The great debate...

So here we are in the throes of spring and I have just made my first harvest.

Down on the front of our property there's remnants of the garden from perhaps eighty years ago

when the first house was. Long gone now, there's only bits of old fencing...

 ...and old fence posts.

But there's also two plants that have survived the years and weeds and brambles

of himalayan blackberry.

One is an old quince tree and the other is this, that I've come to harvest...

Rhubarb.

 There's nothing like going out on a cool spring day, between the rain showers

and looking down onto such magnificent leaves!

(which are toxic by the way)

 I don't know if there's anything at this time of year which grows

so fast and so big!

Under the leaves it's a micro jungle of thick red trunks...

 Slender stalks of juicy fruit...

 Or is it a vegetable??

It's described as a perennial so I would describe it more as a herb.

I think of vegetables as something you plant and harvest in one year.

Fruit can be a tree or something like raspberries or strawberries that

come back every year as well, so what is rhubarb??

It's these questions which keep the great minds of the world awake at night.

Thank goodness in the morning there is stewed rhubarb to put on hot cereal for breakfast!!

Made with a bit of water, some brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon.

It's a taste of spring!

     Delicious in a bowl of creamy brown rice cereal with

almond milk

 (and an extra pinch of brown sugar of course!)