Tuesday, May 20, 2008


An early post today. Sometimes cooking is about timing and the cannelloni that I'm making today requires me to be stuffing tubes instead of blogging at the usual time.

My son who lives away bought a house in September with established gardens and is now experiencing all of the beds sprouting new growth. He doesn't know what everything coming up is but he does know he has a ton of rhubarb. He asked me if I had recipes and I am going to send him this one so thought I'd share. The recipe is for Rhubarb Torte, a delicious meringue topped dessert that is popular in the Maritimes. I love it and would not dare to make any as my son who lives with me does not like rhubarb and I'd eat the whole thing. I love it that much!

I have a friend who believes Canadians should celebrate a National Rhubarb Day. Rhubarb grows in all provinces and territories and is in the conscious memory of us all. He might have a good idea. There is a Dandelion Festival in this province so why not.... but across the country!

Rhubarb Torte

Base:
1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup soft butter


Filling:

1 1/4 cup white sugar

2 tbsp. flour

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup cream or canned milk

2 1/4 cup rhubarb in 1 inch pieces


Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 cup white sugar


Crumble first 4 ingredients & press into an 8x8 pan.
Bake at 325* for 25 minutes.
Combine ingredients for filling and cook until thick and clear. Cool.
Pour over base and cover with meringue. Brown at 425* for 5 - 10 minutes. Serves 9.


It needs a bit of time as it is a 3 part recipe and you need time for the filling to cool before you put it together. I think it's worth it.

Because not everyone likes rhubarb and think it's strange, today's song is Strange Fruit from Nina Simone. Her version gives me shivers. Two more versions are from Billie Holiday and a Remix of the Billie version from Verve Remix.

The photo is of a rhubarb flower. I let one of my rhubarb plants flower every year and use the flower in an outdoor arrangement. It can't be brought into the house because of droppings that come off it but outside it is beautiful. I will put the photo of another rhubarb arrangement up tomorrow.

11 comments:

Ralph said...

The flowers are gorgeous and I was going to guess white lilac. Our rhubarb is so picky--I think because it's really too warm here for it--that I've never let any of it go to flower--we'd have nothing left. That recipe looks great and I'll be making it soon!!!

Cuidado said...

The torte is delicious. The flowers are huge. As you will see in tomorrow's post they dwarf lupins which are considered large flowers.

Kat said...

Cuidado,
It took a long time for me to find rhubarb. My mother never served it, and I doubt she would have known what to do with it. I had a friend who brought a rhubarb pie to school, and I was amazed by the taste and wondered when it had been all my life.

Anonymous said...

If you make it,I will eat it.
Love You
Cath

Cuidado said...

Kat, When I was a kid we picked it and ate it raw. My mother made only pie or stewed rhubarb. It's nice to have more exotic things to do with it.

Cuidado said...

I will make it this weekend if you come over. I have tons of fresh asparagus too. Come on over!

Anonymous said...

I have a bunch of neighbors and friends bags and bags of rhubarb, and you can't see a dent. There must be hundreds of stocks of it.
- A

Ocean said...

D and I were just eating raspberry/rhubarb lastnight an it was delicious! I want to start making pies so you will have to send me all kinds of recepies.
love you

Anonymous said...

I just read a week of your blogs. K is upset that Clarkie won't be around when we go to PEI. He said Clarkie was his favorite cat.

One thing weird about K is that when he pets a cat, he always counts his nuimber of pets outloud. He used to do ten, but now seems to do 14.
-A

Cuidado said...

Ocean, Use the internet for a recipe for rhubarb pie or any recipe for fruit pie and substitute rhubarb and use any combination of fruit. Strawberry rhubarb, apple rhubarb, peach rhubarb or as you tried, raspberry rhubarb are all delicious.

Cuidado said...

A, I'll put up another recipe in a few days. Love that copy and paste.
K will get lots of petting in this summer even without Clarke though he was the ultimate as a kid-petting cat. He loved it!