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It’s rhubarb season! The colorful vegetable (yes, it is a vegetable, not a fruit) is aplenty this year, and it goes into some phenomenal recipes.

Here’s some of my favorites, and a couple of new ones this year for your tart taste buds

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RHUBARB APPLESAUCE

5 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled cored and quartered

1 ½ lbs trimmed rhubarb, sliced into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

lemon juice, if needed

Put everything in a large Dutch oven or stainless steel pot and give it a good stir. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often.

Turn the heat down and let the mixture boil for about 20-25 minutes, stirring often. You want the fruit to break down and soften. Let cool for several minutes before proceeding.

Working in 2 or 3 batches (depending on the size of your processor or blender) blend the mixture until smooth. I find a food processor works best for this. The sauce won't have any lumps, but will retain some texture. Note: Use caution when pureeing hot foods.

Taste your applesauce and add a bit of fresh lemon juice if you think it needs it.

Transfer the applesauce to your storage jars and allow to cool completely before capping and refrigerating.

Your homemade rhubarb applesauce will last about a week. Freeze for longer storage.

Makes two quarts.

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STRAWBERRY SHEET CAKE WITH RHUBARB FROSTING

Roasted Strawberries and Rhubarb

2 c. sliced strawberries , from 1/2 pound strawberries

1/4 c. white granulated sugar, divided

1 c. diced rhubarb, from 4 to 5 shortish stalks

Pinch of salt

3 drops of red food coloring, optional

Strawberry Sheet Cake

2 3/4 c. cake flour, plus more for dusting pans

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter

1 3/4 c. white granulated sugar

3/4 c. milk

6 large egg whites

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste

Rhubarb Swiss Meringue Frosting:

3 large egg whites

3/4 c. white granulated sugar

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 c. rhubarb puree

2 to 3 drops of red food coloring, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the sliced strawberries to one side of a parchment-lined baking sheet and the diced rhubarb to the other side. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of sugar onto the strawberries and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar onto the rhubarb. Toss them gently and keeping them separate, transfer them to the oven to roast for 10 minutes.

Remove and allow them to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the strawberries to a blender and pulse until smooth. (You should end up with about 1/2 cup puree. Mix in 3 drops of food coloring, if you like.) Next, add the rhubarb to the blender and pulse until smooth.

To Make the Sheet Cake:

Keep the oven at 350 degrees F (as it was for roasting the strawberries). And grease a 13×9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.

To the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. In a measuring cup, pour in the milk, egg whites, vanilla extract or paste and reserved 1/2 cup strawberry puree (discard any extra) and whisk until combined.

Turn the mixer to low speed and, alternating between the dry ingredients and the liquid ingredients (the strawberry/egg white mixture), add the them butter/sugar mixture until the batter is relatively smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and transfer to the oven to bake for 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature. It’ll probably take a good hour.

To make the frosting:

Bring a saucepan filled with a few inches of water to a boil. Place the clean bowl of a stand-up mixer atop the saucepan. Add the sugar and egg whites to the bowl and mix.

Heat the mixture until it reaches 140 degrees F or until the sugar has dissolved completely. Careful (it’ll be hot!) transfer the bowl to the stand-up mixer and with the whisk attachment, beat for 5 to 7 minutes, until very fluffy. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with the paddle attachment. With the mixer running on low speed, add the butter, one cube at a time until smooth and glossy. Lastly, pour in the rhubarb puree and red food coloring and mix until combined.

To Decorate the Cake:

When the cake is completely cool, pour the frosting on top of the cake. Using an offset spatula or any spatula you own, smooth it out until it reaches the edges. Make a few swoops in the frosting so it looks cute. And then top it with a bunch of sprinkles!

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RHUBARB SHORT RIBS

1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. kosher salt, plus additional as needed 

1 tsp. fennel seeds 

1/2 tsp. ground allspice 

Freshly ground black pepper 

5 lbs. bone-in short ribs 

2 c. medium dice fresh or frozen rhubarb

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced 

1 head garlic, peeled and cloves smashed 

2 tbsp. olive oil 

1/2 c, rhubarb jam 

2 c. low-sodium chicken broth 

Add the sugar, salt, fennel seeds, allspice and some black pepper to a small bowl and mix to combine. Rub the short ribs with the mixture and place in an airtight bag or container and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Add the rhubarb, onions and garlic to a medium roasting pan or braiser and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat in the oil.

Place the short ribs on the bed of rhubarb and onions.

Bake until the top of the meat begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and add the rhubarb jam in small dollops on top of the short ribs. Add the chicken broth (it should reach halfway up the ribs; add more broth or water if necessary). Cover the pan with foil or a lid and bake until the meat is tender and easily comes off the bone with a fork, an additional 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Plate the short ribs. Place the pan on the stovetop and bring the remaining liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow to thicken until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the sauce on top of the short ribs and serve!

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RHUBARB CHEESECAKE

1 c.all-purpose flour

1/4 c. white sugar

1/2 c. butter

3 c. chopped rhubarb

1/2 c. white sugar

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

1/2 c. white sugar

2 large eggs

1 c. sour cream

2 tbsp. white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a medium bowl; mix until crumbly and pat into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Toss chopped rhubarb, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon flour together; pour onto crust and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar together in a large bowl until creamy; beat in eggs one at a time. Pour mixture over hot rhubarb in the pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until filling is set, about 30 minutes. Cover with sour cream topping while still hot.

To make the sour cream topping: Combine 1 cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl. Mix well and spread on top of cake.

TFD: Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.

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