Ode To Pink Foods of the Season

     Pink is probably my favorite color. This spring-summer time of year is probably my favorite season. What better way to celebrate than by making seasonal recipes featuring two pink foods: rhubarb and strawberries. I know what you're thinking - strawberry rhubarb pie. Well, you're wrong. I recently saw a very interesting recipe on one of my favorite blogs, The Healthy Everythingtarian, for lemon rhubarb compote. I had never heard of such a thing, and seeing as I had never actually had a rhubarb experience, I thought this would be a good starting point. Featured on top of pancakes, this is exactly how I had this lovely sweet, saucy concoction for dinner, along with a spinach frittata. My second pink recipe is strawberry frozen yogurt, chosen for its simplicity and health factor.
     Do you know how wonderful rhubarb is? After today, I don't think it truly gets its due. Before, my only personal experience with it was as a troublesome weed that grew with great speed in various parts of my lawn. The United States is conflicted about what rhubarb really is - it is generally considered a vegetable with its large toxic leaves (we eat the stalk parts), but since most of our recipes involve using its tart taste in pies and such, we decided to call it a fruit in 1947. That's uh, confusing. Anyway, this crazy little "fruit" has tones of pink and green in its stalks, looks a lot like thick celery, and it does have a bit of a funky smell when you cut it up. The most amazing part to me is how much water rhubarb contains - this becomes evident when cooking.
     So I started out by taking a short bike ride to the small farm down the road where they sell antiques, berries, herbs, and today, rhubarb. After picking out a bunch at the low low price of $1.50, and a $3.00 box of strawberries, I headed back. I got my ice cream maker canister into the freezer for later, washed everything, and set up my laptop beyond the splash zone.
     The recipe for the lemon rhubarb compote is simple and straightforward, just follow it right from the website. Rhubarb, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice. Here it is in pictures:

chopped rhubarb

stalks are redder at the bottom and greener at the top

lemon zest makes this a little fiesta in a pot

the transformation after cooking - no mashing required!

     I would have taken a picture of the final result atop a fluffy pancake, but it was too good. I couldn't stop myself. Another plus, all of the bits and pieces left over from the process can go right into the compost.

one man's trash is another woman's fertilizer

     The strawberry frozen yogurt recipe is also simple as can be. There is no cooking required - it is just a matter of pureeing strawberries, then mixing in yogurt, honey, and salt. While my canister freezes, the mixture chills out in the refrigerator until it is time to freeze and churn.

    














     What I love most about these recipes, other than their lovely pink starring foods, is how simple they are. Not only are they really easy to do, but they have a minimum of ingredients with a power-packing taste factor. It's just fresh, pure, and right out of my own neighborhood.