let's get ready to rhuuuuuubaaaaaarrrrrb!

the pile of rhubarb gifted by my mother-in-law just weighed in at 4 lbs.

i washed all the rhubarb and prepared for today's plan: strawberry rhubarb and ginger jam, and rhubarb chutney.

rhubarb is purty

while i was washing and chopping, i went ahead and took on a pound of strawberries. i was going to use blueberries, but i ate them in my oatmeal. and made bread. with rhubarb*.




so, i had to get more fruit and strawberries were on sale. big, juicy, must-bedevoured strawberries. perfect for me!


i dumped a cup and a half of sugar on the fruit and let it hang out for an hour. then i turned my eye to the other pile of rhubarb.

the sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and spices were combined together and cooked until the sugar dissolved. then i added the onion, rhubarb, and cranberries. i didnt realise we were out of raisins. both kinds.

i let that cook and cook and simmer and cook until it was all nice and mushy.  once it was cooled, i bottled it, and threw it in the fridge until i made dinner. the chutney featured nicely alongside a veggieburger with cheese, avocado, spinach, onion, and tomato.

the jam turned out beautifully too.

once it was in the saucepan, i added a good knob of ginger, and stirred that in.


then i had to try it.  to make sure it was safe.
what my relatives dont know is that im returning the rhubarb to them this weekend...
just in a  different form





*this is round 2 and 3 from my mother in law. we've already eaten round 1!