Last of the Rhubarb

Yikes!  This week I had to harvest the last of the rhubarb and realized that I had last blogged in May when I used the first of it! Over the summer, I made a few non blog-worthy crisps and a friend also took some.  Since there were only a few crisp stalks left, I made a batch of muffins...

Action shot of stirring in the chopped rhubarb

The finished product

 And used this recipe from the Kitchn to make rhubarb syrup to mix with water or club soda...

Bubbling away

The precious syrup

My mom will probably laugh when she reads this.  She always made and preserved a syrup like this out of rhubarb or saskatoon berries.  I hated it.  I wanted to have store-bought juice right out of the fridge like my friends had - orange or apple or grape, not such uninspiring flavours like rhubarb!  I also hated that when I wanted juice I had to retrieve it from the cold cellar, find a jug, and mix it with water and sugar.  Can I admit that I was a jerk?  I guess most kids take what they have for granted.  Now, as an adult I appreciate all that my parents did for us and how much effort it took.  And I want to recreate those healthful homemade flavours that made my childhood so happy and healthy. Bring on the rhubarb! 
I have a little chopped rhubarb left to put in the freezer.  I like to use frozen rhubarb in upside down cakes during the winter.


I'd also like to say hi to my new followers (who signed up during my blogging hiatus).  I'll try to post more often.