Playing In the Kitchen: Vanilla Poached Rhubarb

I think it's time to tell you about my fruit obsession. Those of you who know me well are probably smiling a little right now, maybe even rolling their eyes. My addiction is so bad that in my immediate circle, it is commonly referred to as my "constant fruit eating" habit. This particular expression dates back to 18 years ago when I was visiting Ireland with family and got scolded for eating too much fruit (a.k.a, constantly eating fruit). Apparently, some family members would have liked to visit more bakeries to try local pastries and did not want to have to deal with my fruit demands. I will give you a moment to take in these laughable parenting skills before I continue with this post...

So anyway, I eat a lot of fruit. My man knows that to make me happy, all he has to do is bring home a big bag of fruit. It doesn't take much to please me, it's as simple as saving me the piece of fruit garnish on your plate when we go out for brunch. Maybe I'm not so high maintenance after all, I only need a little fruit. Ok, a lot.

I am actually a fully functional fruit addict, though. The only problem is I worry about running out of fruit when the drawer in my fridge is half empty. If I can see the bottom of the fruit drawer, I'm in full panic mode. The best solution to this is to can as much fruit as possible during those wonderful months when the supplies are unlimited. I seriously think that I don't have time for a job right now. If only work didn't get in my way, I would have a cupboard full of jars and a freezer packed with colourful bags of goodies for the winter by now. I'm like a squirrel, preserve this, freeze that, I'm storing for the colder months. Starting with rhubarb this week!

You would think that with my constant fruit eating habits, I am a little greedy but it's quite the opposite. Fruit butters, jams and chutneys make for fantastic gifts and if you are nice to me, I might show up on your doorstep with a colourful jar or two in hand.

Seeing that my stock has already been reduced by 25% and it has only been two days since I chopped and jarred these, I have plans to make more next week. Perhaps this fancy looking red-wine-allspice-berries recipe from David Lebotvitz will be given a try. After that, the strawberries will be ready to pick, followed by raspberries, blueberries, peaches and figs. Oh my, it has begun. I love Spring. It's all about fresh new beginnings and lovely sunny evenings with a friend, drinking a glass of wine and chatting about future goals while stirring fruit in the kitchen. That's the power of rhubarb.