Is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?

Overview: Is rhubarb a vegetable? A fruit? An ornamental plant? It’s a very ornamental vegetable that is usually prepared and eaten much like a fruit. All that and it’s perennial in many areas. Rhubarb is a cool season crop that is grown for its fibrous leaf stalks, which are a wonderful sweet-tart treat.

Latin Name: Rheum rhabarbarum

Common Name: Rhubarb

USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 - 8. Can be grown as an annual in climates with mild winters.

As so many people close to me know, rhubarb is one of my all-time favorite veggies (eaten as a fruit). I don't have a sweet-tooth and therefore this wonderfully bitter delight serves as an alternative to overly-sweet desserts. In the most recent issue of Runners World Magazine they had an interesting recipe for a chutney-like topping for chicken. Pete, I believe, is going to make it tonight.

Topping for chicken:

Slice 3/4 cup of strawberries
Mix 3/4 cup sliced rhubarb
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup of yellow bell pepper
Season with chopped jalapenos, cilantro and lime juice to taste

Yum! I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

I've been greatly spoiled by wonderful rhubarb recipes: Nana's rhubarb pie, Megan's (moan) rhubarb tarts and Chris/tine's rhubarb sorbet (hmmm). Thank you all!

Training this weekend

Ah, let's see. How was your weekend? Mine was great! Thanks for asking. Saturday started off with a bit of a hiccup. We swam, well sort of. It was a rough morning and after about a half mile of laps, also known as flopping around like a dead fish, I called it quits. Knowing that we were running later in the afternoon, I didn't get too worked up about a bad workout.

This has been one hell of a rainy June (hence the mass amounts of rhubarb?). Its made for fewer people on the trails. Fine by me. We headed out Saturday afternoon for what would turn out to be my longest run ever! I've never gone over 7, actually I think it was closer to 6.8 miles. We walked from the house to the north end of the Rose Garden and began running there. I wanted to make sure that I had enough of a cool-down time after our run. Our route took us north along Harriet, crossed over to Calhoun, went counter clockwise around Calhoun, back over to Lake Harriet, headed counter clockwise and then back up to the Rose Garden. It was quite moment when my Map My Run (iPhone App) announced the 7th mile. I almost cried because it was truly a milestone for me. Not only did I run (with no walking) the whole way, but I felt GOOD. I was soaking wet from light rain. My hair was somewhat matted to my face and the taste of salt crept into my mouth. By the time we reached the end of the run, our total distance was 7.3 miles. We walked the half mile home, stretching our legs and the goofy smile that was plastered on my face reminded me why I do all of this.

The big moments, like a race are measurable accomplishments that I can share with people and people can relate to, its big and obvious. But during training its these smaller, more personal moments that make it all worth it. I won't run that kind of distance again until after the July triathlon, I don't need to. But I needed to run those 7.3 miles on Saturday.

All of the revelations that occur for me during training, the ones that I share and the ones that stay safe inside my brain, are so much a part of being an athlete for me. I'm not winning medals or finishing in the top of my age group, but every day that I train, I am doing something that I love and that feeds me. I'm so fortunate that I've got folks around me that understand how important that is and that I have a partner that not only supports me, but is out there running the miles with me. Not a minute goes by that I don't recognize how amazing that is.

On Sunday, Pete and I met up with his cousin and her husband for a great ride along the infamous Gateway Trail. Why infamous? Because I could never figure out how the hell to get there and it pissed me off that so many people talked about how great it was. Well, I've ridden the Gateway Trail now. All told we did about 30 miles, which for my spent legs was just fine. I did a ton of stretching last night. And tonight, I will be handsomely rewarded by taking the night off.

Twenty-six days to the race.