R is for Rhubarb It's good enough for my brother's picky eaters.

Well, up above is the first harvest of the season.  Our Rhubarb was ready, and so was I.  My mom and dad stopped last Friday, and while my dad tried to fix an ornery staple gun, my mom and I harvested the Rhubarb.  

Mom on Memorial Day Friday.

I had to decide what I was going to do with it afterward, which was a difficult scenario.  I thought jam, pie, breads...and finally decided upon bread.  I mixed all my stuff together and was all set to grease up the bread pans, but alas...they were missing.  Instead, muffins were made.  Here is the recipe.  I substituted Wegman's Probiotic Vanilla yogurt for the buttermilk.  Not because I am an unreasonable food snob, but because I did not have buttermilk.  This I believe made a huge difference in the flavor. I also cut the time down to 20-30 minutes because I didn't want burnt muffins.  They came out great and delicious.

I took a few to my parents' house.  My dad said they weren't bad, which translates, "They are ok, but I don't want to admit it."  I also took a few to school, where it seemed to have a more positive response.  

Picking out stalks, so I could cut the leaves off

When the kids came over Tuesday, we decided to harvest some more rhubarb and bake more muffins. At first they weren't convinced that this would taste delicious.  After we started getting into the process, they were much better about it.

The girls went out to help me pick the last few stalks I felt comfortable picking. They wanted tons of pictures, I liked this one best.

When we went inside,  Kaylie and Ariana washed the stalks after I cut the ends and put the leaves in the compost pile.  

Ariana and Kaylie in charge of the kitchen

The girls are really good about baking and cooking.  They can locate ingredients. Kaylie can read the recipes. They can both measure things accurately; they keep track of how many teaspoons, cups, etc. they have put into a mixture.  They can stir things up pretty well, and have a blast while doing it all.  

I didn't really have to do a whole lot during this process.  They are not allowed to use knives, so I sliced up the rhubarb and chopped it up pretty fine.  They did all of the rest with a little direction from me.

These muffins went over pretty well.  We made three dozen.  For kids who are pretty picky eaters, they demolished these muffins.  I believe there are  about 12 muffins in the freezer to be used later.  I am hoping that we are able to harvest some more rhubarb before the end of their season; however, I am sure the kids want that more than I do.