RHUBARB, RHUBARB
While you’re waiting for red-fleshed apples to fruit, there is another red option to eat for a sweet hit. Red-stemmed rhubarb grows for much of the year so is always there to stew or bake for a dessert.
Just about everyone knows not to eat rhubarb leaves. It’s one of those pieces of folklore that’s passed down from generation to generation. It is the long stalks of these large, leafy vegetables that are eaten and these are safe to eat whether they are red or green.
To eat rhubarb, simply cut or break off the leafy tops. This removes the oxalic acid as it is present in the leaves but not the stalks. Discarded leaves can be added to the compost but should not be fed to animals. If you are giving away rhubarb always remove the leaves and just give a bunch of stalks.
Rhubarb is sold in winter as crowns, or at other times as a potted plant. They enjoy rich, well-drained soil and a sunny spot. Give them plenty of water in summer when it is hot and keep an eye out for snails. Even though the leaves are toxic to us, snails don’t seem affected and can munch on stems and leaves.
Quiz answers: 1. Mozambique 2. L. J. Smith 3. New Zealand 4. 1916 5. How I Met Your Mother 6. Croatia 7. Adelaide United 8. Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper 9. True 10. Jodie Foster 11. Love 12. Alex de Minaur 13. Bill Shorten 14. Saudi Arabia, Yemen 15. Cadel Evans 16. Sugar 17. Jamie Preisz 18. Lorrae Desmond 19. Wolverine 20. Switzerland 21. False 22. Zr 23. Maverick Viñales 24. 17th century 25. Coffs Harbour 26. Turkey, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan 27. 1990s 28. Saxophone 29. The Bangles 30. True
Target word answers: abed, ABUNDANCE, aced, acne, acned, anna, baaed, bade, band, bane, banned, baud, bead, bean, beau, cade, cane, caned, canna, canned, dace, dance, daub, daube, dean, duenna, ecad, naan, nuance.