In Further Praise of Rhubard

Like Brendan and TheJewAndTheCarrot, I too cannot get enough of "the pie plant," aka rhubarb.

While rhubarb is perhaps best known in combination with strawberry, the season in which that blessed union is possible is surprisingly brief. When rhubarb first pops up, sometimes out of the snow, strawberries might be months away. When strawberries are finally plump and red, many rhubarb plants have already turned into Godzilla and gone to seed. So if you're eating strawberry rhubarb pie in Massachusetts in May, you're also eating strawberries from Mexico.

This knowledge, combined with my statement in the first sentence, has led me to consume many pure rhubarb-on-rhubarb pastries, such as the one in the photo above. It's a turnover, which in my kitchen is bake-speak for having had extra dough after making a pie.