On Sunday, I drove out to a little farm in Topsham. Beside the burdock growing for the goats, were rows of luminescent pink rhubarb hidden under overgrowing green leaves. I came home with an armful of the tart fregetable. (vruit?)* but didn’t feel like making a pie or crumble. Instead, I brewed this Laura Calder recipe for a marvelous and refreshing pink drink. My only embellishment was making it fizzy, thanks to my awesome SodaStream. Serve it over crushed ice, with a strawberry garnish, and possibly, an artful splash of gin, for a summer-in-the-tropical-colonies-cocktail. I’m calling it The Kipling. Take my advice, and distill this delightful beverage before rhubarb season ends. It’s fleeting!

Rhubarb Water

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of rhubarb, cut into pieces
• 4 cups water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• juice of 1 lemon

Method

Pour boiling water over cut up rhubarb, cover with plastic and leave to steep on the kichten counter overnight. The next day, strain and discard rhubarb. Boil the liquid with sugar and lemon juice for five minutes. Chill and enjoy in the sunshine.

*”Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable however, in the United States, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties.”