Rhubarb grows like a weed in my garden — but I’m not a fan of this sour stem — until now!

This recipe is safe for someone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

One of the wonders of eating local foods is looking forward to those seasonal foods that come just once a year. In the last few weeks, I have been enjoying asparagus. I only eat asparagus in the spring when it is in season. I look forward to local asparagus every year and eat my fill. Of course, loaded with butter, sea salt and garlic!

Rhubarb is another story altogether. Rhubarb grows like a weed in my garden. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of this earlier seasonal food. The biggest thing I dislike about rhubarb is the tradition of loading this stem with sugar to make it edible. Since sugar doesn’t even come into my household, that’s not an option. As I contemplated the bounty of rhubarb on my kitchen counter, the answer came to me. My sweetest dried fruit in storage is raisins.

This is the recipe I came up with. My girls liked it so much they asked me to make more the next day. This “dessert” can also be eaten as a healthy “breakfast”. It is good with raw cream or raw whipping cream.

It’s great to be able to eat fresh foods from the garden while using storage foods from my pantry.

Rhubarb Filling
6-8c garden rhubarb stems, sliced on the diagonal
1/4c organic butter
1-2 large pinches sea salt
1c organic raisins

Topping
1c organic walnuts
1c organic sunflower seeds
1/4c organic butter, cut into small cubes
1/2tsp sea salt
1tsp organic cinnamon, ground
1/2tsp organic allspice. ground

Melt the butter and sea salt in a stainless steel pot. Add the sliced rhubarb and cover. Cook at a very low temperature and stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Water will start coming out of the rhubarb. When this happens add the raisins. Soften and cook the rhubarb and raisins for about 15-20 minutes, then remove from heat. The sweetness of the raisins will contrast the sour of the rhubarb nicely.

In a food processor, lightly grind the walnuts and sunflower seeds together. Add the sea salt, spices and butter and lightly grind until the butter is incorporated with the nuts and seeds. The consistency should be crumbly. Do not over grind.

Pour the rhubarb filling into a 12″x12″ glass baking tray and flatten. Add the topping over the filling and lightly flatten. Cook at 300?F for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. This dessert is good warm or cold. Add a big pad of butter, if eaten warm, or for breakfast.

Rhubarb Crumble is good warm or cold. If eaten warm add a big pad of butter. If eaten cold, try some raw cream or raw whipping cream.