rhubarb memories

Rhubarb -
you either love it or hate it.

Me? I love rhubarb!
And, growing up a farm-girl,
rhubarb season brings back memories...
One of the best rhubarb memories I have
is going out after school
and pulling a fresh stalk of rhubarb:

My siblings and I,

each armed with our own pocket-knife

and little paper-tooth-brush-cup

(you know the little cups that I'm talking about)

a quarter filled with sugar,

would head out to "the patch"

to choose our own rhubarb stalk snack.

With a quick yank, we'd pluck the stalk from the clump

then flip out our pocketknife blade,

and whack off the rhubarb base and huge leaf.

After wiping the knife blades onto our jean shorts

 and stowing our knives back into our pockets,

we'd sit in the garden and devour our fresh treat,

dipping the freshly picked rhubarb stalk into our allotment of sugar. 

I loved the tartness and crisp, crunchy bite, lightly sugared.

I think my brothers probably ate the sugar more than the rhubarb,

just using the rhubarb stalk as an implement

to get the sugar to their mouth. :)

The only way the day could have been better was if it was Spring-raining...

we could use the huge rhubarb leaf we'd just cut off -

umbrella-like, on our heads like a cap!

 

Since it's the height of rhubarb season here in Ohio,
I used some of my first rhubarb "picking" and early strawberries

and made me and Sweetie a pie (crumb-topped, not two crusted).
And I know it's a going to be a great one, as it ran over in the oven!!

I think I'll have the grand kids over
and take them out to the rhubarb patch, too -
introduce them to the little paper-tooth-brush-cup of sugar.
Tart, but sweet memories.