Zucchinis and Rhubard

My garden is covered in zucchini and rhubarb and soon-to-be-ripe-tomatoes! Apparently the little garden plot I've acquired  is a prime location, with all-day sun and well-mixed soil. It brings me such joy to come home from work in the early evening, wander out to my garden, and see how much it has grown and changed in even just a day!


I love having "too much" zucchini and "too many" tomatoes because there is an endless number of tasty and healthy ways to prepare these two vegetables, and a variety of ways to store them for use throughout the winter months (even in California zucchini and tomatoes do not grow in January!). Now, it is the rhubarb (which I have seen grow here in January) that I am finding a bit of a challenge to use without taking up jam making! 

In my search for interesting ways to use rhubarb, here are items I have attempted thus far:

• Rhubarb Lemonade: I enjoy making rhubarb lemonade for summer parties. Rhubarb is tangy, so it goes nicely with fresh lemons, and it is a natural way to make pink lemonade! T extract the juice from the rhubarb, boil it in water until it gets mushy, and then strain the juice away from the pulp. The juice will be a nice pink color and can be directly added to your lemonade. I sometimes drink the rhubarb juice on its own, as well, but it is an acquired taste. Also, the rhubarb juice can be frozen in containers, if you do not plan to use it immediately after preparation. 
• Rhubarb Schnapps: This one was a new one for me, and very simple. Fill a sterilized jar (I used an old pickle jar) with diced rhubarb, add 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sugar, and fill with vodka. Shake the mixture and let sit in the refrigerator for 6 weeks. I recently made my first attempt, and it has not been 6 weeks yet, so I will let you know how it turns out. I also tried a smaller jar with a mixture of rhubarb and loquats, another plant that grows abundantly in my yard. 
• Rhubarb-Peach Crisp: The market had a special on peaches last week, so I bought a bagful. I planned to make a peach crisp, but decided to give it a flare with some rhubarb (I also tossed in a cooking apple whose time was coming to an end). I had no lemon juice for the recipe, so I squeezed a pink grapefruit into the mixture instead. I will toss this into the oven and bake it this evening since we are having guests for dessert. I am a little anxious about how it will turn out... but, really, how bad can a crisp really turn out? :)