Posts Tagged ‘Manitoba fruit’

Rhubarb – 10 interesting tid bits

Are you a rhubarb lover?  It seems some people love it and some people don’t.  I am  a lover.

three varieties of rhubarb

Not only is it a remarkably hardy, fast growing and low maintenance plant, but those tart stalks are incredibly tasty!  Rhubarb pie, rhubarb crisp, rhubarb oat bars, stewed rhubarb, rhubarb BBQ sauce (yes!), rhubarb slush, rhubarb fool, rhubarb muffins, rhubarb cake, rhubarb meringue dessert.  Wow, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

As we get ready to head into rhubarb season, have a look at this article on rhubarb written by Dorothy Dobbie in Ontario Home & Gardener Magazine.

Can’t wait!

WANTED – Rhubarb!

Reward? A tasty treat that can be used in jams, pies, cakes, crisps, and so much more!

Rhubarb is known as a cool season perennial plant that can survive the harsh Manitoba winters. Even with our late spring, rhubarb will soon be ready for picking, likely by the end of the month.

rhubarb

Keep an eye out for unharvested rhubarb in the coming weeks. If you spot unharvested rhubarb, why not knock on the door and see if the owner will allow you to pick a few stalks? Or, drop a Got Fruit? note in the mailbox to encourage them to sign up their rhubarb with Fruit Share. We have volunteers ready and eager to pick!

Share the word that Fruit Share is looking for surplus rhubarb. No surplus is too small! We always welcome the opportunity to pick a small patch.

 

Fruits and vegetables

Don’t forget about the end-of-year wind-up potluck celebration tomorrow afternoon! RSVP info@fruitshare.ca if you are interested in attending. Click here for more information about our Grand Finale.

This year we rescued an immense amount of fruit and vegetables, to our great delight! Here are some of the delicious items that homeowners were willing to share with us:

  • Apples
  • Crab apples
  • Pears
  • Rhubarb
  • Cherries
  • Currants
  • Apricots
  • Plums
  • Grapes
  • Watermelon
  • Bok choy
  • Tomatoes
  • Eggplants
  • Pumpkins
  • Peppers
  • Mint
  • Eggplant

What equipment do you want Fruit Share to offer?

We have some funding to purchase equipment for Fruit Share volunteers to use – hurray! Now the question is, what equipment would YOU like us to purchase? We would love to hear from you. What do you feel was lacking this harvesting season? What tools and toys would you like to have the opportunity to use in the future? Please answer the poll and leave a comment with other suggestions and ideas!

Fruit around Winnipeg

If you’re looking for fresh produce in Winnipeg or anywhere across Manitoba, this 2011 Local Produce Guide is for you!

Winnipeg farmers' markets

It includes farmers’ markets, pre-picked market stands, U-Pick vegetable gardens and community supported agriculture programs. It’s no Fruit Share ;) but it is a fantastic document for finding the nearest fresh local produce to you.

The last page features a number of farmers’ markets specifically around Winnipeg, including contact information and a cute map locating each of them for quick and easy reference.

Do you have a favourite farmers’ market that you visit?

Rhubarb crumble recipe

This is a fantastic, nutritious way to use up all that rhubarb you harvested! It’s also a very simple and easy recipe to follow, and one which you can adapt according to what ingredients you have at your disposal. After a rhubarb harvest a few weeks ago, I chopped the rhubarb up into little pieces and then tossed it in the freezer. When I was ready to make a crumble, I took it out and didn’t even worry about defrosting it. The result of this concoction was a delicious, delicately-sweetened crumble that you can enjoy for breakfast or as dessert.

We recommend using local ingredients where possible.

Winnipeg rhubarb

Hot out of the oven.

Ingredients

- Enough frozen rhubarb and strawberries to cover an 8-inch Pyrex dish.

- 3 tbsp sugar + 1 extra tbsp sugar.

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

- 1/4 cup spelt flour

- 1.5 cups oats

- Cinnamon

- A few tbsp butter

healthy recipe

Yum!

Method

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, 3 tbsp sugar and vanilla in the Pyrex dish.

3. Combine the other 1 tbsp sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and butter in a separate bowl until the mixture is nice and crumbly. Add more butter or sugar if desired.

4. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over top of the fruit. There will likely be a little bit too much, so you can either reserve part of it to spoon over a mini crumble, or just munch it straight from the bowl ;)

5. Bake in the oven for about an hour, or until it is hot all the way through and bubbling. Enjoy!

Please email info@fruitshare.ca with any recipes you have!