rhubarb ~ local and delicious....

And should I mention....healthy?  Rhubarb has recently become known as one of those superfoods...low in calories and rich in potassium and calcium.
 
Though most fruit and vegetable crops are harvested in summer and fall...the rhubarb harvest is all but done in our area.  We've been enjoying rhubarb from the garden for some time...and last week we saw truck loads of freshly cut rhubarb stalks being hauled past our farm...on the way to market.  On Saturday I drove past the rhubarb fields...with my camera in hand...thinking I would see rows of lush green rhubarb plants.  I had memories of yesteryear...

...when Ryder and I  visited the field.  Instead...the field lay bare and in one little corner the harvest was in it's final stages. 

It looked to me like the farm workers were likely happy their work was about done!

The harvesting of  rhubarb is really a 'down to earth' kind of job!  I'm thinking it is the supervisor who gets to sit on the bin...while the rest are on their haunches. 

Bins of long, red rhubarb stalks...coming soon to a market near you!  And you thought they were picked by machine, right? 

They smiled for the camera...and waved as I left!

I love rhubarb...in pies, pastries and cakes...and have always thought of it as a fruit. It is,however, vegetable...a hardy perennial...perfectly suited to our climate. I have a few plants in my garden...and have tried many different rhubarb recipes over the years. 

But here's one that's new to me...rhubarb slush...a family favorite at the home of our Kelowna relatives.  It's cool, refreshing...chockful of calcium...and a wonderful way to have your vegetables (smile) on a hot summer spring day.  I made up a batch last week...and posted the recipe over at Mennonite Girls Can Cook...if you want to try it for yourself. 

Enjoy the day...