Mom`s rhubarb upside-down cake

It’s rhubarb season and we had a wedding to attend, kind of. I could have flipped through recipe books and blogs looking for this recipe that my mom has made for many years, or, call my dad and ask him to take a picture of the recipe card and send it to me. That’s what I did.

This cake never disappoints. I don't buy shortening, so I substituted softened butter. The texture is a little more dense that way, but the flavor makes up for it. You might notice some missing instructions, common in my mom’s recipes, and even in the ones I’ve written down myself. I posted this on Instagram and many friends commented on the magic of hand-written recipe cards…often times, missing crucial information, that is stored in the writer’s memory.

If you google, you’ll find similar recipes, complete with all the instructions. But, if you want to use this recipe, my oven temp was set to 350 degrees, and it took 47 minutes until the cake tested done, which I did by lighting touching the top of the cake. The batter is very thick and you have to carefully spread it out over the marshmallows and rhubarb. It doesn’t have to look perfect, just cover the marshmallows. Shortening and all-purpose flour will yield a lighter cake. I used butter, superfine wheat flour, and guinea eggs. I used 4 guinea eggs instead of 2 chicken eggs, so that may have also had something to do with how thick my batter was. I’m never very prissy about my cakes.

Enjoy. If you have a favorite rhubarb cake recipe, feel free to comment below!

Your rhubarb loving friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

Cleaning those catch all totes

The bane of my existence—-catch-all tubs, boxes, bags, totes and junk drawers.

Do you have a junk drawer? For years and years, I always ended up with a junk drawer in the kitchen. It would catch everything. Basically anything I didn’t want to set on the countertop, or actually throw or put away; screws, spare change, twisties, coupons, business cards. When we moved out to the barnhouse, I suggested….well, actually I told my husband, we aren’t going to have a junk drawer IN the kitchen, because there aren’t enough drawers for the stuff I actually use. That was all fine and good, and agreed upon.

But, do you know what? That same junk started to collect on top of the countertop in the corner. The odd bolt, malfunctioning garage door opener, dried up pen…collecting again, but now out in the open.

So, I made another move. We bought a nice, used black entertainment center. It’s more like a dresser, but the top 2 cubbies are open for a vcr or DVD player. Remember those days? They weren’t that long ago. I got 2 drawer type baskets to slide into those spaces and asked the hubs to use those for the junk drawer. All is fine and good, but it still fills up and leaves me with the task of sorting all the detritus.

Friends. It drives me crazy. Can I say that? It will finally push me to the edge, and I will devote whatever time is necessary to empty, sort, put away. Last week was one of those times. I started with the the assortment of Amazon boxes that had been repurposed into catch-all, “I will put this away later” containers. Because those weren’t enough, there were also a few shopping bags; not full, just keeping a few things together.

I put on some music, and started sorting, in the worst of all places, on top of the dining room table. I called my best friend, to share my woe and at the point where everything was sorted into categories, I lost interest in finishing. I told my friend, I wanted to wad up the contents in the tablecloth and just toss it all. But, I didn’t. And, the last bits are still on the table, taunting me.

I could have finished that task completely, but instead, I went out into the studio. There wasn’t just a drawer of stuff, there were piles and totes and tubs. The studio is where I have my longarm quilting machine, and where I will move my sewing room and coaching office, and have everything in one place. It is a big room. One of the things I’m most excited about is that it has painted plywood walls. It’s rustic. But, that means I don't have to use special picture hangers. I can nail stuff to the wall as I please.

I was worn out by bedtime last night. I need to figure out how to not have catch-all spots. It should be simple. Just put it where it belongs the first time. I sorted, tossed, arranged, and labeled. I even sorted through 3 small tubs of writing utensils. And the sad thing is, I have more tubs of pens, markers, and pencils upstairs. We'll cover that topic another time!

If you made it this far, or skipped ahead, do you have suggestions? How do you keep from having multiple spots where junk lands and stays?

