Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Several vendors at the market are offering strawberries and rhubarb. Red Jacket's Apple Cider Molasses, a sweet and tangy reduction of apple cider (you can read about it in Baked Apples) sweetens my compote. You can used this extraordinary sweetener for applesauce, iced tea, as a glaze for baked apples or chicken; and it's going to take center stage as a pork/ham glaze in the fall. But as the song goes, "summer is a cumin' in" (and my rice paddy is looking fabulous!)

Local strawberries make a brief appearance. Don't miss them. Their taste is more like Valhrona than Russell Stover, the scent more like Annick Goutal than Jean Naté.

After you've had fun following the links, here's a recipe that's very simple and very good to have around. As always, ingredients you can find at the market (open every Wednesday from 10-6) are followed by an asterisk*.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Blue Heron Kitchen

Yield: approx. 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 Qt. strawberries*, hulled and cut in half

4-6 stems thin, firm stalks rhubarb*, cut into ½” pieces

juice of ½ a large, juicy lemon or of a small, less juicy lemon

¼ - ½ cup Apple Cider Molasses* (Red Jacket Orchards), or alternatively, granulated sugar

Procedure:

Place strawberries and rhubarb in a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive (whatever) saucepan, and turn heat to med/high.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the berries and rhubarb, and mix, continue heating until simmering and cook, stirring occasionally, adjusting heat so it doesn’t boil strongly.

After about 15 to 20 minutes, begin to add sweetener and taste, continue to cook until the rhubarb is fully cooked (some of it will retain its shape), tasting and adjusting the sugar again towards the ‘end’ of cooking. Cook for approximately 10 to 15 more minutes.

Remove from heat, cool, cover and refrigerate.

Serving suggestions:

Serve over vanilla ice cream or Greek style yogurt.

Perk up some applesauce with it.

Mix some into cottage or fresh ricotta cheese.

Put a dollop over a slice of cheesecake.

Mix with other berries and fruit and whir some into your favorite smoothie.