Earlier this week my mother's friend in Columbus was kind enough to send me about 15 huge stalks of rhubarb from her monster 4' wide plant. The stalks were firm and dappled pink and green, the colors of spring. I have had a slight rhubarb obsession the past few weeks, I must admit. I'm not quite sure where it sprang from, because as a child I never ate rhubarb, so I was never aware of its tart old-fashioned deliciousness. My grandmother in Hamilton used to have a plant, but I checked last weekend and it's no longer there. I've suddenly developed this strong desire to have my OWN rhubarb plant.
Maybe I'm fascinated by the tradition and long life-span that the plants usually have. From what I have read, some plants can live up to 20-30 years if they are happy and healthy. It's possible for one generation of a family to plant a rhubarb and the next generation to still be harvesting from it decades later. This is the case with my mom's friend - her father planted a rhubarb years ago and now that she has taken over the home, she is still able to harvest from that very same plant and remember her father. Too cool.
This morning our CSA share came with a full quart of beautiful strawberries. They were 100% deep red and smelled jammy as heck.
I knew that for dessert tonight I was going to have to take a crack at making a strawberry rhubarb crisp.
I'll go ahead and give myself a little pat on the back - it was the best crisp I've ever had. I love tart, fruity desserts, and this takes the cake. I'm having to hold myself back from sneaking into the kitchen for seconds...
For the actual meal tonight I made Carolina-style barbecue seitan sandwiches with homemade coleslaw - it doesn't get much more country than that.
Our tummies are happy tonight.
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