July 3 - Massachusetts & Rhubarb Sauce

I am on "cat duty" this weekend and next week. My brother is taking a few well-deserved days of vacation at a lake, and my neighbors are taking a week at the beach for their first vacation together :) Only one cat each, so it is not a stretch for me. Besides, they all took excellent care of mine when I was away. My brother's is about 1/4 mile down the street. My neighbor is directly across the hall, so I do not even have to get dressed to go over!

This afternoon I made rhubarb sauce (told ya this was not always going to be about travel!). About a week ago the grocery store had a small amount of rhubarb in the produce section. Score! I love it, and bought a package. Wish I had got more - enough to make a pie. I went back a few days later but it was all gone. At least I had enough to make myself some sauce :)

Rhubarb is one of those things you either love or not. Typically fresh it is available for a small window of time, mid to late Spring, but the weather has been a bit off kilter this year. Although it can be (is) grown in greenhouses, rhubarb is far better fresh. It is a hardy plant that thrives in northern, cooler, climes and rocky soil such as that here in New England. What I bought was locally grown!

While technically classified as a vegetable, it is sometimes classified as an herb (?? no clue why). Rhubarb is prepared the same way as fruit. If you have not had it before, it resembles celery stalks raw.

Rhubarb (about 1 lb.)

Rhubarb is very tart! Requires a bit of sugar while cooking :) Some people prefer strawberry-rhubarb pie if you make it into a pie (about 4 lbs. rhubarb); personally I just like the rhubarb without the addition of strawberries.

I only had enough to make sauce. There are lots of recipes out there on the 'net that will have you add a dash of cinammon or nutmeg or what have you. However, they detract from the true flavor and would result in an odd tasting concoction.

Simpler is best - Granny's recipe. And could not be easier! Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch slices. Boil 1/2 cup of water and a little bit less than 1/2 cup of sugar (per pound of rhubarb), add the rhubarb, and let it simmer awhile.

Rhubarb after chopping

 Do not be tempted to add more water!! Rhubarb contains water (much as celery or watercress stalks do), so just let it be :)

Rhubarb cooking

The rhubarb cooks down in about 15-20 min. depending on the amount you have, and gets thick. As it breaks down into sauce, taste it every once in awhile. Rhubarb varies in tartness, and may require a little more sugar depending on that and personal preference. I like mine on the tart side :)

When it looks like this,it is done. It looks a bit "stringy" towards the end; that is normal.

Rhubarb sauce, done!

Let it cool, then refrigerate unless you want to eat it warm.

Cold rhubarb sauce is very refreshing on a hot day! It reheats nicely in the microwave. Cold or warm, it is very good. :)

A few nutritional facts. Rhubarb has very few calories (before you add the sugar!), and is very rich in Vitamin B and K.The more red stalks also have a lot of Vitamin A (anti-oxidant).

I had some tonight, and will likely finish it off tomorrow. Delish!!

July 1 - Massachusetts

I am caught up in, and back into the rhythm, of everyday life. However there is not a day that has gone by without me thinking, "Wow - that was one totally incredible trip". Recalling a random snippet or one of those breathtaking moments I had.

The colors of my trip are permanently etched in my mind. Greens are off the chart of any Grumbacher oils I own or know of. Blues of the ocean, bays, and straits so varied and gorgeous (I can try to reproduce them but they will not be close). The reds of the soil... especially in PEI. Those are very, very old-school earth colors and will be difficult to reproduce. (Even Grumbacher does not make them any more.)

The colors, and the sheer force, of steel gray and white, where the Atlantic crashed against the shore at some of the points in my trip. More bluish where it married into the easy waters of St. Lawrence Bay. Then cold steel gray agin. The fierce anger, it seemed, where the Northumberland Strait met both the force of the St. Lawrence Bay and the Atlantic. Absolutely and totally overwhelming.

Northumberland Strait is not very deep as far as the waters of the Maritimes go (varies between 65 and 17 meters at either end; 213-55 feet), but its tides are complex, and it creates the upheaval I witnessed.

Standing at the very edges of the sea where I could, and on the cliffs overlooking that sheer power, one is humbled. It stirs you deep inside, and gives you something to really think about. Mother Nature is a force to be well-respected.

I stood in the rain (more times than I care to remember!) at overlooks, the side-of-the-road random pull over because it caught my eye - just because it DID catch my eye. And tugged at my soul.

To paint it: Grumbacher paints are top of the line for oils (my preference for painting). Winsor & Newton, next step down, are also very, very good. Neither company make the colors I seek. Even though I already knew they were not there I had to look at all the color charts again :) I will try to recreate them, but I know it will never match the images in my head.

My brother posted about why the soil in PEI was so red. Aside from the iron oxide content, the soft red sandstone produces that color. The bays, marshes, harbors, and dunes also contain high concentrations of sandstone rocks which oxidize over time, producing that unique color.

Long before oil paints were invented and used in Europe in the late 1400s / early 1500s, Native North Americans were using materials at hand - mud and indiginous plants. Long before recorded history. I saw an exhibit at the New Brunswick Museum, and several others along my travels.

Your mini-history / art lesson for the day :)

My trip has changed me in several ways, and I believe for better.

June 23, Massachusetts

I have several short trips coming up in the next few months. My sister's fiance owns a vacation house in Maine not far from Portland and Old Orchard Beach. I am visiting there for about 4 days in 3 weeks. (And plotting another solo short trip - stay tuned!)

Short trip to Maine; my brother and I switch cat-caring duties when one of us is gone. I know and fullly admit mine are a lot more work - he only has one. I have four, all of which are long haired (2 males, 2 females). Lovely to look at and snuggle up with and have in your lap. Not so much to clean up after!

Having never been away from them as long as I was on my trip to Canada, I did not realize how much the kittles (and therir fuzz) actually affect my household and daily routine. First thing that came onto my radar when I got home was wiping down the counters (they still need to be sanitized with Clorox). I have vacuumed twice. Had to change the sheets as they were coated with cat fuzz (after brushing them thoroughly with a de-fuzzing brush before washing!).

I have been more cognizant of their fuzzz and messes since my return. Did not realize how much I actually do really pick up during the day and absentmindedly clean up the cat fur as I go along. Being long-haired they constantly generate these  "poofs"... little puffs of cat fuzz that will (and do) end up in the corners unless you keep after them. They build up very quickly, and generally I keep up with them as I go without thinking.

Given enough time I think the kittles would replicate themselves. Given the amount of fur and fuzz I have cleaned up, vacuumed, washed, etc. in the past 6 days I do not think it impossible!

And I totally and absolutely love them. Would not trade them for the world :)

I have done 2 loads of laudry, and have 1 more to go. My physical limitations mean I have to take it slowly. Not only with the laundry but with the cleaning, etc.

I am good. Better than good! I cannot stop the excellent trip and experience I had in Canada from looping in my head. That is a very good thing :)

Next week is busy for me. I am a member of the town Cultural Council and have things I need to do with that, appointments. Etc.

Will post again next week :)