Roobarb

Forgive me...any excuse to revisit my groovy 1970s childhood even if the link is extremely tenuous!! A handful of freshly pulled rhubarb was kindly donated to me by my newest house sparkling client last week. Mr GBT does not like rhubarb, but I have discovered a couple of  cunning ways of using it to get it past the NO RHUBARB barrier undetected.

I made a batch of this earlier this week. It makes a very refreshing non alcoholic drink. On this occasion I substituted 2 oranges for the lemons because I didn't want to see them go to waste but I don't think it was quite as tasty as the original version. I personally prefer not adding as much sugar and adding extra lemon juice because I prefer it to be on the tarter side.

Rhubarb and Lemon Cooler

Chop 4 sticks of rhubarb and slice 2 lemons. Put in a large bowl. Add 1lb sugar and 8 pints of boiling water. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cover and leave overnight. Strain and bottle. Will keep a few days in the fridge.

Rhubarb Crumble Cake

250g sugar, 1tsp bicarb, 1/2 tsp salt, 250g plain flour, 2 beaten eggs, 250ml sour cream, 365g chopped rhubarb
Topping: 200g sugar, 50g soft butter, 4tbsp plain flour, pinch cinnamon

Preheat oven 180C. Grease and flour a tin. Stir sugar, bicarb, salt and flour together. Add eggs and soured cream. Mix then fold in rhubarb. Put into tin. Stir sugar and butter until smooth. Rub in flour until crumbly. Sprinkle on top and dust with cinnamon. Cook 1 hour. It doesn't keep terribly long because of the fresh fruit in it.

Arilx