Sweet Saturday -- yummy rhubarb

I've been wanting to post about the rhubarb for a long time now because I've been enjoying it so much this year.  I've always liked rhubarb and it was one of the first things I planted in my Cleveland garden when Matthias and I moved in over seven years ago.  Our plant was a division from my mom's and once it was big enough I would harvest some, add some sugar to it and roast it in the oven or cook it down in a pot on the stove.  I never harvested as much as I could have and I always regretted that.  Fast forward to now on the farm.  There are big rhubarb plants here beside the potting shed.  I was determined to make use of them and I was finally inspired when I found a recipe in MaryJanesFarm magazine for rhubarb coffee cake.  It has plenty of butter and sugar and is delicious. 

I have lost count of how many times I've made it this spring and early summer.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar (you can decrease this amount a bit if you would like)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups rhubarb, chopped (the recipe calls for finely chopped, but I like it better with big chunks of rhubarb, it's up to you)

Topping (it's optional, but I wouldn't leave it off)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar (or a bit less if you would like, I just watch the consistency of the topping and judge by that)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease  an 8" square glass baking dish.  
• In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.   Stir in egg, buttermilk and vanilla and mix well.
• In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir into wet ingredients.  Stir in rhubarb.
• Pour batter into prepared baking dish.  Combine topping and sprinkle evenly over cake.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  In my experience it takes a lot longer than this.  Check it, but plan for at least 55 minutes to over an hour before it's done.

Because I was enjoying the rhubarb so much and because I got on a canning kick, I decided to try to can some, too.  The process was very simple.

Clean the rhubarb and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces and put it into a non-reactive pot with 1/2 cup sugar for every 4 cups of rhubarb.

 Let stand for 4 hours to draw out the juice and then simply bring to a boil and boil for only one minute.  Pour into jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Now I'll be able to have rhubarb in the dead of winter.  This canned rhubarb would make a simple pie and would be great served over ice cream.  While I was busy picking and cleaning and cutting up the rhubarb for canning, I decided to preserve some in the freezer, too.  Now I can use the frozen rhubarb in my coffee cake recipe, whenever I want to.  Well, at least, until I run out.

For more sweetness, drop by Diana's blog where she's celebrating Sweet Saturday!