Rhubarb Bread

Tis the season for one of the yummiest........ ??? things ???.......... (is rhubarb considered a fruit or a vegetable? We are split 50/50 in my house as to what it is) in the world. Rhubarb. I can't harvest mine until next year since it was planted last Spring, but my mom was kind enough to share the rhubarb she inherited with me! I can hardly wait until mine is ready; my kids can have the same memories I have of eating stalks of rhubarb straight from the garden.... dipping the end in a bowlful of white sugar and sucking off the sweetness before biting into the tart stalk (it must be a vegetable.... if it were a fruit, it wouldn't need sugar, now would it?)!

I made this bread today- I didn't have any nuts on hand, but it was delicious despite that fact! Also, 40 minutes wasn't nearly long enough for baking. Mine took closer to a full hour, but I checked it every few minutes starting at 40 minutes.

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.