Archive for June, 2010

Today, we gathered 28 lbs of rhubarb from 5 different back yards.  What a haul!  The fruit owners, volunteers and Siloam Mission were equally thrilled.

To make a great day even more special, journalist Melissa Martin and photographer Ken Gigliotti stopped by to write an article on Fruit Share for the Winnipeg Free Press.  See if you can be one of the first to spot a glimpse of some of our volunteers in action in the Free Press sometime this week.

Thanks to all the great Riverview volunteers and homeowners who made today possible.

Fruit Share really works!  
Earlier this week, Beth and Aleta, who live a mere four blocks away from each other but don’t know each other, read about Fruit Share in the Riverview Reflector.  Each contacted Fruit Share – one to register as a fruit owner and one to register as a volunteer picker.  Three days later, Beth welcomed us into her yard to harvest her rhubarb and Aleta went home with a bundle of freshly picked rhubarb.  Both were happy.
Thank you to both Beth and Aleta for making Fruit Share work.

Rhubarb In the News

An announcement in the Reflector (our community newspaper) is resulting in a bit of interest in Fruit Share.  We have new volunteers and more rhubarb registered.  How exciting!

Also, the Free Press is looking at running a story sometime next week.  Watch for it and tell your neighbours.
We’re also getting some other fruit registered. Apples, grapes, nanking cherries and even pears are on our list for the summer.
My mouth is watering!

More Rhubarb

Thankfully, the rhubarb keeps on coming!  Thanks to Alastair for delivering 6 lbs of rhubarb today.  This batch will be going to some neighbours and to  Fred Tipping Place.

Still searching for what to do with your rhubarb?  How about substituting it in recipes that call for fresh or frozen cranberries.  

Turkey with rhubarb sauce?  Ok, it might not work for everything, but why not experiment and have a little fun.

We turned a cranberry banana loaf into a delicious rhubarb banana loaf this weekend.  Yum!

More Rhubarb

Thanks to Debra Jean for dropping off another 5 lbs of rhubarb today.  

We shared this batch with seniors at Fred Tipping Place and Dayna, our newest volunteer.  Dayna is working on some great design ideas for some printed resources we need for Fruit Share.  After having met with Dayna today, I’m confident we’ll see some unique, environmentally friendly pieces coming our way soon.
Thank you and Welcome, Dayna!

Fruit Share on CJOB
















Your Life Unlimited, host Stephanie Staples and guest Shelley enjoy a non-alcoholic Rhubarb Slushtini while on air to talk about Fruit Share and Tips for Healthy Finances.

What fun!

Thanks Stephanie for sharing Fruit Share with your listeners. 

To listen to the show, check out the Audio Vault. Fruit Share is on from 9:18 to 16:52.

Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars




Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars (Adapted from Land O Lakes)
For the filling
3 cups 1/2″ chopped fresh rhubarb
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
For the crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup salted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the drizzle
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
To make the filling
In a medium saucepan, stir together rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice. Place over medium heat – cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until fruit is tender, about 8-12 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Stir into fruit mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
To make the crust
Preheat oven to 350
In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, oats, brown sugar, butter, baking soda and salt. Mix at low speed until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of this crumb mixture. Scoop the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish lightly coated with nonstick spray. Evenly spread filling over crust. Scatter the reserved crumb mixture over the top.
Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the drizzle
In a small bowl, whisk icing sugar and enough of the milk until it flows easily. Drizzle the mixture over the cooled bars before cutting.

Rhubarb for Siloam Mission

It was a good day for Fruit Share.  

Today, I got up the nerve to knock on a stranger’s door and ask if we could harvest his rhubarb.  He was thrilled to get rid of it.  Five minutes later, Aidan and I were harvesting the biggest load of rhubarb yet.
Chopping off the leaves turned out to be Aidan’s favourite part – a nine year old with a big knife – of course he thought that was fun!  He was actually a little annoyed when his dad and little sister cut in on his action.
In the end, we got a whopping 18 lbs (8 kg) of rhubarb.  
This time, since there was a significant amount, we brought the rhubarb to Siloam Mission.  They were thrilled at the prospect of making a rhubarb dessert.
My husband and kids went with me to deliver the rhubarb.  On the way there, we talked about homelessness, but our talking didn’t prepare us for the line of people waiting for food and a place to rest for the night.  On the way home, there was silence in the car.  We were all processing the sight of so many people of all ages, sizes, genders and cultures needing assistance.  Later, when we asked the kids what they thought about what we saw, Melanie said she was sad and Aidan said he didn’t understand why there were so many people there.  We tried our best, but can anyone give a reasonable explanation as to why there are so many homeless people in a rich country like ours?
Making rhubarb crisp, building community, helping others and giving us all something to think about – it truly was a good day for Fruit Share.

Rhubarb Parfait Recipe

We had these rhubarb parfaits for breakfast this morning.  Once the kids saw the fancy glasses, they couldn’t wait to dig in.  And even once they discovered it was plain yogurt with lightly sweetened stewed rhubarb, they finished the whole thing (we did add more granola to take away some of the tartness).
Thanks to Kelly for the great idea!  It really is quite simple.  A layer of stewed rhubarb, yogurt, stewed rhubarb and granola. The sugar content is completely up to you.  I like to get away with as little sugar as possible, but if you prefer, you can add more sugar to the stewed rhubarb and use sweetened yogurt.  In fact, you could even use ice cream or sweetened whip cream to turn this into a delicious dessert.
Simple Stewed Rhubarb Recipe
6 cups of diced rhubarb
1/4 cup of water (just to cover the bottom of the pot)
1/4 cup of sugar (adjust to suit your preference)

Toss all ingredients into a pot and cook until soft and tender.
Of course there are a lot of variations to the simple stewed rhubarb.  You could…
  • add spices like ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg
  • add other fruit like strawberries, raspberries or apples
  • add flavouring like vanilla, Drambuie, orange or lemon zest
  • add thickeners like cornstarch, gelatin or tapioca for a thick sauce
But sometimes, simple is best.