Rhubarb-rose compote...
and other bits of springtime joy
In advance of the holiday weekend, this is going to be a short post, with a recipe (or three) that I hope you’ll use for a long time. Spring always feels a bit hurried to me, at least from the standpoint of capturing the essence, scent and flavor all the season gifts us — my kitchen counter is currently filled with sheet trays of herbs and flowers drying or waiting to be turned into sugars, syrups, or tisane blends for iced teas; and spring alliums (as noted in my last post) waiting to become oils, purees, ferments and pickles. Equal amount of joy and anxiety fill my head, lilacs are nearly gone! and it’s the final week for ramps! And with every fleeting item, comes something new, like beautiful fresh spruce tree tips (see bottom, they’re edible and sweet and citrusy!) and gorgeous chamomile this week (probably my favorite scent all spring). Every season, I try lessen my anxiety a little—as my friend reminded just yesterday, I have A LOT of Virgo characteristics in me, orderly, steadfast and perfectionistic. I’m working on focusing more on the quiet beauty of being in the moment. It’s funny, even with all my acts of preservation each year, what I want to cook and eat the most day to day, always leans back to the ingredients I meet at the very moment they are ready to be harvested and placed on a table. Meaning, when it’s November and I have a freezer and fridge full of delicious summery preserves (poached peaches, strawberry-lilac jam, pickled ramp bulbs, chamomile vinegar), these things are not what I’m inclined to reach for. My body wants flavor notes of pears and mushrooms and roasted garlic, what’s peaking and speaking right then and there. I think it’s a nice gentle reminder, that there’s not much that brings me more joy than eating in that very then and there moment and really honoring and respecting the cycles of nature. Does that resonate with you as well?
Coming back to the moment we are currently in, the final few weeks of spring. These are a few things bringing me bits of joy and deliciousness in recent weeks, days (even hours as of this morning).
Drying springtime blooms for iced tea blends — lemon balm, lilac, nettle, some of last year’s rose and a little (purchased) hibiscus has been in my fridge on the regular recently. There’s nothing I’ve been enjoying more, especially first thing in morning, than a cold glass of an infusion that awakens my senses, grounds my body to mother earth and solidifies a sense of time and place, even if for a brief few moments throughout the day. And I’d go as far as saying that every herb has a quality of health, some beneficial aspect to it—relaxing, clearing, good for the lymphatic system, uplifting to name a few. If you’ve got access to some (or a single) tea-friendly herbs or flowers (like if you’ve been out in nature or find something at a farmers market), wash your treasures and leave them on your counter top for 2-3 days to completely dry out. Pick the leaves or flowers off the stems and store them in a jar, they’ll keep for years. To cold-steep a tisane infusion, take 10g (about 1/3-1/2 cup) of dried things and add 1000ml water. (a quart or liter) Place it in the fridge and allow to steep for 5-8 hours. Strain and your’e ready to sip. A few herbs / flowers to look out for right now and through the summertime: lemon balm, lemon verbena, citron melisse and woodruff (for all my Danes out there), mint (and mint varieties), spruce tips, lavender, chamomile, rose, lilac, nettle, anise hyssop, fig leaf, peach leaf, calendula flower.
lilac-meyer lemon ice cream, pictured with matcha ice cream & poached rhubarb Lilac-meyer lemon ice cream - I made this ice cream the other week and I think it’s one of my favorite to date. Steeping fresh or dried lilac in the cream-milk mixture is a great way to use blooms and transfer their aroma to your tastebuds. This ice cream just tasted like spring, and I loved it. Refer back to my basic ice cream method here, even if you don’t have a machine, you can simply freeze the base and make a lusciously creamy frozen custard. Here’s a quick recipe should you get your hands on any lilacs.
170ml heavy cream
170ml milk
3 egg yolks
160g sugar
zest of 1/2 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/4 vanilla bean
fresh lilac buds, about 2/3 cup
Warm the cream and milk until just steaming. Whisk together yolks, sugar and lemon. Slowly stream in the milk-cream mixture while whisking. Pour everything back into the pan and add the vanilla. Warm over low-medium heat while constantly stirring until mixture reaches 82C / 180F. Add in the lilac, pour into a container and place the container in an ice bath to cool for 5-10 minutes. Finish cooling in the fridge overnight, or at least 4 hours. Strain to remove lilac flowers and run in an ice cream machine according to instructions or pour into a metal cake pan or loaf pan and freeze.
Rhubarb-rose compote. I make this every spring, and I can barely wait for it. I use it with yogurt and granola, as a filling for cakes, as a spread for toast, swirled into ice cream, straight off the spoon. You can find organic dried rose petals online. The fruit and flower are a perfect pairing together, tart, lightly sweet, floral and altogether vibrant pink.
500g / 1lb rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
225g sugar
5g dried organic rose petals (about 1 heaping tablespoon)
a pinch of dried lilac, if available
Juice & peel of 1/2 lemon
pinch of kosher salt or sea salt
1-2 tablespoons of wine, if available (any kind will do)
1/4 vanilla bean, harvested or 1/2 teaspoon paste
If you have time, macerate the rhubarb, sugar, rose and lilac together overnight to realease some water and meld flavors. Keep about half of the excess sugar water and place it, along with rhubarb, rose, lilac and remaining ingredients in a pot. Simmer over low-medium heat for 20 minutes or so until liquid has reduced by at least 1/3 and the rhubarb is nice and pink and soft. Remove the vanilla bean if using and lemon peel. Blend everything else with a hand immersion blender or mash it lightly and keep it chunky. This is best kept in the fridge as it has less sugar than a typical jam. It will stay fresh for 2-4 weeks typically or longer, but it’ll move fast-you’ll want to put it on everything after one spoonful.
Poached rhubarb - pictured at top. eat this with anything-similar to the compote, but whole pieces. Takes all of 10 minutes.
500g / 1lb rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
225g sugar
5g dried organic rose petals (about 1 heaping tablespoon)
a pinch of dried lilac, if available
Juice & peel of 1/2 lemon
pinch of kosher salt or sea salt
enough wine and/or water (I use half and half) to cover rhubarb halfway
1/4 vanilla bean, harvested or 1/2 teaspoon paste
If you have time, macerate the rhubarb, sugar, rose and lilac together overnight to realease some water and meld flavors. Keep about ALL of the excess sugar water and place it, along with rhubarb, rose, lilac and remaining ingredients in a pot. Simmer in a single layer over low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes until rhubarb is just soft.
enjoy your weekend, and perhaps one of these small projects!
fresh spruce tips!
