wannaGROW: Rhubarb (and Honeyed Cardamom Rhubarb Compote)

Life with a monster garden means a monster amount of work. It means loads of weeding, digging, pruning, planting, composting, and so on. In the past three years, we've brought our yard from an overgrown disaster to a more intentionally overgrown disaster. hah! We've pulled out some things, figured out what needs to stay, read books, and learned from Mom. We're trying to turn our not-completely-black thumbs into green ones. It's a work in progress. But that seems to be the underlying lesson that I hear from most gardeners... you learn by doing.

So, we're doing and we're doing our best.

One thing that seems to require very little effort in our garden is this lovely little patch of rhubarb in the back corner. The first year, we didn't even know it was there. The second year, we discovered it and that was about it. This third year, we managed to get there early, weed around it (courtesy of Des's elbow grease and contributions) and found ourselves harvesting a great amount of rhubarb!

RHUBARB TIPS

There are amazing tips on working with rhubarb on Canadian Gardening's site. What I did learn about harvesting was that you DO NOT cut the stalks to harvest them. Rather, you should grasp the stalk at the base, pull gently, and twist. Apparently this will encourage the root to continue to produce, as opposed to cutting which discourages it altogether. I think that little leafy bit (hidden by the big stalk that you just removed) is the whole reason for the harvesting technique. That little leaf will become a big rhubarb leaf and stalk soon enough!

Also, remove the flower stalks as they appear. If you leave these, the plant will put its energy into developing the flowers and become dormant for the season, as opposed to continuing to produce edible stalks for you. Oh, and a BIG no to eating the leaves. This is not the time to add variety to your garden salad. The leaves are toxic but they can be composted safely or turned into a helpful pesticide for your flowers like the one here. Just don't spray it on anything that you'll eat later. The leaves remain toxic even in this form.

I remember rhubarb in many forms when I was a kid. We grew up eating rhubarb fresh from the ground... a stalk rinsed under the garden hose with a tiny container of sugar. I remember my Dad making stewed rhubarb and eating it on anything... ice cream, toast, or just a straight bowlful of it. He loved it. Here's an idea for something slightly different for your rhubarb harvest...

Family Dinner

I love family dinners. When everyone has such busy and hectic lives, it is nice to slow things down every now and again with a nice meal, some nice vino, and share some stories. Obviously, the holidays lend themselves to family time and, as such, family dinners. I was already looking forward to that bit. But we tried to take things a bit further this time and we collaborated to create a family dinner that really became a family feast, with everyone taking on a bit of the responsibility for the menu and creating something that was truly special.

After a brainstorming session, we shirked the traditional ham or turkey. While we all loved the thought of either, we wanted to push ourselves outside of tradition and really challenge ourselves... thus landing on duck as our protein. Needing some sort of unifying flavour or attribute, we thought to link our various courses and components through the orange, as it would lend well to sweet or savoury application. 

Brunch with Friends: Menu Three

Brunch with Friends has gone international with this instalment!

We were staying in Dean's home while in Buenos Aires (thus having a full kitchen at our disposal) and he had a great many friends both in town and also visiting... It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Dean was game. And what friend is going to pass up a brunch invitation??

This was also the largest group that has ever sat down to a BWF meal... numbering nine guests. And we were up to the challenge!

Dean and I batted around ideas for brunch but were waiting to see what was in season and looked good at the market before setting the menu. I knew that I wanted to see some typical Argentine products on the menu - like Argentine chorizo and dulce de leche - but in what form was to be determined. 

Orange and Blackberry Marmalade

I've been trying to be better about making sure that I use up all of the odds and ends in the fridge lately, rather than finding myself pitching formerly useable food after I left it to spoil in the far corners of the crisper. Oh, the shame. It has certainly never been intentional but sometimes you lose sight of a lemon or bit of herbs or that last few baby zucchini. It takes a slightly concerted effort to adequately survey the fridge and plan accordingly but it's the right sort of effort that reminds you that food is not disposable and that sometimes the best bits of creativity stem from using what is at the ready, as opposed to running off to the shops.

This Orange and Blackberry Marmalade was just one of those bits of creativity. Nothing was yet spoiled but it was one of those situations where I didn't get through as much fruit as I had planned that week and was faced with a slew of oranges and berries on the edge. In avoiding a killer kanker sore, I opted to do something else with the oranges rather than set a bowl before myself and start peeling.