Thanks!
Your frustrated, but “it’s a new day!” Friend,
Anne Dovel

Black Willow and other pollen thoughts

Looking back to when we moved out to the barnhouse 5 years ago, one of the things I started doing, was trying to tame the acreage around me. It was the first time I had lived in the country, instead of in town, and I missed town. Don’t get me wrong, I also loved the peace and beauty of the country, but I had left a house and yard that was 1/4 of an acre in town, for 52 acres in the country.

Every place we’ve lived, I’ve added and cultivated gardens and plants; not in a professional way, like a landscaper would do, but in a more haphazard, trial by fire way. Sometimes, just the right conditions will prevail, and I’ll end up with a lovely corner where the plants thrive and compliment each other. And it will surprise me, kind of like some of the quilts that I finish…”oh, those fabrics really look nice together…lucky day!”

On that quarter acre lot in Milford, Nebraska, in the 14 years at that house, I added lots of plants. In the first 10 years, most were divisions from mom and other gardeners. There were 2 plants on that lot, besides the big old trees, when we moved in. When we left, the entire foundation around the house, was “landscaped.” There was a small, but rich garden in the back, no chemicals ever used. There were heirloom apple trees, cherry, plum and apricot, and my giant rhubarb.

It was an emotional move and I hurt my back, falling down the steps, just before we moved, so all of the plants I brought out to the acreage, perished. And, I didn’t get to dig as many as I wanted to. By the way, the people that bought the house cut down most of my fruit trees, even my beloved gravenstein apple, and took out most of the plants. I don’t even drive by anymore. Don’t get too attached to your houses…

So, how do I get back to what I started writing about this morning? Oh, yeah….black willow.

Over the last year or so, I’ve realized I have been trying to make the ground out here produce the plants that remind me of home, or, our last home. And, it’s just different out in the country. We have less protection from the wind and storms. Our house sits on top of a hill. We are surrounded by farm land. Everything is a little more wild. And maybe I should thank my honeybees, for helping me feel a little more rooted to this place.

I’ve been mystified when I check my bees, by where they get their pollen and nectar. I know when I first started keeping bees, I looked to flower gardens. And, I was disappointed when my precious flower gardens wouldn’t grow…for the bees. Then, in the late summer, I’d see a volunteer squash vine taking over and honeybees…all over it. Practically worthless as a vegetable, because you never know what will come from a mixed up squash plant, but the bees loved it, so I left it. This spring, I’ve been a bee stalker, and have been watching what’s in bloom, and if the bees are on it. The bees are arriving at the hive with “pollen pants” so they are finding it, without my flower gardens. Amazing, huh?

I was surprised that my aronia bushes, now in full bloom, had no bees. I was disappointed to learn that aronia bushes are self pollinating, and don’t really need honeybees. I was imagining all those healthful properties in my honey.

Am I ever going to get to the black willow? Here we go. I noticed a shrubby tree, in full bloom, honeybees all over it. We had chopped down this row of these trees and pulled out the stumps. Many had died, but they had grown up along the old septic leach line, because willow roots love and search out water. I had left this one bushy tree, because we moved the leach line and because it the bushy tree wanted to live, out here, no help from me.

That’s kind of my test now for plants out here. Wait, it’s alive…it’s thriving. Leave it.

So, I opened my ipad and searched until I identified the tree. And as it turns out, bees love the pollen on it. It’s also very early to bloom in the spring, when pollen is harder to find. So, I went down to the pond, to the sandy beach we tried to make that has been mostly a lesson in erosion…more on that later…and sure enough, more black willows along the edge. Dave asked me if I wanted him to cut them all back and we are leaving them…for the honeybees, and to hold that bank in. In fact, I’ll probably plant more, which, by the way, is incredibly easy, in moist soil. You cut a branch and stick it in the damp soil.

I won’t plant them close to any underground pipes or near the foundation, the roots will search out the water and clog the pipes.

