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Spring seems to have crept in by the back door. Chives are about to bloom, mint is poking up bright stems of fresh green leaves and rhubarb is growing lush and tall. A few sunny afternoons have brought thoughts of picnics and barbecues.

Rhonda Kuch was recently in charge of a snack buffet that needed to be available for several hours in the afternoon. She solved the keeping cold things cold dilemma by filling an infant size inflatable pool with ice and nestling the dip containers and beverages in the ice and sandwich trays on the center of the ice. Infant pools are about 3 feet in diameter and about 6 inches deep, an ideal size for most table tops.

Rosy Rhubarb Salad would make a colorful and tasty addition to a spring outdoor meal and would stay firm even when weather is warm if a ice pool, as mentioned, was used. The tangy flavors of rhubarb, raspberry and pineapple, paired with the crunch of chopped apple, celery and pecans, make a flavor burst accompaniment to any barbecued meat.

Rosy Rhubarb Salad

3 cups diced rhubarb

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 package (3 ounces) raspberry gelatin

1 cup pineapple juice

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup chopped apple, peeled if you like

1 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a medium saucepan combine rhubarb and sugar. Cook over medium heat until rhubarb is soft. Remove from heat.

Add gelatin to rhubarb mixture and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in pineapple juice and lemon juice. Chill until partially set. Stir in remaining ingredients until evenly distributed. Pour into a 5 cup serving bowl or mold and chill overnight. Yield 8 servings.

If using a mold, dip mold to the rim in hot water for 30 seconds and turn out onto serving plate. A little cold water sprinkled on the plate before unmolding gelatin will make it easy to position on the plate, or line the plate with lettuce leaves.

Note: this recipe may be doubled, but I recommend using an 8-9 cup ring mold if you want a molded salad. A round mold may crack and fall apart because of the high ratio of vegetables to gelatin.

Freda’s Macaroni Salad is another yummy addition to picnic buffet tables. The late Freda Braun often made this salad for potluck meals, year round. It contains just about everything but the kitchen sink; you may need that to mix it in, this salad feeds a crowd.

Freda’s Macaroni Salad

1 pound salad macaroni, cooked according to package directions, drained and cooled

3 cups thinly sliced celery

1 cup chopped green pepper

4-6 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/2 cup sweet pickle relish, drained or chopped sweet pickle.

1 large carrot, grated 2 cups frozen peas, thawed and drained

1 small (2 ounce) jar diced pimento

1 cup (cubed small) cheddar cheese

Dressing:

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1-2 tsp minced parsley

Combine the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and chill one hour.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking until well blended. Thin with additional buttermilk if needed to a consistency that runs off a spoon easily. Pour over salad ingredients and toss to coat evenly. Chill until serving, up to 3 hours. Yield 14-16 servings.

Note: red, orange or yellow sweet peppers may be substituted for part of the green pepper. Other firm cheeses may be substituted for the cheddar cheese. Low fat sour cream may be used.

Additional ingredients Freda noted on her recipe are: 1 cup diced summer sausage and diced cucumber. If you like a little heat, a small finely diced jalapeno pepper may be added, or use pepper jack cheese. A quarter cup of finely snipped chives is my favorite addition to this salad.

Speaking of chives, chive oil is a savory condiment for spring vegetables, especially tender new potatoes. This little extravagance is easy to prepare and much less expensive than purchased varieties.

Chive Oil

1 bunch chives (1 inch at base of bundle)

1 cup canola oil

Blanch chives 10 seconds in boiling water. Cool immediately in ice water. Drain well, squeezing out excess water. Chop coarsely.

In a blender, combine chives and oil. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Line a wire mesh strainer with a coffee filter and strain oil. It will take a while to completely drain through. Oil will be clear and green in color.

Drizzle over hot cooked new potatoes, asparagus, green beans or other vegetables that will benefit from the chive flavor. Cooled, it will add extra zip to any oil and vinegar dressing mix when substituted for vegetable oil.

Chive flowers make a colorful garnish for potato and pasta salads. Arrange a few 2-3 inch chive stems for leaves and nestle a chive flower in the center.

Chives are easy to dry for adding to dishes calling for dried chives. Make use of residual heat in your oven from a baking session.

Place a wire cooling rack on a baking sheet. Cover the cooling rack with a paper towel, scatter snipped or chopped chives over paper towel and place in still warm oven with the heat off, for several hours or over night. Chives dry quickly. Store in air tight containers.

Dried chives make a nice gift for friends and family who don’t have gardens. Chives also make a pretty bedding plant, the purple flowers blending nicely with purple, pink and white perennials, and contrasting with yellow and orange blossoms. Garlic chives have white blossoms and work in any planting. Mix either with nasturtiums for some peppery blossoms and have and edible flower bed.

Share your favorite edible flower bed ideas and flower recipes to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159 or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Let one parsley plant go to seed each year for a perpetual parsley patch.