Rhubarb!

Rhubarb is in season! If we were living in California, I might be sending rhubarb-strawberry crisp in Caroline's lunch tomorrow. But we won't have strawberries for at least a few more weeks. When I was growing up, my dad used to make rhubarb jam. He would put huge quantities of rhubarb in a pot, add sugar and water and let it simmer for hours on the stove. He loved his rhubarb jam and would eat it all summer long as a spread on a piece of hot buttered toast. This weekend I bought a pound of rhubarb from Sue Threadgould (pictured here) at the Meridian Township Farmers' Market and our friend Christine also gave us a pound from her garden. I mixed the two together to make a rhubarb-raisin compote: chopped rhubarb, raisins, rind and juice from one Minneola tangerine, 4 cloves, sugar, and water to cover. On top of whole milk plain yogurt, it should be delicious.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, May 12: Breakfast - O's, pearsauce; Lunch - vegetable spirals (Eden Foods), Geoff's meatballs (AppleSchram Organic Orchard ground beef), spaghetti sauce (canned last summer), spinach (Owosso Organics), red and green leaf lettuce (Owosso Organics), banana; Snacks - whole milk plain yogurt, rhubarb-raisin compote, whole wheat graham crackers

Childcare Center Menu, May 12: Breakfast - orange juice, Cheerios, Life, Rice Krispies; Lunch - turkey sloppy joes, salad, banana; Snacks - graham crackers, lemon pudding