Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain!  "Does it always rain in Oregon?"  Well, actually, no, but sometimes it seems like it. This is one of those times.  It's our typical spring weather - sunshine, partial sun, chance of showers, showers likely, rain. . . . and, that's just one day.  Sometimes the rain is a soft gentle mist, others it is a downpour.  We've had enough to fill buckets lately.  Everyone is complaining.  We've been having discussions about attitude, but it doesn't seem to help. This kind of weather is hard on us all.

In between showers we have continued to work in the garden.  Some things are thriving with all this moisture, the potatoes, onions, and greens are all doing very well. Reyn's tomatoes, however, are another story. We removed the cover from the cold-frame a couple of weeks ago and has transplanted some of the tomatoes directly into the garden.  They look pretty sad.  We're thinking that next year we'll arrange to have more and larger cold-frames that can stay up longer.  For now, we're considering setting ours back up and covering it with a row-cover, like remay, to protect some of the tomatoes.  But, really, how long can this go on?  Whenever the rain stops and the clouds part, the sun is strong and warm.  Maybe tomorrow it will all change.

Yesterday I decided to change my attitude and just go with the flow.  Need I say that it rained all day?  Well, that didn't bother me because I was busy in my little kitchen chopping and stirring and making one of my favorite jams, Orange Rhubarb Marmalade.  It's a long process which begins with peeled, juiced, and chopped lemons and oranges.  After they cook for a while, the rhubarb is added and cooked to a pulp, followed by sugar and a long boil.  The result is a lovely sweet, slightly tart marmalade that is sure to perk up a winter breakfast.  That, and it helped me get through a very bleak spring day.  Hooray for Rhubarb!  I'll gladly share the recipe if anyone wants to try it.

On the lookout for low-fat desserts. I like desserts as much as anyone, in fact I really enjoy finishing a meal with a little taste of something sweet.  If the truth be known, I crave it. It can drive me crazy.  Recently I was hosting a group of friends for a meeting and dessert.  This group is particularly challenging when it comes to desserts, ie. no chocolate and no dairy.  Using the garden for inspiration I decided on something made with rhubarb.  My own dietary limitations made the search for the right rhubarb medium even more of a challenge.  Hmmm, something with no butter or cream, no cobbler, no rhubarb pie, no mousse. After cruising my way through several cookbooks and an online search I put together a tasty sponge cake rolled up with a pureed rhubarb filling.  The only fat came from the eggs used to make the cake.  Voila, dessert! 

Rhubarb Cake Roll

For the filling-
1 pound of rhubarb, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 packet of unflavored gelatin
1 tbs. cold water
In saucepan cook rhubarb with sugar over medium heat until rhubarb becomes soft and can easily be stirred into a puree.  In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let soften, about 1 minute.  Add gelatin to the rhubarb and stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved.  Transfer filling to a bowl set in a bowl of ice water. Stir occasionally until cool and thickened.

For the cake-
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a greased jelly-roll pan with foil or parchment paper.  Grease the foil and dust with flour.  Beat egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until thick and pale in color.  In a large bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites with salt until they hold soft peaks.  Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until the whites hold stiff peaks.

Stir one third of the whites into the yolk mixture then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.  Sift flour and cornstarch over batter and fold in until the batter is just combined.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake for 6 - 9 minutes, or until the cake is lightly colored and springs back when pressed lightly.

Dust a kitchen towel with powdered sugar and invert the warm cake onto it.  Remove foil carefully from cake.  Starting with a long side, loosely roll up the cake in the towel.  Cool for 30 minutes.

Make a syrup by bringing to a simmer 1/4 cup of sugar with 2 tbs lemon juice and 2 tbs water. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved.

Unroll the cake carefully and brush with half of the warm lemon syrup.  Spread the cake with the thickened rhubarb filling and carefully reroll the cake - this time without the towel.  Transfer to a platter, seam side down and brush with the remaining syrup.  Chill at least 2 hours, or overnight.

To serve dust the cake with powdered sugar and slice diagonally.  I topped each piece with a sprinkling of lemon zest and served it with lemon sorbet. Unfortunately I became distracted and forget to photograph the finished product.  You'll just have to use your imagination.