You would think I would be jumping for joy, three very goods from the husband. These compliments were given of his own free will. No bribes or threats of mediocre food coming from the kitchen to coax them out of him. Unfortunately only two very goods count. Whose counting you say? Well, I am counting. At least until his compliments on my cooking have a value greater than the traditional fine or good ; the terms that are usually spoken. They also have to exceed my ten fingers. After that -the counting stops. We only have 8 more compliments to go, and I have been slaving over a hot stove for four months.

It seems I hit the jackpot with rhubarb of all foods, if you can believe it. Apparently the husband is no fool when it comes to rhubarb. All this and I haven’t even made the husband a Rhubarb Fool. Now I love rhubarb, and look forward to making it when in season. I miss it when it isn’t in season. But in case you haven’t been keeping up with me; I have turned out some mighty good Southern meals praise worthy of; over-the-top compliments. Why I am hitting the jack pot with rhubarb is beyond me?

Well, I sort of have a clue. You see, it seems the husband has fond memories of being a strapping young lad running through a neighbors backyard with his school chum. Their short-cut landed them in a field full of wild rhubarb. They grabbed a few stalks and sat down leaning on a fence eating away till they had a full fledged belly ache. It apparently was such a good experience they repeated the process a few more times and developed a fondness for rhubarb, raw.

Seeing that I am a girl and not prone to eating raw food in a field till I have a belly ache, I am a touch baffled. Wouldn’t you think rhubarb would earn an, I don’t ever want to eat rhubarb ever again for the rest of my life status?

Instead, the husbands eyes light up as he tells me the story and thanks me for the rhubarb stewed with a touch of sugar and cinnamon then tossed with fresh strawberries.
Would you like some vanilla ice cream to go with the warm rhubarb I ask?

No thanks.

Five minutes later he gets up off the chair, proceeds to the kitchen and goes into the freezer. Okay, he changed his mind on the vanilla ice cream idea, I am thinking.

No, he did not. No, not again. Yes, again. It was bad enough he put the Orange Chocolate Chip Sherbet on the Strawberry Rhubarb Clafoutis, but now he is repeating the food assault by topping my stewed rhubarb with it once again.

That is when I heard the words; very good, very good, as they were uttered between bites. Oh, I know I am sounding awlful but who cares. It does not count as a compliment. I cringe once again, as he smiles while eating. How do I know that the very good compliment was for the sherbet, or the stewed rhubarb and strawberries?

Truth is, almost all is forgotten over this incident. Having some leftover rhubarb that I had to find a home for, I decided to make a Rhubarb Cake. We were out of cake and it is something that I try to keep on hand. My all time favorite is a Buttermilk Cake. It is a sure thing, and just tweaking the ingredients you end up with a new cake. No one would really guess it was the same recipe just changed in a few ways.

Honey, I made a Rhubarb Cake would you like some?

No thanks, not now maybe later.

You’ve got to be kidding I am thinking.

Well when you are ready, I made a rhubarb dessert plate for you.

Okay.

I am in disbelief and move on to the rest of evening with all thoughts of the rhubarb dessert plate going to waste.

Suddenly, and I mean suddenly. In walks the husband with the rhubarb dessert plate with a few bites missing. Out of his mouth came the words delicious, I was startled and looked up only to hear delicious once again. I just won the Triple Crown of food compliments, two Delicious words and he got up out of the chair to give me the compliment. Not in a million years would I put money on rhubarb.

The bonus; not one sign of the Orange Chocolate Chip Sherbet was on the plate! Now, I must confess the dessert plate consisted of a tiny dish of rhubarb not big enough to put any sherbet on top. But truth be told he is smart enough to just put a blob of that stuff on the plate regardless. Somewhere in his thought process he decided to forgo the Sherbet. Yes, there is hope!

This is not the last of the rhubarb desserts, I have a gem up my sleeve but have decided to save it for a special occasion. Like when we comingle our belongings in the next two weeks to move into our newly renovated home. I am a minimalist and he is a certified pack rat. Certainly the compliments won’t be forthcoming while we make this transition. But another rhubarb winner could possible put a smile on his face and ease the tension.

I have taken a simple recipe for a standard buttermilk cake, changing the flavorings and adding fresh fruit. This is actually one recipe divided into two pans. My preference is a Buttermilk Cake as is, without a frosting. It’s not that I don’t have a sweet tooth, it’s just why both when you have the simplicity of a flavor that delivers all you might need in each bite. Don’t be timid about using other fruits, swapping flavors or going about changing this up to suit your preferences. This makes a fine breakfast snack or a just right treat with a spot of tea in the afternoon.

Knowing full well that you shouldn’t peak in the oven before the buzzer goes off, I did it anyway. Having no idea what compelled me to break the rules, I am glad for my sponataneous gesture. What I found was that some of the buttermilk had risen to the top of the cake almost like a puddle. Why it did this I do not know? But the result is that it comingled with the granulated sugar that had been sprinkled on top of the cakes before baking in the oven. The result; a sugary sweet crust formed on top of my cake. Delish!

Buttermilk Cake

1 stick of sweet butter softened at room temperature

1 1/4 cups gtranulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups White Lily all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups of chopped rhubarb, less if you divide the cake. (Use any other fruit you might like)

1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest

large dash of freshly grated nutmeg

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, positioning rack in center of oven.
• Lightly butter a 9×13 1/2 or two 6×9 pans.
• Cream butter and 1 cup of the sugar till well blended.
• Add the eggs one at a time beating well between additions.
• Add the grated lemon zest.
• In a seperate bowl mix the buttermilk and vanilla.
• Into a third bowl sift the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
• Beat in half the buttermilk, then 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed with the remainder of the buttermilk and ending with the flour.
• Divide into two pans.
• Drop fruit onto top of each cake pressing into batter slightly.
• Sprinke the remainder of 1/4 cup sugar on top.
• Bake for abouit 25-30 minutes till tester comes out clean.
• Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, loosen edges then remove from pan.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

1 quart of strawberries

1 pound of rhubarb

2/3 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of water

• Cut rhubarb on the diagonal sections 1/2 inch wide
• Put in saucepan with the sugar and water and bring to a boil.
• Cook till it breaks down some, don’t let it get mushy.
• Prepare and halve strawberries, adding to rhubarb when it has cooled down enough that it just softens the strawberries slightly.

I like my rhubarb tart so I start with less sugar, the preference is up to your taste.