Selfsufficientish.com

Just come in from transplanting the rhubarb - I now have 5 lovely new plants from the ones I found and have left enough undisturbed so I can force some and pick the rest over the next few months.

I'll try and post a couple of my favourite rhubarb recipes later if anyone is interested.

And I'll certainly give the peanut butter idea a go - we have rather alot of the stuff after the boys begged us to get some brought over from the UK and promptly went off it on toast

I've already cooked up my first batch of forced rhubarb!

PLEASE do not tell me you made crumble

No, it's for crumble - eventually. But when I put it in the freezer I realise I have rhubarb still there from 2006 and 2007!!!!!

You need some more rhubard recipes don't you - I'll post them later this evening

Delia's rhubarb crumble ice cream is the best ice cream!

Naaah - Delia's out of favour - none of her stuff can be any good just now!

It was from a looong time ago.

ina wrote:Naaah - Delia's out of favour - none of her stuff can be any good just now!

Ina you beat me too it! Delia She was even getting what for on Thought for the Day on Wogan this morning

Can I ask why? Has she done something wrong that I missed?

Hawthorn wrote:Can I ask why? Has she done something wrong that I missed?

Having vowed never to make any more tv programmes she currently has a series showing how to make food from tinned/packaged food ie tinned mince, frozen mash etc. There's a thread about it somewhere ...

ah here it is - http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... php?t=8458

Hawthorn wrote:Can I ask why? Has she done something wrong that I missed?

You can't have missed that! It's been all over the radio, newspapers and telly - and I don't even have a TV, and only read the Sunday papers, generally two weeks late!

Nowadays, she wouldn't dream of making her own ice cream - she'd buy some stuff on the cheap, and stick a red (artificial) cherry on top for decoration and call it homemade!

I have Ina, I confess. I've been kinda busy moving house and getting married. Our TV isn't working either, and I don't buy newspapers. My dad gives us all his so I wait for those then read them

strange how she's pulling in exactly the opposite direction to the one Jamie oliver is pulling in. He's trying to educate about healthy food, and bring BACK cooking skills that will hopefully get rid of the 'convenience' trend we find ourselves stuck in.

Rhubarb recipes:

Rhuarb, ginger and mint jam
(NB - I found this didn't keep for too long but that generally isn't a problem in our house)

Makes 2.75kg/6lb

2kg/4.5lb rhubarb - trimmed and cut into 2.5cm/1"lenghts
250ml/8fl oz water
juice 1 lemon
5cm/2" piece root ginger -peeled and bruised
1.5kg/3lb sugar
115g/4oz stem ginger - chopped
30-45ml/2-3tbsp very finely chopped ginger or normal mint

Place the rhubarb water and lemon juice in a large heavy pan and bring to the boil.
Add the root ginger and simmer until the rhubarb is soft.
Remove the ginger
Add the sugar and stir to dissolve
Bring to boil and boil rapidly for 10-15mins or until setting point is reached
Remove any scum from the surface with a metal spoon
Add the stem ginger ans mint leaves.
Pour into warm, sterilised jars, cover and seal while the jam is hot.


Baked Rhubarb and Ginger Cheesecake

Serves 8

500g rhubarb chopped into 2cm pieces
1 piece stem ginger finely chopped plus 2 tbsps syrup from the jar
175g caster sugar
175g ginger shortbread biscuits (any biscuits will do)
50g butter - melted
500g mascapone cheese
2 tbsp cornflour
3 large eggs

Line the base of a loose-bottomed 23cm cake tin with baking parchment
Place the rhubarb, stem ginger, syrup, 100g sugar and 4 tbsp cold water in a pan
Poach for 10 mins until the rhubarb is tender
Strain the rhubarb over a bowl and keep the syrupy juice
Make a biscuit base with the crushed biscuits and melted butter.
Line the tin with this biscuit base, firm down with a spoon and chill in the fridge
Using an electric whisk, beat together the marscapone, cornflour, eggs and remaining sugar until smooth.
Spoon in the rhubarb and swirl gently to mix.
Pour onto the base and bake at 180C/GM 4 for 45 mins.
Leave to cool before removing from tin
Serve dusted with icing sugar and with the syrupy juices

Those recipes do sound tasty, but I must admit I have trouble persuading the OH to do anything but crumble with it, and her crumble really is sooo good.

Bonus for me (1) - I was chatting to my neighbour yesterday in his back garden about how he was going to dig it all up, level it and turf it and I spotted some rhubarb growing just next to where he was standing - a quick cheeky question and one free crown of the stuff was all mine! Straight in to my garden, although I'll try to restrain myself from cutting it this year (could be difficult)

Bonus for me (2) - Went down to get an allotment two days ago (after an exceedingly long wait - 8 months-ish) and the plot had about 3 crowns of 'barb growing in it already.

Hurrah!