primitives discuss rhubarb, iggy lists

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115725922

Oh my.

One of franksolich's most favorite things, rhubarb.

This campfire was brought over simply to remind the cooking and baking primitives franksolich still has his eyes on them, watching their seditious activities.

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 09:39 PM

OK, who knows from rhubarb...and something to do with it besides a great addition to apple and strawberry pies.

Not too many particularly appetizing things came in a quick search, but i seem to remember my grandmother in Maryland doing some spectacular things with it long ago. Just don't remember what they were.
 
But, the stuff is all over the place here with the spinach, asparagus, and radishes that are out this week so there must be something to do with it that doesn't involve a pie.

Why not?  What's wrong with chowing down on rhubarb pie 365 days a year?

<<would do it; it's great.

Selfish, gluttonous primitives, who forget there's people--lots and lots of them--in the world who'd like to have a crust of bread, and if it was the only food given them every single day of the year, they'd be gloriously happy.

Viva_La_Revolution (27,076 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 09:41 PM

1. rhubarb syrup on vanilla ice cream

ambrosia

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 09:53 PM

5. Can I assume making it involves a pot of boiling water and a blender? Or maybe...

not so much the blender?

Sounds good, though, and if you have a SodaStream lying around...

Viva_La_Revolution (27,076 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 10:45 PM

11. I just slice it up and put it on the stove with a little water, cook till soft and squishy. add sugar to taste. I like it chunky. you could puree it if you wanted it smoother.

greatauntoftriplets (129,624 posts)   Sun May 19, 2013, 09:41 PM

2. Rhubarb crisp!

http://dessert.food.com/recipe/rhubarb-crisp-262157?ic1=obnetwork

I have some rhubarb and plan to make a crisp this week.

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 09:47 PM

3. That looks great, although maybe...

I should have mentioned I'm diabetic and just reading the recipe sends my blood sugar through the roof.
 
However, if I can finagle past the sugar and flour, the concept is delicious.

greatauntoftriplets (129,624 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 09:50 PM

4. It's excellent.

I tend to use less sugar than the recipe calls for because I like the tartness. That doesn't solve your problem, though.
 
I think there are some crisp recipes that used rolled oats if that's better for you.
 
Whatever you do with the rhubarb, enjoy it!

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 09:57 PM

7. I might make it to take somewhere and...just take a bite or two of it.

Ever try making an apple-rhubarb crisp?

greatauntoftriplets (129,624 posts)   Sun May 19, 2013, 10:01 PM

8. You can do that.

I've also made apple crisp with the same recipe, though never together with rhubarb.

BainsBane (9,512 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 09:55 PM

6. You may be out of luck then

Unless you can use a sugar substitute. Rhubarb is so sour you always need some sugar. I LOVE Rhubarb, but I don't like when people add too much sugar. The sourness is what I love about it.

^^^  

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)   Mon May 20, 2013, 11:28 AM

14. Splenda should work-- I've used it in baking, but...there's no decent brown sugar replacement I know of. Maybe adding a little molasses might work.
 
There are some flour substitutes, but results are all over the place, usually dreadful.
 
I agree, some sourness is good and excessive sweetness is cloying, even without the health issues.
 
(fwiw, I had you on ignore from a huge fight way back when I put everyone involved on ignore. Cleaned out the list to just the few who personally attacked me.)

BainsBane (9,512 posts)    Mon May 20, 2013, 02:06 PM

17. Oh

I'm sorry. I don't recall that fight. I hope I don't similarly annoy you in the future.

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)   Sun May 19, 2013, 10:04 PM

9. This is embarrassing-- someone I have on ignore answered me and...I have to assume for the moment that his or her post here has nothing to do with whatever reason I have the person on ignore.
 
Rather than undo my entire ignore list (although it's probably time to do that anyway) could someone let me know who and what it's about?

CaliforniaPeggy (103,997 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 10:37 PM

10. You have mail!

noamnety (18,376 posts)    Sun May 19, 2013, 11:16 PM

12. I made pumpkin rhubarb muffins tonight.

If I had more of it growing, I'd try out rhubarb sorbet.

