In the beginning: when I started shopping at the Greenmarket, I encountered more than few strange fruits and vegetables. The rhubarb is one of such vegetables. Sure I've heard the phrase Rhubarb Pie, but didn't know what a rhubarb looks like - I was probably picturing something similar to a stone fruit - until I saw these ruby red stalks in the market.
Each year I tend to pick one produce that I want to get to know. That means buying a lot and eating it in different ways. The rhubarb was my 'Produce of the Year' in 2001. I made the Rhubarb Pie. I made the Rhubarb Jam. And I found a recipe of Rhubarb Cake that entertained my colleagues in more than few occasion. I cooked it as a sauce for pork or chicken, thinking, if cranberry sauce is a staple in the turkey dinner, then the rhubarb sauce can go with the meat, too. I dropped the jam on chèvre. I drizzled rhubarb dressing on arugula.
Rhubarb can be tricky. Its flavor - very sour - is not for everyone's taste. Also its tartness is different from a citrus; I taste it earthier. Well, this year I made the Rhubarb & Strawberry Jam. This tastes great smeared on my vanilla cupcake. Mmm.
Ku Cake
