Rhubarb looks like it might be the only “fruit” (ie sweet non-vegetable) that will end up in our CSA this year. Living in Calgary doesn’t really offer much else, other than berries, apples and the like. Yet, even though there are limits to what you can do with rhubarb, you won’t find me complaining.
Some like to turn rhubarb into pie, jam or a compote for dessert. However, I found this recipe over at a friend’s blog. It looked so good that I thought it would be easy to modify it for my own purposes into a local, seasonal treat. I highly encourage making them, as they are delicious!
Make sure you have some simple popsicle molds (the only place we could find them was at the dollar store). Alternatively, you could probably use small plastic cups with a popsicle stick poked through a piece of aluminum foil for stability. Or icecube trays with toothpicks.
Ingredients:
2 cups rhubarb, frozen or fresh, sliced into small pieces
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup milk (I use nothing but old-fashioned whole)
2 tablespoons honey or alternative (adjust to taste)
Turn on a burner on the stove to medium. Place the sliced rhubarb into a medium saucepan. Eventually, the rhubarb should steam, then release its juice and start to bubble. Cook it over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until the rhubarb has come apart into strands. Make sure you stir the mixture occasionally. Don’t worry–it won’t burn as long as the heat is low or medium low. Half way through, add the honey or alternative, stirring so it mixes well together. Adding honey to a warm combination makes it much easier to mix than when the mixure is cooled by the yogurt/milk. Taste your mixture, as rhubarb is very tart and requires a proper amount of sweetening. The rhubarb should look like a stewy soup–not too liquid, but not too solid.
Second, place the cup of milk and cup of yogurt in a large mixing bowl. Add your rhubarb directly to the mix. Mix it with a large spoon until it looks like everything is integrated and consistent. Now, pour the mix into each cup in the container. I found the easiest way to pour the mix was by putting it into a spouted measuring cup
right into the slots. Make sure you fill the slots right to the brim, otherwise you’ll have pops with air between the ice and the popsicle “stick.” Place the finished product in the freezer overnight and leave on the counter for 5-7 minutes so they easily slide out.
I found that the recipe makes more mix than you need to fill a whole container of popsicles so I just tossed the leftovers in jars and placed them in the fridge for later. Since we eat them pretty fast, the leftovers don’t have the time to go bad. The best part of this recipe is that you can replace the rhubarb with any stewed fruit and it comes out the same–you just have to modify the added sugar.
