Rhubarb is an unassuming addition to the backyard garden. Every year, its stalks might get a little taller and its large green leaves a little more expansive, but it’s not going to invade the rest of your space. It will be right where you left it last year, ready to be sliced, sugared and tossed into muffin batter, maybe alongside its seasonal soul mate, the strawberry. Sigh.
Author Kim Ode is shining a new light on the wondrous possibilities that lie within a stalk of rhubarb in her new cookbook Rhubarb Renaissance, published by Minnesota Historical Society Press. Why not kick it up a notch with Ode’s Rhuba-dilla, a quesadilla filled with diced rhubarb and fresh pineapple? Or Spiced Rhubarb-Squash Ravioli? Trust me, these aren’t your grandma’s rhubarb recipes … although Ode also serves up the classics, such as Rhubarb Crisp, which probably was one of Grandma’s favorites and is still just as delicious.
Check out the July issue of Edina Magazine (available July 1 at edinamag.com) for more rhubarb ruminations from Ode, including a nod from a high profile fan. (Hint: “You get some rhubarb! And you get some rhubarb!”)
