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LIFESTYLE

In the Kitchen with Terry Paulding

Terry Paulding
Contributor
May 2008

Coming from the farmers market this time of year, I always have an overabundance of goodies in my basket. Who can resist bright artichokes, baby golden summer squash, swelling fava bean pods and luscious spring peas? And soon, the first cherries of the season will arrive. They are never the sweetest, but more a reminder of great fruit yet to come. And along with them, the first apricots and then shortly it will be full-on stone fruit season.

Until the summer fruits come into their own, there is one vegetable that comes to market starting in mid-April, and makes its way into many great desserts – the humble, sour rhubarb stalk. Rhubarb is an interesting plant, with poisonous leaves so full of oxalic acid and other toxins they shouldn’t be consumed, and stalks that must be moderated with something sweet to be eaten. Therefore, dessert is the best use of this vegetable. Commonly paired with strawberries, which are at a peak right now, rhubarb makes great pies, tarts, and sauces. It’s also often made into jam, with either some apple or strawberry added, to moderate its tartness.

Rhubarb has been eaten for centuries, and is commonly thought to have originated around the Volga River in Russia. In cold climates, it dies back completely in winter, only to spring up when the ground thaws. In the Bay Area it can be grown in the garden or as a container plant, and its lively colors of red and green are very nice in the garden. Oddly, farmers markets rarely carry it; but places like Berkeley Bowl consistently do.

I found this recipe for strawberry and rhubarb pie in a magazine years ago, and was intrigued by the unorthodox pie crust. Using vegetable oil instead of butter, it “works” to make a flaky crust because you use both oil and milk, which usually don’t combine well, so some of the flour is moistened with one, and some with the other, creating the flaky result. It’s not a hard crust to work with, either – just remember never to roll off the edge, so the crust stays an even thickness. I often roll it between two pieces of plastic wrap.

Note: I have started a food blog! You can link to it from my website home page (and sign up for my monthly newsletter, too). Or just go to http://web.mac.com/terrypaulding/

I will be posting pictures and brief entries when the spirit moves me, and will be on vacation for the rest of May, so not posting new things until the beginning of June, when I will put up some pictures from our trip.

Terry Paulding is President of Paulding & Company, a Creative Kitchen, 1410 D 62nd Street in Emeryville. Visit her website at www.pauldingandco.com.