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| Wednesday, July 05, 2006 Yvonne's Rhubarb Bread
I can't believe I haven't posted in nearly a month. Well, actually, I can. My mother-in-law died a couple of weeks ago, so we made a whirlwind emergency trip to Montana, U.S. of A. (Believe me, getting an international flight from Amsterdam at the height of the tourist season, even with a bereavement reason, was no small feat.)
Comments: (3)
Her death was sudden, and related to the Type 1 diabetes she had been living with for nearly three decades. As someone who enjoys their sugar, I always felt for Yvonne, knowing that once you have diabetes, dessert is a different matter altogether (both my grandmothers had late-onset diabetes as well, so I'm unfortunately familiar with the diet changes that come with it.) This made my mom-in-law that much more remarkable. She continued to bake tons and tons of sweet cakes and breads for the kids and me, as well as for the rest of the family and her circle of friends. The willpower that must've taken: all that sugar in the oven and not having a taste. What a great lady! Just a few weeks ago, I tried a recipe that had been making the rounds in Seattle-- it is the rhubarb cake that China's President Hu had for dessert at Bill Gates' house. The Seattle Times published the recipe, so I tried it. Unfortunately, I have to say, it came out awful. The methodology was really unconventional from the beginning to the end, and it had kind of a weird set of ingredients (who uses that much powdered sugar within a cake? and egg whites rather than whole eggs?) Anyway, this recipe only made me long for a rhubarb bread that Yvonne would send us every few months, and after I threw out President Hu's rhubarb cake, I wished I were able to eat her delicious bread instead. After the funeral, my sister-in-law Danelle was looking through Yvonne's recipe files while I was in the kitchen and she found the rhubarb bread recipe. (Unfortunately, she wasn't able to find the granola recipe, which, after Yvonne found out I loved it, would also send, along with all the rhubarb bread.) I made it a few days ago and Kyle was like, "Yeah, that's my mom's legacy, right there." So here's the recipe from my lovely mother-in-law. We'll miss her terribly, but it's nice to know we'll have little things like this to remember her by. Yvonne's Rhubarb Bread Makes 2 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 loaves Ingredients 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup salad oil (I assumed this meant just a light-colored oil, such as canola oil) 1 egg 2-1/2 cups flour 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted 2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (this is approximately 2 stalks) For streusel topping: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon butter (room temperature)
The resulting bread is more like a moist, sweet cake with a crispy crunch from the cinnamon topping. When served warm it is delicious with excellent vanilla ice cream. 
posted by sheryl | 12:34 PM | Thank you, Sheryl. Mom would love that her recipe it now out there for the world to enjoy. Sheryl, That is a fantastic tribute. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and feelings. You are so right, she was a Great Lady and gave us all precious ways of remembering her. Love, Aunt Patti
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