My Daughter's First Rhubarb . . . My First Rhubarb

My daughter came to visit recently, one of the highlights of my year. Because of the pandemic, it had been almost a year since our last visit. Or so it seemed. In anticipation of her visit, I put together a quarantine care kit, which included, among other things, a rhubarb vinaigrette.

“Dad, you know I’ve never tasted rhubarb.” These are the moments you dread. When you realize and your child realizes how much your efforts to be a good role model and parental figure sucked. I want a do-over, was my predominant thought. Instead: “OK, peetz, for tomorrow’s Friday night family dinner, I’m making you a rhubarb/blueberry crisp, vegan version.” She smiled. I would do anything for that smile.

We were over at my son’s place at the time of our conversation, where she was riding out her 10-day quarantine period. I looked over her shoulder as she stirred some homemade granola she had just pulled out of the oven. “But can you spare some of that stuff,” I asked. “I’d like to add it to the crisp I want to make.” And with that, I was cycling home with a doggie-bag of my daughter’s granola, to add to the recipe — which didn’t call for any granola, in case you were wondering, but why the hell not?

I can tell you that the final result was a hit. In my exuberance, I overfilled the mold, and so of course, there was spillover. The thing looked, let’s say, less than professional. But the taste was there in spades. And that was just for starters.

There’s something special about sharing something you love with someone you love, especially for the first time. I grew up around rhubarb. My kids had never seen it before. But even more special was the chance to add a bit of something she loved into the mix. You might say this diluted or distorted the purity of that first-taste experience. And you know what? A decade or two ago, I would have felt exactly that way. Not now. On the contrary. Here was a chance to take something special to me and make it even more special by creating something new that had bits of both of us in it.

How cool is that?