<img I’ll be presenting “All Things Rhubarb” at the cooking stage of EPIC: The Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo, Saturday May 9 at 3:30 PM. Epic takes place at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, and is Western Canada’s only green consumer tradeshow and eco-marketplace.

The premise for my presentation, fitting for the weekend of Mother’s Day, will be “Recipes My Mother Taught Me”.

My mother, while never known for her cooking prowess, did have some interesting culinary habits. Being a true “Blue Noser” from Kent, Nova Scotia, she had us picking dandelion greens along busy Toronto thoroughfares. I was always terrified a classmate would see me in horror as they rolled down the street in the back of their parents station wagon. Although I felt a little like a migrant field hand, I did learn to love greens!

Growing up, we always had a patch of rhubarb tucked away in the backyard. It never ceased to amaze me, that a plant that received so little care and attention would return each year healthier than ever.

Our prolific patch joined forces with every fruit combination imaginable, and if it wasn’t baked into pies, crumbles or cakes it was “put down” or rather stewed and canned for those long T.O. winters.

Interesting Facts
Unbeknown to most, rhubarb is classified as a vegetable not a fruit. Stage actors also use the word “rhubarb” repeated asynchronously in a low or murmured tone to provide background voice ambience in crowd or party scenes.