Quick and Easy Recipe: Rhubarb Topping

I LOVE rhubarb!  My grandmother makes the most amazing rhubarb pie and I think I could eat it every day which is interesting because when cooked down it resembles green snot.  Appetizing, I know, but I wanted to give you fair warning so that its appearance won't deter you from trying this delectable fruit... or vegetable depending on where at in the world you are.  In the United States rhubarb is considered a fruit, but in other countries is often considered a vegetable (just a bit of rhubarb trivia!) :)

Anyway, I'm always trying to think of new ways to eat rhubarb so today I am going to show you how to make a rhubarb topping.  The topping is pretty versatile and really could be considered a type of compote.  I have eaten it on waffles, ice cream, by itself and even on toast.  Mmmm!

This is rhubarb.  It looks like celery, right?  If you take a bite of it raw you will find that it is very sour and its pretty tough.

To make the topping you are going to cut it up similar to how you would clean and cut celery.  When you buy it in the store you will find that some rhubarb is very red and some only has a little bit of red.  I'm not an expert, but I typically go for pieces that have more red on them because one time I read that the red pieces are a little more sweet, but I'm not sure if this is true.

Next, throw them in a saucepan and add 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar.  I used about five medium stalks of rhubarb and 3/4 cup of sugar was plenty for me.  Cook it over medium low heat.  Stir occasionally.

If you are feeling really fancy you can cut up some strawberries to throw in the mix!

Don't be alarmed when the rhubarb starts to break down and look slimy/stringy.

While the rhubarb is cooking... it will take about 15 minutes or so... you can prepare what you will be eating with your rhubarb.  We ate ours over waffles last Sunday and it was AMAZING!  I was feeling lazy so I used a mix.  This one is pretty good.

You know the rhubarb is done when it looks like this.  Mmmmm!!!  Delicious!

It will taste tart even with the sugar and is perfect over a savory waffle.

Sometimes the simple things are the best things!