Rhubarb-Eat, Drink and Dye!

One  thing we have a lot of this time of the is rhubarb. I am constantly on the lookout for new ways to use it. Each year I try new recipies for cake, cookies, crisps and crumbles as well as tea. This year I am going to try dyeing some of my newly spun wool with the rhubarb  leaves as well.  I spent some time looking through my books on natural dyeing. I found several discussions on using rhubarb root as a dyestuff. Using the dried root will produce some nice shades of yellow, depending on other variables in the process such as the water used, what the dye pot is made of, amount of dyestuff used, to name a few. It is very important to keep good records if you want to be able to repeat the process with similar results. This is true for any kind of dyeing and especially true for using natural dyes. I have decided I am not ready to dig up my rhubarb plants at this time so I will have to wait to try that. I do, however, have an abundance of rhubarb leaves. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is poisonous to humans so care is needed. Oxalic acid can be used as a mordant for dyeing fiber, especially animal fiber.  When rhubarb leaves are the color agent there is no need to mordant the yarn first.  The method I am going to use is chopping the leaves and simmering them is water and letting them stand over night. Then I will strain the liquid and use that for dyeing my wool. I will be posting more specific directions and pictures of the results soon.

In the meantime, here are a couple of this year's recipies for using the stems:

Rhubarb Tea.                                                                                         
8 stalks of rhubarb                                8 cups of water
orange or lemon peel                            Sugar to taste
A few sprigs of mint (I especially like Mojito Mint for this)



Cut the rhubarb into three inch pieces. Add the water and citrus peel. Simmer for one hour. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain the liquid. Add sugar to taste. Serve over ice with a sprig of mint. Very refreshing!

Rhubarb Cake
1 1/4 C white sugar                              1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt.                                            2 C white flour
2 eggs, beaten.                                     1 C sour cream
3C diced rhubarb
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking dish.
In a large bowl combine 11/4 C of sugar, baking soda, salt, and two cups flour.
Stir in eggs and sour cream until smooth. Fold the rhubarb into this mixture.

In a small bowl, combine 1cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter (softened) and stir til smooth.
Add 1/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup nuts (optional), and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.
Sprinkle over cake.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool, serve with ice cream.