Rhubarb Fool
1 pound fresh rhubarb, trimmed
4 ounces sugar
finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1/2 pint whipping cream
Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch lengths and place in a saucepan with the sugar, orange rind, and juice and bring to a boil with a little water (not more than 1/4 pint) and gently simmer until tender. Purée in a blender or food processor and place in the refrigerator until cold. Whip the cream and fold into the purée. Place in individual serving glasses and put back into the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Serve with fingers of sponge cake. Serves four.
Rhubarb-Strawberry Dessert
2 cups fresh rhubarb (cut fine)
2 cups fresh strawberries (cut fine)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice on the mixture and then prepare the following topping:
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour
Mix topping well and spread (it will be crumbly) on fruit. Bake in moderate oven, 350ºF, for about 40 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream if desired.
Rhubarb Pie Make enough pastry for a two-crust pie and line pie plate. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 tablespoons flour and spread on pastry in bottom of pie plate. Fill with rhubarb that has been washed, wiped dry, and cut into pieces. In a small bowl, combine one well-beaten egg and one cup of sugar. Pour this mixture over the rhubarb. Put on pastry top and bake in hot oven, 425ºF, for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 350ºF and bake until golden brown (approximately 35 minutes).
Serve hot or cold.
Rhubarb Conserve
14 cups rhubarb (cut in 1/2-inch pieces)
3 cups raisins
7 cups sugar
juice of 2 oranges rind of 2 oranges, thickly sliced
1/2 to 1 cup walnuts (if desired)
Combine all ingredients, except walnuts, and let stand one hour. Bring to a boil (uncovered) for 40 minutes, stirring frequently. Add walnuts and boil 5 more minutes. Put in sterilized jars and seal.
Rhubarb Marmalade
4 cups rhubarb (cut fine)
2 cups white sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
Boil rhubarb and sugar until thickened. Do not add water. Add nuts and stir well. Place in sterilized jars and, when cold, seal with paraffin. Store in cool place.
Canned Rhubarb
8 cups rhubarb (cut fine)
5 cups sugar
1 cup water
Let stand overnight. In the morning bring to a boil and add 1 can of crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits. Sterilize jars, fill, seal, and store in a cool place.
Rhubarb Relish for Meat
12 cups rhubarb
6 cups brown sugar
3 cups chopped onions
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Cut rhubarb into small pieces, wash, and dry. Add sugar and let stand for 2 to 3 hours. Add the rest of the ingredients and boil until thick (about 30 to 40 minutes). Stir often to prevent sticking. Store in sterilized jars until ready to use. Serve with meat. This is a particular favourite in Newfoundland.
Whether you are looking for a refreshing dish for the table or a spring tonic and mood brightener, turn to your rhubarb patch. Canadians, for a very long time, have been depending on this plant to cure what ails them.
Herbs of Grace
Those herbs which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the rest, but, being trodden upon and crushed, are three; that is, burnet, wild thyme and watermints. Therefore, you are to set whole alleys of them, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread.
Sir Francis Bacon
In recent years, herbs have enjoyed such a surge in popularity that they have become one of the hottest items in Canadian cuisine. Gone forever is the image of herbs being used simply as inexpensive substitutes for spices or other imported ingredients. Today, herbs are considered staples by both everyday cooks and award-winning chefs. They are the subject of scores of new books, a major topic at workshops, seminars, and conferences, and the foundation for enterprising new businesses that serve this growing interest with a variety of herb-related products. In addition, organizations such as the International Herb Association and the Canadian Herb Society serve a growing membership.
With this return to popularity herbs have come full circle. They appear on the baked clay tablets of ancient Egypt and also on the wall and ceiling paintings of their tombs. The Romans left us the first written recipes using herbs both on the walls of their kitchens and in the collections of recipes of some of their famous cooks.We learn that:
The main Roman meal was eaten in the evening and comprised three courses. The first course was made up of morsels to tempt the appetite — oysters, cheese, olives, vegetables, and that great delicacy, roasted dormice. The second course included all kinds of meat; poultry and game such as song birds, ostriches, flamingoes, sausages, and a variety of stews, all highly seasoned with herbs and spices. This repast would be concluded with a dessert of fruit.
When the Romans arrived in Britain they brought with them, as well as their own recipes, a great deal of inherited knowledge from ancient Greece, Babylon, and Egypt about the use of herbs in cooking, in medicines, and for scent and cosmetics. This knowledge filtered through the layers of society to the lowliest peasant, who would cultivate an herb garden at the door.
During the Saxon period, much of this knowledge was lost, and we find that the cultivation and use of herbs often focused on the supernatural and the warding off of evil spirits rather than their healing effects and uses as flavourings. The Leech Book of Bald, written about 950 A. D., details many of the superstitions and pagan rites and beliefs about the evil or the good influence of plants at that time. For example, it was commonly believed that witches inhabited the elder; the periwinkle was called the sorcerer’s violet and could be used to foil the powers of evil; leeks were grown on the roofs of houses as a safeguard against lightning striking the building, or any other bad
