Rhubarb Vodka Tonic and a Homemade Rhubarb Ginger Liqueur

Rhubarb is an amazing thing to have in your garden.  It comes back bigger and better every year, and the more you use it, the more you will get.  It's one of the first edibles to sprout in the spring, and mine tend to produce well through summer into fall.  The rosy red stalks make me smile, and I love sneaking their aggressively tart flavor into treats of many sorts.

Come springtime this year, my inbox suddenly was filled with rhubarb inspired drinks, and that made me go into mad scientist bartender mode.  I looked at a few and then decided that they weren't quite what I wanted, so I set about making my own Rhubarb Ginger Liqueur.

First off, I chopped up a bunch of rhubarb from my garden, as much as my first harvest held, which was about a pound and a half.  

Then I made a quick simple syrup by heating a half a cup of sugar with a quarter cup of water until the sugar dissolved.  

I took a big jar and put in the rhubarb, the simple syrup, 3 cups of vodka, and a half cup of ginger liqueur.  

Put the lid on, give it a good shake, and let it sit at room temperature, shaking daily, for about 2 weeks, until the rhubarb has released all of its color into the liqueur.

Then I strained it through a fine mesh strainer and bottled it up to store.

But whoops!  It couldn't all fit in the jar I chose, so I had to sample it in a little beverage.

Take the rhubarb ginger liqueur, top it off with some tonic, and BOOM: Rhubarb Vodka Tonic.  I garnished mine with a little rhubarb twist from harvest #2 for the year.

It's tart and sweet and everything that I love about rhubarb, with the smallest hint of ginger to keep things interesting.  And that color...so bright and cheery!

Cheers to spring, my friends!

Strawberry Bonanza Part 2 - Strawberry Rhubarb Blondies

You know that something is good when you see people's eyes sparkle when they first taste it.  Well, when my kids first tasted these Strawberry Rhubarb Blondies, not only did I see that sparkle, I also got tackled with hugs and praise.  Now if that isn't a seal of approval, I don't know what is!

Blondies are some of the simplest treats to bake up, and adding the trusty duo of strawberry and rhubarb makes them just irresistible!

Rhubarb Cake with Cornmeal

I don't consider myself much a a baker, but that doesn't mean that I can't bake.  I just prefer simple recipes, and most of the things I like to bake are very straightforward and rustic.  In my mind, bakers are the ones who make complicated confections that are meticulously decorated...not that that's true, but in my headspace, that's what I think of when I think "baker".

This rhubarb cake is a perfect representation of my kind of baking.  It uses rhubarb right from my backyard.  It takes only a short time (with a little prep) to throw together.  It might not be the prettiest cake on the block to look at, but you will melt into a satisfied puddle of goo after tasting it.  It's a very moist cake, but the cornmeal gives makes it more interesting for your mouth, and the pops of tempered rhubarb tartness...wow.

Rhu The Day! Rhubarb Sorrel Crisp

Pssssssst...did you know that it's rhubarb season?

I may have mentioned that before.  Like when I made Meyer lemon rhubarb marmalade.  Or rosemary rhubarb jelly.  Or rhubarb compote with Pimms.

And, if you've been following along, you know that it's also time for sorrel.  Like in these sorrel cardamom muffins.

Rhubarb and sorrel don't scream for each other, in my mind.  But, fortunately, someone was bonkers enough to try them together.  In a crisp.  A delicious, tart and sweet crisp.  I found the recipe in the Simply in Season cookbook, a gem that I picked up at an event through our CSA.  It's a great book for eating seasonally, and it definitely thinks outside the box with many of its recipes.  Actually, if you're looking to eat healthier, or more local, or more seasonally, I would highly suggest looking for a seasonal cookbook of any sort.  They tend to be about making the most out of each item for what it is, and the recipes are often simple with fantastic flavors.

But I digress...

May's Preserve Trifecta Part Two: Rosemary Rhubarb Jelly

All right, so I've already shared the Meyer Lemon Rhubarb Marmalade, and now it's time to continue on the rhubarb train with Rosemary Rhubarb Jelly, another great recipe I tried from Preserving by the Pint!

May's Preserve Trifecta Part One: Meyer Lemon Rhubarb Marmalade

Eating locally and seasonally is a hot topic these days, and while I like it in theory and the intentions behind it, it's much hard to practice than it seems on the surface.  I mean, Illinois has a relatively limited growing season, and there are just some things that will never grow here, even in our sweltering summers.  Bananas, pineapples, pretty much any citrus...if I strictly ate locally, these would be off limits.  Then there's the tricky issue of seasonality.  I try to store, freeze, and preserve as much fruit as we can hold, but there's some times when nothing will do except for some fresh blueberries, or a real strawberry.

But I do try to make the most of seasonal foods while they're here.  I'm just on the start of my canning journey.  I've been canning a couple of years, and while no one's gotten botulism yet, I still am not super comfortable with my canning skills.  Following a recipe, possibly making small alterations to the flavoring?  Cool.  Making my own up out of the blue?  No way, Jose.  Enter Preserving by the Pint, by Marisa McClellan, a great cookbook that my family gave me for Christmas.

Takin' Care of Business

Please tell me that I'm not the only crazy person with a huge stack (okay, let's be honest, stacks) of recipes clipped out of magazines and papers and such.  Mine have gotten out of control.  So, after having a long weekend and seeing as how the first snow fell here yesterday, I'm ready to dig in and start trying some of them in hopes of thinning out or *gasp* organizing the mass.

Here's what I'm hoping to try this week:

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Rhubarb

I think I need a springtervention.  I am so excited about spring, and all of the goodies it brings.  As my freezer starts to get more and more emptied of last year's harvest, I start to look ahead to the good things on the way.  In the spring and early summer, that means rhubarb.

Rhubarb is a puzzle to a lot of people.  It's hard to pass by its' beautiful ruby stalks without noticing it, but not many people stop and pick some up.  It's tart, it's big, it kind of looks like red celery, grocery stores put it in the vegetable section, but it's used more like a fruit, the leaves are actually poisonous...let's face it...it's kind of weird.  Even the word "rhubarb" means "a heated debate or controversy".  But there's no need to debate in my mind.  Used in the right ways, rhubarb is a real spring treat.

Rhubarb has potassium, vitamin C, fiber and calcium.  It's been used for centuries as a medicinal herb, reducing inflammation and assisting digestion.  And it makes some amazing baked goods, like this beautiful rhubarb cake from Not Without Salt, which I could eat everyday for the rest of my life.