Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb...

We have inherited a rhubarb patch at our new home & very pleased we are about it. This morning we breakfasted on Rhubarb Muffins from Nigella Lawson's Feast, which are excellent but a maybe a touch sugary to qualify as a particularly healthy start to the day. I think I would probably make them with wholemeal flour next time - I struggle with using plain white flour for something as rustic as a rhubarb muffin. I notice from Nigella's website that she has a interesting collection of rhubarb recipes (I really like the sound of rhubarb & muscat jelly from How to Eat). & am now wondering about investing in the ones I don't have. Time to have quick search round Greenmetropolis to see if I can get hold of any bargain copies. We've talked before about making Rhubarb Schnapps according to a Nigella recipe given to us by a friend. Just to ring the changes we invested in a 1.5 litre bottle of vodka from Waitrose & have done some experimenting - creating 2 batches, 1 with 3cm piece of chopped fresh ginger added & the other with the pared rind of 1 organic orange. We'll report back on the results.

Ginger & orange are, of course, classic partners for rhubarb. We have an ancient rhubarb jam recipe from Living magazine (inherited via a godmother) which makes the most of this marriage of flavours between citrus & rhubarb - giving a marmalady twist to rhubarb jam.

Citrussy Rhubarb Jam
600g prepared rhubarb chopped into 2cm lengths
1 lemon
1 orange
250ml water
100g raisins
1/4 tsp allspice
500g sugar

Squeeze the citrus fruits & then cover the skins in cold water in a pan & boil for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat & cool, then slice very thinly. Put all the ingredients apart from the raisins & spices into a large, heavy-based saucepan. Heat very gently to dissolve the sugar & then bring the mixture to a fast boil, stirring frequently to prevent the jam sticking to the pan. Boil until the jam is thick - this takes about 20 minutes. Then add the raisins & spices & boil for a further 5 minutes. Allow the jam to cool slightly & then pot in warm, sterilized jars.

We've also made rhubarb chutney for the first time using a recipe from Fork to Fork by Monty & Sarah Don. This is one of our favourite books for inspiration - it's the kind of book that cheers you up rather than making you feel inadequate - there are some fantastic recipes & a very interesting veg garden diary. We shall see how the chutney turns out - preserving is a waiting game after all - but we haven't been let down by one of Sarah Don's recipe's yet.