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)    Mon May 20, 2013, 11:33 AM

15. Now, that's an interesting combination...dunno why I wasn't thinking of baked goods.

Apple. banana, walnut... all sorts of things can go in a muffin with with rhubarb. Blueberries are just coming in...

spinbaby (11,006 posts)    Mon May 20, 2013, 06:14 AM

13. Rhubarb salsa

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rhubarb-Salsa/Detail.aspx

There really isn't much you can do with rhubarb that isn't sweet.

<<<chomps on plain rhubarb all the time, when it's around.

It's great, unsugared raw rhubarb.

TreasonousBastard (20,917 posts)    Mon May 20, 2013, 11:38 AM

16. OK, this is so far out that I am making it to take to...a function this weekend.

Everyone will be expecting it to taste like anything except what it will taste like.

Goblinmonger (16,367 posts)    Mon May 20, 2013, 02:08 PM

18. Rhubarb upside-down cake. My kids love & super easy

Chop rhubarb and put a pretty tightly packed layer in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with one package of strawberry Jell-O (I use vegetarian jello and any flavor you want would work--don't add anything else, just the powdered jello). Then sprinkle with about 3/4 cup of sugar (you can modify this as you like with Splenda or whatever--the recipe originally called for 1 cup but that was WAY too sweet so I hover around 2/3 to 3/4 cup). Then make a white cake mix according to directions and pour over the rhubarb mixture. Bake at same temp as cake mix directions, but you will need to add about 10-15 minutes to the baking time. When the cake is browned and not mushy, it's done. Let it cool (or don't but it will be runny). Flip over when serving. Great with whipped cream or ice cream.

dem in texas (129 posts)    Wed May 22, 2013, 01:41 AM

20. With Marshmellows

I haven't cooked any rhubarb since I lived in Alaska over 35 years ago. It grew in my garden there and I used to bake it with sugar and topping it with minature marshmellows. My children were young then and they liked it. I tried cooking it in different recipes and it was hard to get the sweetness right. The marshmellow recipe was the one that worked the best. I don't remember the recipe but I bet you could find somewhere on the internet.

[thundley4]

Rhubarb used to grow wild near a field where us kids used to play football and baseball.  A lot of us would chew on it just because it was sour and would relieve dryness of the mouth.  This was long before bottled water, and no one wanted to go home for a drink of water.

[Karin]

It's great, unsugared raw rhubarb.

As a kid, I was told that was poisonous.  Must have been an old wive's tale, because here you both are. 

[Carl]

Eat the leaves like lettuce or cook like spinach DUmmies...you will like it.  

[Kimberly]

Grim Reaper: Rhubarb! Get your fresh rhubarb—the reddest fruit in town!
Alton Brown: Um, excuse me, um, isn’t rhubarb in the same botanical family as buckwheat and sorrel, and therefore, in fact, a vegetable?
GR: Yeah, sure. Whatever. Makes a killer pie, though ... I mean, delicious. Try some.
AB: Er, maybe, maybe, in a minute.

You know, rhubarb, which in Latin, roughly translates to "root of the barbarians", was originally used as a medicinal product—a hepatic stimulant, in fact—until about the 18th century, when it finally became a culinary ingredient. Why the long wait? Oh, I don’t know ...

AB: ... could it be because rhubarb is poison?!?
GR: Only if you eat it.

Well, in this case, the reaper-y device there comes in the form of oxalic acid, which besides being a flavorant, is also a darn good bleach and rust remover.

GR: Ahhh, oxalic acid. It’s one of my favorites. Right up there with hemlock and old "Three’s Company" reruns. Try some.
AB: Oh, what the heck. [eats a sample of rhubarb, then gags, and spins out of view of the camera.]
GR: Another clueless pedestrian lured in by the ruby-hued stalk of doom. Heh, heh, heh, heh ...
AB: [now recovered] You know, actually, all the poison is in the leaves. That just really tastes lousy, raw.
GR: Eh, well, can’t blame a Reap for trying.
AB: ‘Suppose not.
GR: See you next week. Just kidding. Or am I? Heh, heh, heh, heh ... [floats off camera]