When’s the last time you enjoyed a tea?

I recently planned a Saturday tea for the women in my prayer group and my mom, who was visiting. What fun it was! Planning a tea gives me a chance to play with ideas for little bites of food prepared from seasonal food and served on pretty china. How could that not make for a grand afternoon?
This time around I planned easy-to-prepare foods that I could make on Saturday morning. I knew I had asparagus and rhubarb from the garden to take advantage of. Since my kale wasn’t quite ready, I also bought some locally-grown red kale to incorporate. And there was still a jar of last year’s apply chutney to add a fruity bite. I tossed around a variety of ideas for using those ingredients and this is what I decided on:
Prosciutto wrapped roasted asparagus
Kale and caramelized onion tartlets
Apple chutney open-faced sandwiches
Rhubarb cake
Oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
Lady Grey Tea
Orange Spice Tea

For the tartlets, I found the kale (which I sautéed) a little bit bitter, even with the sweetness of the caramelized onions, so I added a little agave nectar to tame the taste. Other possibilities for adding dimensions to kale are to add hot pepper then top with roasted nuts and dried cranberries. The combination of textures is a good touch.
I also added soft, blue cheese in the bottom of the tartlets before filling with the kale mixture and popping them in the oven for five minutes. Although I heard no complaints about anything I served, these tartlets were the hit of the day.
When my resources transform to tomatoes, potatoes and raspberries, perhaps I’ll take on the challenge again.

First harvests

We’ve finally made it. We’ve gotten through the end of winter to welcome the schizophrenic days of early spring when we don’t know if we’ll wake up to sunshine, storms or a frosty lawn. What we do know, however, is that it’s time for rhubarb and asparagus.

We harvested our first rhubarb about 10 days ago. I made pie and fruit crisp with it and also experimented with a savory side dish for Saturday night’s supper. I chopped the rhubarb then sautéed it in butter with a little salt. It tasted lip-puckering tart so I sprinkled on just a small finger-full of brown sugar to tame it, but not so much that it tasted like dessert. The final product was easier to eat with a spoon than a fork and it proved to be a nice accompaniment to the meal.

Rhubarb provides vitamin C and calcium. In addition, this fruit contains ferulic acid, an important phytonutrient. Just as phytonutrients protect the plants they come from, they also help protect from disease those who consume them.

The rhubarb in our garden grows happily with little care. When I pass by the raised bed where it grows, I pull up the weeds that poke up through the mulch surrounding our two rhubarb plants. When seed pods appear at the top of a stalk, I pull off that stalk. And before bringing the rhubarb inside, I discard the leaves, which are unsafe to eat.

I foresee more rhubarb experimentation in the next month as the rhubarb flourishes while we wait for more asparagus to cut. We had our first steamed asparagus yesterday—just enough for the two of us. Here’s to hoping the asparagus grows happily this week so we have enough for Easter Sunday dinner.

A week of exploring rhubarb

Yes, it’s been exploration week. Rhubarb stays good in the refrigerator for about a week, so I wanted to use some of it fresh while I could. It has lots of Vitamin K and calcium plus some other healthy goodies plus I didn't want to lose out on the flavor. So I began my search for rhubarb recipes.

Recipe #1: Rhubarb pie. There are plenty of recipes out there for this favorite. I wish I had my grandmother’s recipe because it’s my mom’s favorite pie. We liked the one I made, although we agreed that to get the true rhubarb flavor, it needed less sugar to allow the sour to bite through a tad.

Recipe #2: Lentils and rhubarb stew. This one wasn’t such a hit. In fact, it’s probably the lowest rated recipe Jim ever agreed to give me an opinion on. This dish, which I found online, was way too sour and just tasted odd. But being the leftover queen that I have become, there was no chance I would throw it out. Instead, I made brown rice last night to combine with it. I also used our canned tomatoes for tomato soup to accompany it. That made it a whole new meal that wasn’t bad, although I still don’t think I’ll try the stew again.

Recipe #3: Rhubarb slaw. I haven’t tried this one yet, or the Rhubarb lemonade recipe my friend Shirley sent to me. I think she said she got them from a magazine. After the lentil stew experiment, I’m a little afraid to try either one. Yet, when I summon my courage, I’ll cut more rhubarb and try them both.

In the meantime, I’m going to freeze the remaining rhubarb in the refrigerator (cut into piece, freeze on a tray then bag) so I can make Mom her pie the next time I see her.