Farm To Table: Get ready for rhubarb

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Editor’s note: This is a bi-weekly update and resource regarding locally grown farm fare, courtesy of the Sequim Farmers Market.

This week I will attempt to get rhubarb on your table.

Rhubarb is the flagship of spring — it is like a holiday or a migrating bird, it just wouldn’t be right to ignore its glorious arrival. The plump pink speckled stalks and magnificent soft but sturdy leaves speak to me of eating from the wilderness.

Although technically a vegetable, it manages to live the life of a fruit, showing up in pastries, pies and sweets.

The stalks, also known as petioles, are harvested, whereas the leaves are considered poisonous due to their very high levels of oxalic acid.

The petioles on the other hand offer vitamin C and K and calcium, among other helpful nutrients and minerals.

I have memories of kindergarten tables lined with bowls of cinnamon sugar and stalks of rhubarb for dipping.

I recommend this as your first approach. You can peal the outer layer to reduce the amount of stringiness.

My daughter loves this! It is really delicious and refreshing.

If you want to get just a touch fancier and without too much fluff, try this simple honey-baked rhubarb recipe.

Honey-Baked Rhubarb

6-8 stalks of rhubarb — Make one cut down the center of the stalk and then cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces and lay in the bottom of a 9-inch-by-13-inch pan.

Zest and juice of one orange and sprinkle that over the rhubarb.

Drizzle the pan with local honey.

I tried crushed mint that I dried from the garden and it made a nice addition to the flavor.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. This will leave it crunchy! If you prefer it soft, bake it for 20 minutes, covered.

This is wonderful eaten hot out of the oven, great with vanilla ice cream and granola, too.

Look around

While searching for the rhubarb, there is a bounty of produce available already at the market. There is cauliflower, carrots, purple sprouting broccoli, asparagus, lettuce and an abundance of locally grown and milled flour options for baking. For your garden, there is a great selection of starts.

Come see us for our first day in our new location! You will be proud of our local farmers and all they have brought to the table this spring.

Lisa Bridge is manager of the Sequim Farmers Market.