Strawberry Lavender Rhubarb Sauce – All Over My Body

Wait, I  mean, all over my ice cream.  It’s scary how much I like good food.  But doesn’t everybody mix those sorts of things up? 

My husband often picks on me for the odd things that make a home in my purse.  I get it.  There’s usually something herbal, something ginger, a water bottle, a long lost apple, more snacks and some lip gloss to name a few things.  To add to the mix this week, some beautiful stalks of pink rosey, in-season rhubarb.

Wallet. Check. 

Keys. Check.

Rhubarb. Check.

My naturopathic doctor ever so kindly hooked me up with some rhubarb from her garden today.  Freshly cut right out of the ground and into my purse it went as I headed home from my appointment.  I am obsessed with gifts from the garden, handfuls of raw food not neatly packaged; sweet smelling and still delightfully dirty from just being uprooted. 

I used to have a darling little garden plot at my work’s community garden and grew loads of basil and tomatoes.  On the way home from work in the summer, my passenger car seat would be filled with fresh picked basil and romas.  I grinned the whole way home. 

Rhubarb is quite mesmerizing.  When it boldly shoots out of the ground with its proud stalk and one awkward, elephant ear-like leaf, it's a proclamation that spring has arrived.  This firm, pale green, hearty stalk is usually blushing with a delicate pink or cherry red (depending on the variety); it shimmers beautifully in the sun with sort of an iridescent, angelic glow about it.   

Rhubarb has been used medicinally and in culinary concoctions for thousands of years, especially in Chinese medicine.  It's known for balancing digestion and for getting the bowels 'amoving; it's cooling and detoxifying to the liver.  Rhubarb is also rich in vitamin C and potassium.


It makes good sense that it arrives in the spring just in time to offer us a spring cleaning and vibrant transition out of the slump of the winter months. 


Also, rhubarb is most fascinating in that, it’s technically a vegetable --- from the buckwheat family.  I’m getting in vegetables by eating dessert?  SOLD.  It's tart and astringent which is why you often see it paired with something sweet like strawberries. 

I got excited thinking about the myriad of things one could create with rhubarb, but hey, why fix what ain't broke?  The lavender buds add a subtle flare but really this sauce is simple and honors the intrinsic deliciousness of the rhubarb and strawberries.

This simple and tasty recipe for Strawberry Lavender Rhubarb Sauce is below --- enjoy!

Is rhubarb intimidating to cook with?  
What's your favorite way to prepare rhubarb?

Strawberry Lavender Rhubarb Sauce

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The tart and sweet combination of strawberries, rhubarb, lavender and vanilla is irresistible and a fabulous complement atop warm pancakes, yogurt or a creamy vanilla bean ice cream.  Rhubarb is only available in the spring when it’s in season, so be sure to take advantage of this tasty, medicinal and culinary plant when it graces us with its presence in May.

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Preparation time: 25 minutes

Yields 2 cups

1/2 cup sucanat

1 tablespoon dried lavender buds

1/3 cup water

3 cups fresh rhubarb, cleaned and thinly sliced

½ pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend the sugar and lavender together in a spice grinder until finely ground.  In a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat, combine the lavender sugar and water.  Stir to dissolve sugar.  Add rhubarb and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender.  Add the strawberries and lemon juice.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.  Stir in vanilla and puree using an immersion blender or allow to cool for a few minutes and puree in a food processor. 

Copyright 2011, S. Nester, Original recipe


Note: Because of the oxalic acid content in rhubarb, if you have issues with calcium absorption or are prone to kidney stones, rhubarb should be avoided.