July 15, 2013

A refrain in our home of late has been “use what you have.” And that applies to matters of the garden too.

Rhubarb is plentiful and recently I’ve found it to be an excellent “extender.” Last week I made plum-rhubarb sauce and berry-rhubarb jam. In both cases, rhubarb made the berries and plums go further.

This is the plum-rhubarb sauce made magical by the addition of almond extract at the end.

I started with three cups each of rhubarb and Santa Rosa plums and a half cup sugar. Check my recent post Plums and Community for the story of the plums.

Time to simmer ever so gently, stirring and breaking apart the last chunks of fruit with my grandmother’s potato masher and then the mixture turned to this. (And oh, the aroma in my kitchen).

Grandma’s silver fruit spoon is at the ready. I think she would have liked my plum-rhubarb sauce with a wisp of almond extract. After all, it was from her that I learned to use what’s at hand in the kitchen.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne’s Dandelions. It’s a time to share what you’re harvesting in your garden or how you’re storing or using it.