My grandmother's sister ... my great aunt ... came down to visit us from New Hampshire recently.  She still lives in the little teeny town they grew up in called Berlin.  And it seems everyone  there is teeny tiny too as my grandmother and great aunts are all under 5 feet tall. (Is this beginning to sound like Whoo-ville?) I'm glad that gene skipped me ... even if it was by just a few inches!   Berlin is close enough to Canada that they all speak a very slang version of French.  My grandmother spoke more French than English when I was born which is how I ended up as a "Rachelle" instead of "Rachel"  and she swears up and down that I used to speak French fluently ... when I was 3 years old. Well, a 3 year old's French vocabulary is about what I still have today. With a few added essentials, of course,  such as "fromage" and "vin" and "Bordeaux."

Having these two ladies in town was a hoot, and a little like Driving Miss Daisey.  I loved spending time with them and hearing about their stories of "the good ole days" which, ironically, were partially during the Great Depression.  The most fun they had was sneaking out on a Friday night to attend a USO dance and my grandmother's most prized possession were a pair of roller skates that her sister and brother-in-law gave her as a gift.  Life was simple and much slower back then and everything they ate was grown in their yard and cooked from scratch.  As wonderful as "garden to table" dinner sounds, I realize that there is a lot we take for granted.  Big super grocery stores packed with every possible ingredient imaginable and having recipe books with full color photos or my laptop on my kitchen counter with access to food photos and recipes from around the world.  I realized this when Ma Tante Yvonne gave me her recipe for Rhubarb Jelly handwritten on a 3x5 index card.  I think I'll frame it.

Rhubarb looks sort of like big red celery to me.  Except, tart and sweet.  It grew in their backyard in New Hampshire like a weed.  Ma Tante Yvonne was telling us over tea how  ticked she was that "Mon Oncle" Willy had just cleared out all the rhubarb in his backyard.  It was the house they all grew up in, so I think she felt like he just wrecked her old garden.

A French woman is not one you want to tick off.

And so, she gave me her simple recipe for rhubarb jelly so that I'd post it to the world.

When I was looking at the index card, I had to scratch my head and wonder if  two of these ingredients were available during the depression?  Jello and canned pineapple?   I guess when you're in your 80's, the 1920's through the 1940's all seem like they were yesterday.  Pre-jello and post-jello.  So I Googled it and learned ...  Jell-O is older than dirt.  I stand/sit corrected.  It's been around since the 1800's and became "Jell-O" in 1902.

Well okay then!  Let's make some depression-era Rhubarb Jelly!

First ... the rhubarb.

I couldn't find it fresh where I live, so we bought a bag of frozen rhubarb.  Because it is frozen, it's going to be holding a lot of unnecessary water.  So, we thawed it out on some paper towels.

My grandmother's hands have made this jam for 70 years now.  Wow.

So here are the basic ingredients you'll need ... rhubarb, pineapple, sugar and jello.

You can't really taste the pineapple after it's cooked in with everything else, so I imagine they added this for the acidity.

Throw everything (except for the jello) into a large pot on low to medium heat and let it cook slowly, for about 1/2 hour.

Stir periodically while it's cooking.

This is my grandmother ... she's concentrating ...

After about 10 minutes, it will look like this ...

Then add one packet of jello, stir, and let it sit for another 5 minutes.

Add to a mason jar or other storage container and pop it in the refrigerator so the jello can do it's trick.

And there you have it.  Rhubarb jelly.  I love it on English muffins or toast.  Mmm.

Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients

4 cups or 2 lbs of rhubarb (cut in small pieces)

1 8oz can crushed pineapple

3 cups of sugar

1 small 4 oz package of strawberry jello

Directions

1) Cook at moderately low heat until reaching boiling point. Stir while it is cooking (20 minutes or more)

2) Add small 4 oz package of jello.

3) Mix well, jar and then refrigerate.

4) One batch makes 4 small jars or 2 large jars.

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