People who grow hard-to-use veggies should only give them away cooked and ready to eat!

[CoalTit]

I'm in the southern hemisphere and I've received a great big bunch of rhubarb to take home after a family get-together. I said it was too much to take home on the train, but then a relative turned up at my house with it a couple of days later.
I do like rhubarb, in small quantities, with apple and custard, but I'm going to be buying and stewing fruit all winter to use this lot up. No-one else wanted it because it's horrible by itself.
I feel indignant.
I'm always grateful to be given pumpkin, but I met someone who says she accepts pumpkin to be polite, then throws it away because it's too much trouble to peel and cook.
And then there are the zucchini/courgettes that have got enormous and woody because people plant too many plants then don't pick them while they're still nice to eat
AIBU?

Just drop it off at my house. I'll use it all. Rhubarb crumble, rhubarb fool, Rhubarb ice-cream. Lovely.

I don’t think any of these things are massively “hard to use”.

I think this thread shows how massively spoilt we’ve become - wanting everything prepared for us and ready to eat!

Imagine complaining that someone gives you food just because they haven’t done all the work and prepped it for you! Do you want them to chew it for you too?

Ok when you have a small baby, you need convenience foods. I get that. But usually people have some time to prepare their own food. And most households have more than one person who is able to do this - so if your MIL gives you a load of veg (as many have complained) it’s perfectly reasonable to see it as a gift for her son - for him to cook and prepare!

Instead of saying it was too much to take on the train you should have said it was more than you wanted or needed. Then she wouldn’t have turned up on your door step with it.

God I love rhubarb and it’s hardly ever in the supermarket. I would happily take this problem!

I stewed it and froze it before I posted in indignation.
Today I spoke to the sibling who gave it to me and he said he was traumatised by all the overcooked rhubarb we had to eat as children, which makes me wonder the hell he's growing it and giving it to me.

Thank you. This made me laugh a lot and my bad mood went away

Thank you. I feel validated!

Alas, I had to give up booze. A cocktail sounds a lot nicer than just eating it with ice-cream, though.

I grow a lot of rhubarb. Last year I had so much I dug 90% of it up and composted. I only finished eating the frozen rhubarb a week before this year's was ready.
I do love it though. Ready cooked with crumble makes a pudding in minutes. I made jam, some I cooked with the squillions of raspberries I grew.

Now strawberries are one Australian dollar a punnet at the market, so I'll try that

A foodbank or community kitchen will welcome any excess fruit or vegetables.

I hope you enjoy it, it's a fairly classic combination so you'll find a lot of recipies online. I find the rhubarb enhances the strawberry flavour, and vice versa. You're so lucky with those cheap strawberries! 😋

Er what? How is that possible?!

Well the OP is in Australia and its strawberry season..

I know she’s in Oz. But strawberries are never £1 a punnet in the UK in strawberry season hence my shock.

I did read the OP and they said they like rhubarb. I gave some suggestions that I love that they can do with it.
Chill

I'm not sure that any fruit or veg are hard to use! Some I just don't like, and I would just refuse them and say why. (Aubergines, broad beans, figs) anything else my DH will eat if I won't, so if I'm not going to eat it immediately I either prepare it and put it in the freezer (marrow... a.k.a. overgrown courgette... delicious!) or preserve it. I absolutely hate waste and would be very grateful indeed for any produce that anyone wants to pass on to me!

So if you have any spare rhubarb please do give it to me!

It is a very short-lived phenomenon. They're still cheap at the moment, but the $1 punnets were for a day or two at a market stall where they had a lot of them to get rid of

I like rhubarb but am the only person in the house who does. I'd say thanks but no thanks.

Rhubarb isn't hard to use! You don't even have to peel it! Just chop it up and cook it in a big pan with sugar and ginger. You can fit loads in a pan because it'll reduce a lot. Freeze it or eat it with yoghurt. Although eating too much rhubarb isn't good for you because of the oxalic acid!

Rhubard is delicious and very easy to cook.
Cut into chunks...lots of sugar or honey. Perhaps syrawberries and roast for 30 mins approx.