'Berries on the Rhubarbie

I didn't have anyone to make strawberry rhubarb yogurt this year. So I gave about a quarter of the harvest away to one of my friends who has been there for me through the last two years. She lost an autistic son once, so she understands the grief and the guilt. She plans to freeze the rhubarb, which she used to do every year in Alaska, and make pies for her family at Thanksgiving.

I made fridge jam, cobbler and pies with the remainder.

I thought maybe I could sell them at the community garage sale, but then I decided I'd rather give them to people who have been trying to help me through the last few weeks.

The streusel-topped pies were my first-ever non-pudding pies. I never had the confidence to try while Lizard could enjoy them. I wish now I had worked up the guts to make him a pie for him last year. Even if it didn't turn out, I think he would have loved it. I think he would have showered me with warm affection even if he didn't like it. Because that's just the kind of guy he was. That's why I married him.

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Barbed

I was shocked to see healthy rhubarb in my raised-bed garden last year, and I knew I'd probably get another crop this year. I had no idea I'd be able to delight Lizard in early April!

I made a full quart jar of strawberry rhubarb (with grocery store strawberries) Lizard enjoys with his plain, unsweetened yogurt each morning.

I was checking out the rhubarb plant again over the weekend; I'd cut the stalks I used, not knowing I was supposed to twist them off. The plant seems to still be going strong, but I also had six giant seed heads! And, there are three mature plants now, not just one. Plus a very young plant. I think there will be plenty of rhubarb to even freeze a bit later on!

One of my friends told me the stalks would mature faster and the plants would produce more leaves if I remove the seed heads. So I did. There were several baby stalks, about 7 inches long, on the seed stalks. I was going to run to the grocery store and buy some more strawberries, but I paused long enough to look up other rhubarb recipes. I found one for sweet and sour rhurbarb, which I adapted for our tastes. I added in one of my own (frozen) serrano peppers from last summer, and we tried the new concoction on wild rice. Oh, my heavens!!! We can't wait to drizzle this on our burritos!!! This stuff is AWESOME!!!

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Pretty as a Pumpkin

I've long said the pumpkin spice I make at home is so much better than any pumpkin spice item I buy at the store. But I buy fresh pumpkins only around Halloween. And I've yet to successfully grow a pumpkin.

On Halloween Day, we found half-price pumpkins at the home improvement store we had to visit for light bulbs. I bought the three ugliest pumpkins, and I put them on our porch in time for trick-or-treaters. I'm not sure anyone noticed, but I liked having them.

Now the pink one has been sliced, baked, blended and spiced. I even added mango habanero spice to the third batch. YUM!

I forgot to snap a photo of the pink pumpkin, which actually wasn't so ugly. I did snap the blue one, and it will be the next pumpkin in my oven!

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It's All About the Chiles

I'm still going to invest in another year's supply of fresh roasted Hatch chiles...

... but holy moly did my garden ever make my house smell awesome!!!

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Wordless Wednesday

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