Another important early source of food for pollinators, not just honeybees, is purple henbit, which is in full bloom right now. I was showing my hubs where to use the weed eater and stopped him at the henbit….”leave that. The honeybees are on it.” Dandelions are another important early bloomer. Yes, I’m that annoying neighbor that lets the dandelions bloom for the pollinators.

So, what am I getting at? Working with my environment, instead of trying to tame it. I think that’s my goal. And I think I will enjoy my yard, gardens and acreage more, if I embrace what wants to grow, (with the exception of the noxious thistles) and encourage more of those plants.

I have to be in this frame of mind to look for Nebraska native plants and flowers, when I go to a plant sale or nursery, because otherwise, it’s like going into a grocery store hungry and without a list.

Have a beautiful day. Go out and observe what is going on in the plants and flowers around you today!

Your friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

Black Willow

While stalking my honeybees to see if they were foraging close by, I discovered them all over this black willow.

Rhubarb Drinking Vinegar/Shrub

A drinking vinegar or shrub, originated in colonial times, is easily made at home with fruit you have available.

Rhubarb shrub. Since posting about it on Instagram, a few people have asked me how I made it.

Ingredients:

1 pound rhubarb, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup real honey (lots of the stuff in the store has added syrups)
1 cup raw apple cider vinegar

In a non-reactive pan, I use my Instant Pot stainless steel liner, stir together rhubarb, honey and sugar. Mush it around a bit, and let it sit until you see some liquid. They call it macerating…but if you cook like I do, mush it a bit and let it sit, works too.

Add the apple cider vinegar, bring to a boil, turn the burner to low and simmer for 20 minutes, covered, unless the rhubarb is soft and falling apart. You can help it along, if you want with a potato masher, but it’ll do it’s thing just by simmering it.

Turn off the heat, let it cool. Strain, pour into a bottle and enjoy. I use a cotton muslin tea towel to strain with, squeezing out as much liquid as I can.

Note: If you have raw honey, and want the benefits from that in your shrub, stir it in after you’ve strained the cool fruit.

Why honey and sugar. For this shrub, I like the flavor of the rhubarb to shine through, and my honey tends to be darker. So, I mix it half and half. You could do all sugar, try different vinegars, etc. But, this is what I like. I haven’t calculated the calories, because as a rule, I don’t pay attention to calories. So you would have to do that math. But, for a refreshing drink, I add about 1-2 T. shrub to a glass of water, which with the calculating I did, is about 8 calories per T of rhubarb shrub.

Can you make it sugar free? I don’t know. I personally don’t use any artificial sweeteners, because they are nasty, don’t help with stable weight, and have potential harmful side effects. But, this post is not about that! If you make it with just rhubarb (technically not a fruit, so it has no natural sugars) and vinegar, let me know how it goes. I wouldn’t add artificial anything in the making of the shrub.

I hope you try this, if you have rhubarb in your garden or yard!

Your friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

Rhubarb Shrub

For a lovely, afternoon refresher, try 2 T. Rhubarb shrub, water, and ice in your cutest canning jar.

Rhubarb growing tips

I’ve grown rhubarb in my gardens for 35 years, and pulled plenty of it from mom’s gardens when I lived at home.

Rhubarb prefers rich soil, because it’s a heavy feeder, it takes a lot from the soil. Here’s how I grow it in my gardens.

Remember, if you plant rhubarb in the vegetable garden, you’ll want it where you don’t dig or till year after year. My mom plants rhubarb in her large perennial flower beds. I plant mine on the edge of my vegetable garden or around my raised beds, or wherever I want something big, leafy and green in the summertime.

• Dig a bigger hole than you need, and toss in some compost or composted manure. Rhubarb roots get very big.

• Plant so the crown is just below the surface of the soil.

• I always mulch with straw, dried leaves, weeds or garden plants that I pull near it. I also cut the leaves off right at the plant, after I pull the rhubarb, and mulch with the rhubarb leaves. My grandma and mom always did that. I do too.

• Don’t harvest from a new plant. Let it go the first year. Depending how well it grows, you might be able to harvest a few stalks the second year. After that, it should provide you with plenty of stalks.