Now, this is not a very sweet marmalade. It gives you just a hint of sweetness but really leaves it to the sweetness of the fruit. It's more about the fruit in general. (Though I am convinced that, thinned out, this could be a decent glaze on meat.... thoughts?) Far be it from me to dictate how sweet your fruity concoctions should be. We eat more than enough sugar around here, so it feels good to me to reduce it here and the low sugar pectin allows for that. But tweak away! Add some honey or agave nectar for a more complex sweetness. Add some more sugar or brown sugar. Up to you.

The best thing to do is to taste your marmalade after it stews together a bit (maybe at the 40 minute mark or so) and decide if it suits your taste, keeping in mind that the orange rind may be a bit tough still. Just remember you're tasting for sweetness not doneness!

Brunch with Friends: Menu Two

Well, I think it is safe to say that Brunch with Friends is going to become a regular feature here on wannafoodie. I spend hours dreaming up these menus and thinking about how to build levels of flavours into such warm, comforting, start-your-day food. How will each component connect with the other once it is on the plate? How do I make each component stand out while complimenting the others? How do I elevate the more simple components into something truly memorable? It has really been an energizing and inspiring experience... and hopefully one that you will get on board with.

This time, we were hosting Doug's sister Kate, her husband Alan and their daughter Emma (for shame! I didn't nab a photo of the family... next time!). Oh, and I can't possibly forget Boo, their pup, who came for a play-date with Charlie, our eleven month old black Lab. It was such a nice excuse to catch-up with Kate and Alan but also to see the ever-changing Emma, who two short weeks ago was barely walking and now is charging around without a care in the world. (How fast they grow!) 

The flavours that I played with today are ones that warm me as the weather cools... cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin and citrus. They have been woven throughout all...

Aperol Spritz

Picture this: You're in an old piazza in Northern Italy. The sun is shining and a gentle breeze is blowing... stirring the air slightly but not disrupting the scene. Waves of beautiful people move through the piazza and their conversations twirl around you like ribbons, dancing over your skin and fading into the distance. Your companion approaches the bar and points at a striking and vibrantly orange-hued beverage spotted in the hand of one of those beautiful people. "Two, please."

As romantic and ridiculously dramatic as that scene may seem to you, it felt just that romantic and ridiculously dramatic to me when I was in Italy last... though instead of two, the order was somewhere in the forties. hahah. We had a wonderful group together to celebrate the wedding of a fantastic couple (and very dear friend of mine).

This was our spritz after a long day of moving... 

no ice, couldn't find the oranges,

but we managed to chill the Prosecco.

It was divine.

Making these spritzes at home was one way to transport myself back to those special days in Northern Italy and -in particular- Verona, without the costly airline ticket. And with the long overdue (enter: cheers of "finally!") arrival of summer, I can think of no better way to celebrate it than with a spritz!

Orange Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

I tried to shrink the name of these cookies somewhat... but I certainly didn't shrink the ingredient list (though there was not one item on this list that required a special trip to the market). But, just like the Lemon Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal Cookies, these cookies have a lot going on.

I solicited a great deal of feedback before embarking on this next cookie attempt... and so many great suggestions came my way! The last batch of cookies was such a hit that I could not fathom producing a poorer version of cookie... or why not just make the first ones again and keep the taste-testers satisfied?! This cookie only changed slightly from what I had dreamed of in my mind (or my mental mouth as coined by Food Philosophy) but I'm already scheming on how the next one will taste. What do you think of a chocolate chocolate (cocoa plus chocolate chunks) cookie with chili heat?? Kirby and Cori seem to think it would be a good one... and I can't help but agree!

So, I go to share this wonderful cookie with you and discover that, in my reckless cookie making abandon, I completely neglected to take one photo of the finished product. I blame my excitement over getting this cookie into the hands, and mouths, of some important people. All hope was not lost though... apparently one lone cookie managed to escape all clutches and was squirreled away in a secret cache. Count yourself lucky that there are now photos of a cookie... and not a post-it note on a plate that reads, "a cookie was once here."

But before I get too far into this imaginary cookie-land where the possibilities are limitless, let's take a moment to enjoy this cookie... Orange Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal... yum.