Rhubarb Season

Rhubarb is probably the first ‘fruit’ of the season; although it is not really a fruit but a stem and related to buckwheat. It is easy to grow and will spread some so that you will have plenty. The taste is both sweet and tart. Although my sons and husband will eat it raw from the garden, I prefer to have it cooked. In a crisp is probably my favorite way to have rhubarb, but this rhubarb bread is also delicious.

Rhubarb is high in vitamin K (40 mcg/diced cup) so limit its intake if you are on coumadin. Vitamin K is necessary for the synthesis of clotting proteins in the liver. Rhubarb is also high in potassium, magnesium, calcium and lutein. Of course its fibrous texture indicates that rhubarb is also high in fiber which is great for the digestive tract.

2 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup oil
2 eggs
1 ½ cup milk (or buttermilk)
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 ½ cup white flour
3 cups diced rhubarb
½ c chopped pecans

1 T soft butter
¼ c granulated sugar

Combine brown sugar and oil in a bowl until smooth. Add eggs milk, salt, baking soda, vanilla and flour and mix until moistened. Add rhubarb and nuts. Stir and pour into 3 greased bread pans. Combine butter and sugar and crumble over top of batter. Bake at 350° F for 50-55 minutes.

Enjoy!

Another good thing to do with rhubarb is to make a syrup from it by boiling it with water and sugar. This is how my Mom used to prepare rhubarb and it is great on ice cream and on pancakes. And if you have an abundance of rhubarb and want to save it, it does freeze well.