• I have lots of plants, so I never over-harvest my rhubarb. The leaves provide nutrients to the roots, so you don’t want to pull all of your plant, all the time. The most I harvest at one time is 2/3s and that’s early in the season, IF I’m making rhubarb pie for everyone in the county, or more likely, freezing or preserving it.

• Late in the summer, if I get a hankering for something rhubarb-y, I’ll harvest a few stalks here and there. Often, I mix it with apple or cherry or strawberry. You want the plant to go into fall and winter with plenty of energy reserves, otherwise over time, your plant will get weaker, instead of more robust!

• Maintenance: I weed around my rhubarb plants, mulch, and water if we have a long, hot, dry spell.

• Rhubarb does need a winter freeze to grow well.

• If I decide to move a rhubarb plant, I usually divide it at that time, and often end up with multiple plants.

Rhubarb is pretty hard to kill, once you get it established. My dad once tilled a garden plot for my brother, before the rhubarb was up that season, and ended up spreading rhubarb roots throughout the garden. They had little rhubarb plants coming up all over the place!

Enjoy. Ask questions if you have them. Rhubarb is one of my favorite perennial plants in the garden.

Your rhubarb loving friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

What is a drinking vinegar/shrub

Last year, I bought a bottle of drinking vinegar from a farmer’s market. It was labeled Elderberry shrub. I took a sip a day, to make it last longer. Then, I started reading about “shrubs,” the drinking kind. There are blogs and books devoted to “shrubs” because they’ve become popular in fancy mixed drinks. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

By the 19th century, typical American recipes for shrubs used vinegar poured over fruit—traditionally berries—which was left to infuse anywhere from overnight up to several days; afterwards, the fruit would be strained out and the remaining liquid would be mixed with a sweetener such as sugar or honey and then reduced to make a syrup.The sweet-and-sour syrup could be mixed with either water or soda water and served as a soft drink, or it could be used as a mixer in alcoholic cocktails.Shrubs eventually fell out of popularity with the advent of home refrigeration.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never gotten into alcoholic drinks. But, I am a fan of raw apple cider vinegar, it’s health benefits, and the health benefits of a varied whole food diet, especially when it includes the wild things we can forage, like my Grandma and mom taught me.

So, it occurred to me, that if I wanted to keep drinking elderberry shrub, I should make it myself. I had elderberries coming on in my windbreak for the first time last summer. And from what I read, the benefits of elderberries, which are impressive and well-documented, can be extracted into the vinegar and preserved. That’s a pretty rough description, but if you are into this kind of thing, you might know the actual terminology! I do kind of “geek out” on natural foods that grow around me, but once I know that it’s a powerful food, I try to include it in my diet, and forget all the facts.

I had been making elderberry syrup for wintertime. It was my wellness elixir, I called it. I actually ordered organic dehydrated elderberries for this purpose, because my bushes hadn’t produced yet. But, I thought, if I made a shrub with my elderberries, they would go further and I could enjoy the benefits of apple cider vinegar and elderberries at once.

I made my first batch of elderberry shrub, and it was delicious. I have served it as a refreshing drink with water and ice. The funny thing is, it feels almost fizzy, like a young kombucha, when poured into a glass of ice water. Shrub on the rocks!

I made a big batch of elderberry shrub, including a little fresh ginger and some herbs. I didn’t write it down, naturally. I did it by feel. Sorry, that’s how many of my recipes are. I started giving it away in cute glass bottles, to my family members who needed a little extra health support. It is, simply, my favorite thing. I take a swig from my own personal bottle every morning. I pour it over ice and add water for a refreshing afternoon pick me up….and get immunity support at the same time. I have a niece who requests my elderberry shrub, and we call it Aunt Annie’s Magical Elixir. Don’t worry, no health claims. Just a fun name.

However, I will say, if I feel the hint of a cold coming on, or if I get sick, along with more rest and drinking more water, this is part of my defense arsenal. I have not had cough syrup for so long, I can’t remember the last time. Raw honey and elderberry shrub.

