September 22, 2021
27
whatsupyukon.com
column with
Michele Genest
GATHER
THE SECRET TO GOOD RHUBARB
Michele Genest is a Whitehorse-based chef and writer. She is also somewhat of a gardener. Michele has also written two books “The Boreal Feast - A Culinary Journey Through The North” and “The Boreal Gourmet - Adventures In Northern Cooking.”
This year’s “rhubarb experiment”
Hint: it’s not benign neglect
I
picked what I think is the last of my rhubarb the other day. The stalks were skinny and green, with a tiny blush of red at the bottom. The leaves were turning brown at the edges. There was, however, still life in those babies, so into the freezer they went, washed and chopped, to fuel winter experiments. In the meantime, I am plotting for next spring. I have rhubarb patch envy. My plants are scattered all over the backyard, in struggling outposts far from the mother plant. The stalks never get any bigger than a half-inch in diameter. The leaves barely peek above the tall grass. It’s time to up my rhubarb game. On a summer visit to Stepping Stone, Carole Kroening and Jim Tredger’s homestead on the Pelly River, I learned how. Carole and Jim’s rhubarb is prodigious, a four-by-four-metre patch of waist-high plants that yield stalks as thick as a child’s wrist and as rosy as an August sunset. Carole told me the secret. Tip: it is not benign neglect. In the spring, after the snow has melted, flood the rhubarb patch with water. Keep watering faithfully all summer long. Make sure the plants have six hours of full
sun every day. Pull up those straggly outposts. Rhubarb, if allowed, will spread everywhere, but those outposts won’t yield the best crop. Pick rhubarb by pulling the stalks from the ground, not cutting them. Nip flowers in the bud. Pick the biggest stalks and give the younger ones time to grow. I’m in. The outposts are toast. I’m pulling them up. I’ve prepared a bed in a sunny spot to which I’m going to move three strong, healthy plants. I’m taking a chance and doing that now, at the end of July. Carole said that the late Ingrid Wilcox, the beloved and knowledgeable Yukon gardener, tended not to transplant anything in the Yukon after July 1, in order to give plants enough time to establish their roots. But as another gardening neighbour said you can’t kill rhubarb. So I’m risking it. In two to three years, with luck, I might have a rhubarb patch that could stand up and be proud. The Stepping Stone cupboards are filled with jars of Jim’s stewed rhubarb. Every breakfast starts with stewed rhubarb and porridge. For dessert, all summer long, there are rhubarb crisps, pies and squares. Every summer there is a new rhubarb experiment.
This year Carole and I invented a rhubarb barbecue sauce, inspired by a couple of recipes we found online, which we mixed and matched and livened up with our own combo of spicy aromatics. We think the re-
Stepping Stone sult is pretty good. No, really good. Try it on burgers, sockeye salmon, bison ribs or grilled spatchcocked chicken. Serve it with scrambled eggs, or put a bowl on the table when you serve French fries. If you
make the full batch, you’ll be eating barbecue all winter long.
cont’d on page 30 ...
Do you know someone who has made a memorable contribution to transportation in Yukon? Dawn Bartsch, 2011 winner of the Order of Polaris award, contributed to the development of aviation in the North by helping to break down gender barriers and by making the dreams of flying accessible for today’s young women.
To make a nomination for the Yukon Transportation Hall of Fame Awards visit our website https://yukon.ca/en/yukon-transportation-hall-fame-awards or call (867) 667-5832 or email thof@gov.yk.ca
*Deadline for nominations is December 31st
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