Homemade Rhubarb Juice ~ Recipe

We are still swimming in rhubarb around here as our plants just keep giving and giving :) So I thought that I would share again with you my favorite way to make a rhubarb juice which is such a wonderful summertime treat :)

The kids and I filled an entire laundry basket heaping to the top with fresh rhubarb stalks to bring into the house for stewing and of course once it is cut it's best to use it up right away so I got busy washing them up and trimming off any dirty spots.

This is so super easy to make and even if you only have a little bit of rhubarb you probably have enough to make at least one special batch :)

Cut up 6 cups of fresh rhubarb stalks into 1 - 2 inch pieces and place in a heavy bottomed sauce pot. Add 8 cups of water, 2 1/2 cups of sugar and 2 or 3 nice thick slices of lemon and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes when the rhubarb has completely gone mushy.

Let the syrup cool and then strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a jar. You will have a gorgeous pink liquid and you can eat the boiled rhubarb to! The stewed rhubarb is so sweet and tasty that the children love to eat it warm straight from the sieve :) Usually there isn't a stitch of mushy rhubarb left when we're done but since I made so much this year I shared it with the dog and the cow *grin*.

I got some great new jars this spring to that I couldn't wait to use and this seemed to be the perfect time. They have rubber stoppers that you clamp down tightly and we've filled them quite a few times with rhubarb syrup to take along camping with us or for a picnic by the pond.

The rest of the juice I canned in my mason canning jars and some of it I froze as well. If you want to can the rhubarb juice all you need to do is wash up some of your larger canning jars and pour the boiling hot juice straight from the pot after you've strained it into your jars and then screw on your lids with your canning seals heated up just like if you were making jam :) So far I have about a dozen quart jars to last us through the winter and 7 wine bottles full in the freezer. It's going to be so much fun to be able to pull them out in the dead of winter and enjoy a little bit of spring :)

To finish off your yummy rhubarb juice you can mix 1 part syrup with two parts water or for a fizzy spritzer you can use a sparkling water like Pellagrino instead plain water for a real treat. Personally that's my favorite way to drink it and it is so refreshing on a hot day.

Have fun making some of your own!

Hugs,
Rosina


PS. Looking for more yummy recipes?? Check out this week's Hearth and Soul blog hop :)

Spicy Lentil Burrito ~ Recipe

I've had a bag of lentils in my pantry for quite some time just waiting to be used in something yummy for dinner and when my friend Debbie had mentioned she was making lentil sloppy joes I just had to make something with them *grin*.

Out came some walla walla onion, fresh garlic, garlic chile spice, cumin,
some olive oil for frying and things started smelling mighty good! I added in some lentils and water, simmered until tender and thickened and I had some super tasty lentils for my burritos.

Okay so here's the specifics:

1 cup of finely diced walla walla or other sweet onion

3 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed

1 - 2 tsp. garlic chile paste

2 tsp. cumin

sea salt to taste

a splash of olive oil

Fry all of the above ingredients in a large sauce pan until your garlic is translucent and just tender and add:

2 cups of green lentils (rinsed well in cool water)

6 cups of water

Bring your pot of lentils and water to a rapid boil and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cover. Cook for approximately one hour or until tender and they have taken on a nice thick consistency.

With your lentils all ready to rock and roll, grab your tortillas and spread a bit of salsa and sour cream in the center, top with some of your cooked lentils, a sprinkle of cheese and we're seriously addicted to pea shoots so we added them to ours as well. You could add guacamole, shredded lettuce, sliced peppers or tomatoes to!

Wrap up your tortilla like a burrito by pulling in the bottom and top sides of your tortilla towards the center of your lentils and then turning the whole thing 180 degrees and rolling it again away from you so that those tucked sides you did first create a nice little pocket to hold all your lentil yumminess in place :)

Sometimes I find that it's a little hard for the kids to keep their burritos all together while they're eating them without having one of the sides pop open and some of the filling slipping out so this time I thought I'd pan fry and use some of the melted cheese like a glue to hold it all together!

Heat your frying pan on medium high heat and place one of your burritos in the pan, flipping to the other side when ready. The high heat will brown it up quite quickly melting the cheese and crisping up the outer skin just perfect for little hands :)

We LOVED these and the filling made enough for leftovers which made a perfect lunch the following day :)

Enjoy!
Rosina

PS. Looking for more yummy recipes?? Check out this week's Hearth and Soul blog hop :)