Now, what about the rhubarb shrub in the Instagram post? Next page! I have to get my workout in now, do some online coaching work, and then fire up my sewing machine. I promised a niece I’d record something for her today.

Your friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

Too many things out of place

I call it my chaos threshold; when too many things are cluttering countertops, chairs; too many things misplaced/out of place; too many projects going on at one time. That’s where I am today.

Understand, I’m not an “A-type” personality. I’m no Adrian Monk. But, I do reach a point when all the little things that didn’t get put away, or all the projects that are started or just not quite finished, and the boxes or bags or odds and ends cleaned out from a car, but never sorted through in the house, get on my nerves. Consequently, I start to feel like I can’t find anything or every task requires a family circus route to accomplish it.

That’s where I am this morning, friends. It’s not a peaceful feeling. And I don’t have any answers, except to take steps forward and breathe.

I don’t want to spend an entire day cleaning and tidying my house. There are a lot of moving parts right now. My son’s college dorm room ended up on the closest chairs/floor/couch to the front door when he moved back home. It’s like the dorm room flew by and puked in my living room and no one wants to clean up that big a pile of puke. In the garage, the big shelving unit we moved, looks great because it’s pretty empty except for my hubs’ tools that he left there after moving it. And, all the stuff that was on the shelves, is in piles to sort through and put back. There are 3 little boxes in the dining room, with…stuff…from cleaning out a car. Stuff, stuff, stuff. It’s a beautiful sunny day, and I’ll get really grumpy if I put my head down and start cleaning inside. Really grumpy. You might know the grumpy I’m talking about; irrational slamming cupboard doors, huffing and puffing, snapping at my family for their contributions to the chaos. Let’s just say, I’d rather not act that way…again…which is why I’m writing about it, obviously.

The projects currently going on in our house, also contribute to this unsettling feeling. I’m moving my sewing room to a studio space off the back of the garage. But, I can’t really move everything out there, because we still have to insulate the ceiling and paint the rest of the floor that isn’t painted because in a brilliant move 3 years ago, we painted all of the floor except where the home gym was. We thought it would always be in that part of the garage, so why move all our mats and paint and put them back? Why indeed? We moved the home gym to a different, smaller corner. It’s perfect. But now there’s concrete to clean, etch, and paint. Part of me thinks that may never happen!

I’m not trying to get pity here! I’m just using my writing this morning, my stream of consciousness, to weed through my personal environment chaos.

I think the floor situation in my studio is a good example of something we, as a married couple, have struggled with for 35 years; taking shortcuts to get something done, then having way more work, possibly expense, in undoing and redoing later on; garden plots, rock piles, home remodels; you name it, we’ve “made it work for now” so we could get something done, then regretted months or years later that we didn’t take the extra time to do it right the first time.

That’s my stream of consciousness blog today. And here is what I am going to do so I don’t get into an ugly grumpy state where the other 2 humans living with me, have to walk on pins and needles.

I’m going to pick 3 areas of low hanging fruit to sort through, that will give me peace when done.

1. 3 little Amazon boxes that have gathered bits and pieces of stuff out of the cars

2. Put the grey shelf stuff back on the shelves in the garage (this will bring a huge space of relief in my garage and prepare for the insulation of the ceiling in my studio.)

3. Match the receipts to the sons’ clothes that have to go back to the store and put them in my car

4. Clean off the top of the dryer

I’m also typing up a complete list of all the little areas in my home that need these 10-30 minute sort/toss/put away “episodes” and maybe make a game out of it.

My niece does this fun game that she shares on Instagram, “Tap to Tidy.” She’ll either do a time lapse and post that, or take a picture of the room or area she’s cleaning, before and after. It’s always inspiring and fun to see. You can find her on Instagram @thestrollermom if you are looking for an inspiring young mom to follow!

Well, it’s time to start the waffles for Sunday “church and sourdough waffles” at home. I hope you are doing well. Feel free to comment below how you manage the clutter in your home.

Your friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter