Any-who. Back to the subject at hand. And this one IS about food.
When we were kids, any time we'd go over a covered bridge (or was it any bridge? I can't quite remember) we would roll down the windows and yell at the top of our lungs, "Rhubarb and custard! Kippers and knickers!" I'm pretty sure it was my mom's idea. Where else would we come up with such rubbish? You should try it some time; it's really liberating.
Well, despite how silly it sounds, rhubarb and custard is indeed one of the best things in the world. They seem an unlikely combination: tart and grassy; sweet and creamy. But when they get together there are just fireworks happening.
Well, now it's rhubarb season. (Did you know that rhubarb has fiber, vitamin C and potassium and is good for your heart too?) I got some at the market last week. I had some girlfriends coming over last night for dinner and one of them was bringing vanilla ice cream, so I decided to make a rhubarb sauce to pour on top. At first the gals were hesitant at the idea and made me put the sauce on the side. But once they tried it, they just couldn't get enough! This sauce goes so well on top of vanilla ice cream, mixed into plain yogurt or as a fruit base for rhubarb ice cream. It's so easy to make! I like to add lemon, cause it brings out the flavor. Start with about this much rhubarb:
Rhubarb Sauce
About 4 cups of diced rhubarb stems (don't eat the leaves)
Juice of about 1/2 or 1 lemon (if you really like it tart like I do, otherwise you could just skip the lemon and just use less sugar)
About 1/2 cup to 1 cup of sugar
Vanilla is optional
Cook the rhubarb, lemon and sugar for about 10 minutes on medium low till the rhubarb starts to break down. Turn heat to low and cook for another 10 or so minutes till some of the liquid has evaporated and the sugar has turned a little syrupy. Remove from heat. At this point you can add vanilla, but you don't need it. Serve hot over vanilla ice cream or cold mixed into yogurt. Yum!
3 comments:
Well, as far as I can remember, it had to be a tunnel, and the magic was about the echo and the rhyme... when you holler "rhubarb and custard" or "kippers and knickers" real loud out of the window as you're driving through a tunnel, the effect is rather exhilarating... and might I add that Auntie Carrie's rhubarb and custard is something to talk about... what's her secret anyway?
When we were little, we'd motor down to the sea on the Dorset coast. To get there, the anticipation of going through the tunnel was electric. My parents were amazing! With a casual "watch your heads", we rolled down the windows of the old Riley, leaned out of the windows, and at the top of our lungs, wind blowing our faces askew, we'd yell the aforementioned phrases! A sad day, indeed, was the day we went a different way!
I shall now go into the garden and pick the first cutting of rhubarb!
I love rhubarb!! Remember the cream that auntie Carrie made in England? Yummy....
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