Matters of Taste

By Dorothy Hartz

And the rhubarb remains

As I write, some in the various doomsday fringes are predicting catastrophic Earth changes for May 5 due to an unusual planetary lineup, strong enough, perhaps, to trigger pole reversal. If you are reading this, congratulations on your continued existence. And what, you might well ask, has this to do with rhubarb?

I am convinced that, should the world end and start again, it will start with rhubarb. It's because I associate rhubarb with all things green and new and tonic and nutritious. It's because it grows fast and early, starting as a crinkled little fist which opens and spreads to canopy the cats by June. It's because it's the first food I remember following from soil to sink to knife to stove to mouth. It's because my grandmother told me it would clean my blood, right after she tricked me into taking a bite, raw, with, "It's just like red celery." Even so, her rhubarb patch was my first taste of Eden.

If those doomsday guys were wrong, you might enjoy these recipes. If they were right, you're going to really need them.

Rhubarb Crisp

1. Soak eight cups of diced rhubarb in water to cover for at least a half-hour. Drain and pat dry.

2. Put rhubarb in a large buttered casserole or baking dish and sprinkle with 3/4 cup sugar. Let sit for at least a half-hour.

3. Preheat oven to 375°.

4. Add 3/4 cup more sugar and 3/4 cup flour. Mix. Reduce sugar by a half-cup if you include step five.

5. Optional: Add 1/3 cup creme de cassis or other fruit liqueur of choice.

6. Cut one stick of ice cold butter into 3/4-cup flour in a small bowl. Add 3/4 cup rolled oats (the longer cooking variety gives better texture), 1/2 cup brown sugar and one tablespoon cinnamon. Mix.

7. Cover rhubarb with oatmeal mixture.

8. Bake on middle rack of oven for 45-60 minutes.

Baked Rhubarb and Jam
from "The Joy of Cooking"

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Have ready: 1/2 cup seedless red jam and 1/2 cup sugar; one pound rhubarb cut into two-inch slices.

3. Coat a small baking dish with 1/3 of the jam.

4. Arrange 1/2 the rhubarb in the jam base. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ginger (optional).

5. Add another layer of rhubarb and cover with the rest of the jam and sugar.

6. Bake covered for about 15 minutes.

Serve with vanilla pudding or ice cream and cookies for a homey yet special dessert.

Deep-Dish Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
adapted from "American Wholefoods Cuisine"

1. Prepare (or purchase) enough pastry for a two-crust pie.

2. Prepare five cups strawberries and rhubarb (equal parts recommended).

Slice rhubarb into 1/2-inch lengths and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry. Hull and cut strawberries in halves or quarters depending on size.

2. Preheat oven to 375°.

3. Dissolve three tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch in 2/3 cup honey and combine with fruit in a one-and-1/2-quart shallow baking dish.

4. Roll out entire amount of pastry and lay over fruit. Do not seal the edges, but flute if desired. Make a few slits in the crust.

5. Bake for 40 minutes. Crust can be brushed lightly with a little honey thinned with milk for the last five to 10 minutes to enhance browning.

Eat well.