Summer Bounty: Rhubarb

Man, this summer just flew by!  With my new job being 7AM~5PM (sometimes close to 6PM) there really hasn't been much time for me to cook or bake...or anything else for that matter.  But whatever time I do have I've been using to utilize fresh, tasty summer produce.  I made a delicious dessert with apricots last time.  This time, I used summer rhubarb that my friend gave me.

 



 Rhubarb can range from bright red to celery-green.  He gave me a half red, half green mix, although most were green.  I cut them down to separate the reds from  the green, since mixing them would turn the product unappetizingly brown.

I haven't had much opportunity to work with rhubarb, so this turned into a bit of an experiment.  I decided to make jam out of them, one red, one green....

 I added raspberries to the red rhubarb to intesify the color and to add flavor.  I added vanilla to the green one to make it fragrant and sweeter.  The jam turned out nice, with charasteristic tang of the rhubarb paired with aroma of vanilla.  Both my parents got hooked.

I ended up with several jars, so made a pastry out of them...

Rhubarb Crumb Bar (aka. Rhu-bars).  The tangy rhubarb paired very nicely with the sweet, buttery crust.  Incidentally, when I took it to church, I caught one lady eating the crumbs out of my baking pan.  Glad she liked it, but come on...