Whiteley Creek Homestead

My friend Deb, from across town, called me this morning while she puttered in her garden. She was pulling some rhubarb stalks, so I told her I had a tasty recipe for sauce that has a few flavors going on that you don't find in typical recipes for rhubarb sauce… so yummy. The recipe calls for strawberries to partner with the rhubarb, but I only had raspberries on hand when I snapped this photo. I feared that the seeds in the raspberries would overpower the texture, but there was absolutely no annoying crunchiness. It was smooth as can be. I have since made this recipe many times using both fresh and frozen strawberries.

Rhubarb Strawberry Sauce from www.fatfree.com (The site is actually an archive of vegetarian and vegan recipes. Dick and I aren't vegetarians, but we limit out meat intake to two or three meals a week, so I am frequently searching for recipes to try that are an alternate source of protein. I just happened to stumble upon it during my meat-free recipe hunt.) 
10 large stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths
4 cups hulled, halved strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice (If I don't have an orange on hand, I use reconstituted frozen o.j. or 100% o.j. from a box… the kind that is pure o.j. not part water.) 
finely grated zest of 1 orange (I skip this if I don't happen to have an orange.)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) I didn't put it in.
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise ( I substituted 1 tsp pure vanilla… not imitation… or 1/2 tsp if cutting the recipe in half. I added it at the very end after it was finished simmering. It adds such a wonderful flavor.
Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan.  Stir well and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring once and skimming off any foam that forms on top, until the rhubarb is just tender, 10-12 minutes.  (I don't bother to skim off the foam. I just get it simmering and forget it.) Remove the vanilla bean and let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate.  It will keep for 2 days. (When I make this recipe I cut the quantities in half and it makes approximately 3 cups when I use a 10 oz. pkg of frozen organic strawberries.) It is so good served in a little fruit dish with a muffin or on top of pancakes or waffles in place of syrup.