Rhubarb Cordial

Many of the camp parents wanted the recipe for our rhubarb codial that we served at the tea party yesterday. There have been a lot of variations on this recipe over the past 20 years but here is the original.

Part 1
Fill a large pot 2/3 full with rhubarb that has been chopped into 1" pieces. Cover with water so that there is approximately 1/2" of water above the chopped fruit. Simmer on stove for approximately 20 minutes or until soft. Transfer to a jelly bag and strain the rhubarb into a large bowl for a couple of hours. This juice can be divided into small portions and then frozen for future use.

Part 2
4 cups rhubarb juice
1/2 can lemonade concentrate
1 can of water using frozen lemonade can as unit of measurement
1/2 cup sugar
Stir the above ingredients together and refrigerate. When ready for a glass of nice cool rhubarb cordial, pour approximately 1/4 of a cup into a glass and top up glass with ginger ale. I use two fingers of cordial in my glasses so this may take some experimenting to get it right.

There are different ways of using this recipe. I often use water in place of the ginger ale for a 'somewhat' healthier drink. Sometimes I use homemade lemonade for a really tangy treat. I also substitute the rhubarb for different fruits and find a juice made with the grapes that we grow here at the greenhouse to be a big hit.

Enjoy!

Local Roots Summer Camp

Chia Pet before it grew its hair.
Teagan about to make her chia pet.

Collecting flowers for use in dying fabric with natural dyes.

Here are some of the children making paper.


The greenhouse had a summer camp here for 8-11 year olds this past week. It was a blast. My daughter, Jesse, came home from Halifax to coordinate it. She kept those kids hopping for 5 days. They did everything from making paper out of corn husks to catching tadpoles at Rapid Pond. The children made their own snacks and lunches (with a little help from the adults) from many of the items that we grow here at the greenhouse. We tried to focus on a well balanced diet but we did try to make it more palatable by dipping some things in chocolate. Yay for chocolate. the above photo is of Skyler shucking strawberries.