave a Comment »
So what is all this rain doing to your garden loving heart? Are you just itching to get out and plant something? Well here are some ways to calm that itch through indoor seed starting, using Reemay floating row cover and setting up some plastic covered hoop beds.
Now is a good time for cold season starts and, if you are patient, warm season crops like tomatoes. To start seeds indoors you need pots with good drainage, clean soil to plant in and a good strong light source. This can be a south or west facing window or better yet, a grow light of some sort. I also like to use a seed mat and a mini-greenhouse to get faster germination.
Kale seedlings
Once your seedlings are a few inches high you can start planting out the cold hardy ones like collards, sweet peas, kale and so on. The tomatoes, squash and other heat lovers need to stay inside until temperatures warm. I like to use Reemay to both protect the plants from frost and from the crows in my neighborhood that just love to eat juicy little seedlings. Reemay can also be used over newly planted cold season seeds, onion sets or potatoes. Because the Reemay is so light weight I usually weight it down with soil or rocks. You can also use metal pins if you have them.
Using large binder clips keeps the Reemay from blowing away.
If you want to create an environment that is drier and warmer than what you can make with Reemay the next step is to do hooped beds. I like to use one inch pvc pipe either bent over and put in to pipe brackets screwed to the outside of the bed or pushed deep into the ground. This creates a warm place for your plants that really can help them to thrive. One problem with these covered beds though is the issue of watering. You either need to set up an irrigation system, remove the cover on a warmer rainy day or hand water.
Plastic covered hoops over a raised bed with irrigation.
Here’s a peek under one covered bed. The chives and peas are flourishing. I do hope the dog doesn’t figure out how to take the cover off; he loves to eat peas!
Grow peas, grow!
Good luck to you and let me know how it goes with getting a jump on the garden season!
Posted in Growing | Tagged early gardening, garden hoops, remay | Leave a Comment »
Chives in full bloom.
Chive flower vinegar is delicious and easy to make!
- Pick fresh chive flowers.
- Pack a clean jar two-thirds full with the flowers.
- Add white vinegar.
Let sit for two weeks in a cool, dark place then strain and enjoy!
Someone just commented that they like making a chive butter too. What do you like doing with this versatile herb?
Posted in Cooking | Tagged chive, herbal vinegars | Leave a Comment »
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