B2 PALO VERDE VALLeY TIMES, Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Crop of the Week: photospin.com

Rhubarb
By Cathyleen Rice
Times Reporter
Now that the frost is
gone and the sun has de-
cided to present its head
in a very overheated way,
February is the month to
plant rhubarb.
One of the many rea-
sons rhubarb grows well
in Southern California,
is the simple fact that the
plant loves sunlight. The
green leaf and red rooted
vegetable, a common herb
found in Chinese medi-
cine, is also a favorite
household item found in
most Southern homes in
the U.S.
Known for unclogging
the digestive system or
eaten as a pick-me-up
snack since its packed
with a lot of vitamins,
many elders from the
south first reach for an up-
set stomach is rhubarb.
One of the many rea-
sons people keep a stalk of
rhubarb in their homes is
for the organic compound
found in the root of the
plant, which is good for
daily dietary fiber and
complex vitamins.
When added to the din-
ner menu, one can find
rhubarb baked into pies,
custards, tarts or rubbed
over pork or chicken, in
which many have said
from the AllRecipes blog
that the vegetables goes
well with just about any-
thing.
According to Food Facts
by Mercola, rhubarb,
provides 45 percent of the spinach for the highest
daily value in vitamin K,
which supports healthy
bone growth and can limit
neuronal damage in the
brain, even to the point of
Alzheimers prevention. AllRecipes for this spring-
It contains infection-
fighter vitamin C, the
second most prominent
vitamin, along with vita-
min A, another powerful
natural antioxidant for
good skin and mucous
membranes, good vision,
and possible protection
against lung and mouth
cancers (the red stalks
provide more than the
green ones), with healthy
additions of folate, ribo-
flavin, niacin, B-vitamins,
and pantothenic acid.
Good mineral sources
include 32% of the daily
value in manganese per
serving, along with iron,
potassium, and phospho-
rus.
While many believe
milk is the best calcium
source, one cup of cooked
rhubarb contains just as
much, and its actually
much better for you. In
fact, rhubarb is on the
short list with salmon and
amounts of calcium it pro-
vides.
To enjoy a fresh serv-
ing of rhubarb this week,
follow this recipe from
time salsa dip.
Rhubarb Salsa
Ingredients:
2 cups rhubarb, diced small
1 cup chopped apple
3 green onions, chopped
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons honey
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and
chopped
Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil over
medium heat, and stir in the rhubarb;
simmer for 2 minutes to blanch.
2. Drain in a colander set in the sink,
and let cool.
3. Stir together the cooled rhubarb,
apple, green onions, lime juice, honey,
and jalapeno pepper until thoroughly
combined.
4. Serve with Tostitos chips or
favorite corn tortilla chips.
Lady Jackets
swat Hornets,
fall to Spartans
By Randy Peterson
Palo Verde Valley Times
The Palo Verde High
School Lady Yellow
Jacket basketball team
split their final two
games of the regular sea-
son as they picked up
their second win in Des-
ert League competition
with a 44-29 thumping of
Calipatria before drop-
ping a 40-36 contest to again and reaped the
Central in their Imperial
Valley League cross over
game with the Spartans.
The Jackets broke a 7-7 the intermission.
tie late in the opening pe-
riod and never trailed as way as she scored 11 of
they used an 18-4 run in
the second period to roll
to a 27-11 halftime lead in
their win over the Lady
Hornet.
Ty Daniels scored ten
points in that second-pe-
riod run for the locals on
her way to a game-high
19 points. The senior
center also assisted on
four other baskets in the
opening half then helped
the Jackets cruise to the
15 point victory with
eight more counters af-
ter the break.
Alyssa Gonzalez
knocked down a pair of
treys in the first half and
Jessica Atkinson did all
her scoring in the open-
ing two quarters as both
finished he game with
eight points.
The rest of the scor-
ing saw Olivia Dagnino
score four points and
Marceline Porter con-
necting on a three-point-
er while Emilia Noriega
completed the Jacket
scoring with two points.
Against Central, the
Jackets started fast
benefits of an 11-4 edge
after the first quarter
and still led by three at
Daniels again led the
her game high 15 points
in the opening two quar-
ters.
The Spartans used a
9-4 scoring edge in the
third period to take the
lead for good on their
way to a 40-36 triumph.
After trailing by eight
in the final quarter the
Jackets rallied to get to
within two late in the
contest before falling by
four.
The rest of the Palo
Verde scoring had Gon-
zalez with eight points,
Porter scored five, Jas-
mine Atkinson was good
for four, and Jessica At-
kinson and Jaqueline
Martinez each tallied
two points.
The Lady Jackets
were seeded 9th in the
Division 4 bracket of
the CIF/SDS playoffs
and traveled to Carlsbad
where they took on Sage
Creek in the Divisions
first round.
Final Desert League
Standings: Imperial,
6-0; Calipatria, 3-3: Palo
Verde, 2-4; Holtville, 1-5.

Church Briefs
Feb. 26
Black History program
Greater White Rose Church of God In Christ, 212 S.
2nd St., will have its Black History Program on Sun-
day, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. Presentations of the winners and
participants of the essay contest will be announced.
Bluegrass band fellowship
First Southern Baptist Church, 350 N. Palm Drive,
will have its annual Bluegrass Band Fellowship on
Sunday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.