Do people up north eat rhubarb? When I lived there, I never heard the word rhubarb, but you can’t rely on my judgement. I’m so influenced by Southern life that when I attended college (as an adult mind you) and the professor asked what the most common religion was in America, I raised my hand and said “Baptist.” (As most of you know, I was wrong.)
Back to rhubarb… I’ve never heard anyone speak about strawberry rhubarb pie anywhere but…..here! Strawberry-rhubarb pie is a prize in Southwest Virginia! My grandmother, like most of her contemporaries living in Mendota at the time, had a rhubarb patch. She warned us, “never eat those leaves.” I have been thinking about her, and I decided to make some strawberry rhubarb jam, but I had difficulty finding rhubarb. I knew I could get it at the Abingdon Farmer’s Market, but the main market is on Saturday; and on Wednesday, I wanted to get started. I finally found it at Food City….just a few of the red rhubarb stalks for $3.53, but I was glad to get them.
Based on this apparent rhubarb shortage, I decided to plant some rhubarb. I got my plants at Lowe’s. My little patch will have four plants. That’s enough for my needs. They seem to like living out by the barn, and I can water and watch over them as I water my blueberries, potatoes, green beans, etc. My stalks are tiny in the picture below, but fully developed rhubarb stalks look like beet-red celery. You can sprinkle sugar on the stalks for a crunchy, tart treat. And…as my grandmother said, “Never eat those leaves,” because...well, they’ll kill ya! They are poisonous.
I worked that comment about my blueberries, potatoes, green beans, etc. so I could, once again, show you the raised beds. Anyone considering gardening should consider raised beds. They are the best! I took this picture about one week ago. How ’bout them taters?” We are abundantly blessed in rural Southwest Virginia. Beyond the garden, you’ll see a line of white flowers…those are my blackberries. Behind the blackberries further up on the ridge, there is a huge patch of raspberries. The only challenge with these berries is the competition with the turkeys. They love berries, too.
Back to strawberry-rhubarb jam…I used the traditional recipe for strawberry jam (minus the lavender) (posted here), but in this case, I first chopped up two cups of rhubarb and then added enough crushed strawberries to make 3 and 3/4 cups of the combined crushed strawberries and the chopped rhubarb mixture.
I love the rich red mixture. Strawberry jam is so sweet and the rhubarb adds a bit of tartness.
For those of you who yet to try food preservation, please try it. Making simple jams is a great way to get started. After making one successful batch, you’ll be hooked. So pretty and a great gift.
And look at this, the cherries are here! They are so happy and cheerful, but I am not sure whether I’ll bother picking them. You are welcome, birds!