Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubarb!!!

It's Rhubarb season don't you know. Have you had any yet? It's the most delicious fruit, so early in the season. Rich in magnesium, calcium, potassium and vitamin K it's wonderful for bone health, gut health and stress. It's also a great source of fiber, so doesn't send your blood sugar levels soaring. Yum

I bought some in my local Super Valu last week, then received a beautiful bunch in my Home Organics delivery, followed by another bunch from Super Valu, purchased by the fabulous Mountain Man. So...a glut of rhubarb. I love crumble and tart, but I wanted to avoid lots of pastry and sugar. So, I decided to bake it. Yes, bake...not stew. A rather lovely guesthouse in Wexford called McMenamins served it as part of their breakfast buffet to me some time ago and since then I have wanted to reproduce it. So...here you go. It's incredible with fruit and granola in the morning, or with porridge, or just eaten warm with some ice-cream as dessert.

Baked Spiced Rhubarb
You will need:
4 sticks of rhubarb, cleaned and chopped into 4cm pieces
Zest & Juice of 1 orange
1 Star Anise
1/2 tsp nutmeg (fresh if possible)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (not essence)
1 dsp Rapadura sugar (or Xylitol if you prefer, Rapadura is one of the least processed sugars)

• Turn on the oven to 190C
• Put everything except the rhubarb in a saucepan and gently heat for 5 minutes. If it comes to the boil, just reduce the heat and simmer gently.
• Put the rhubarb into an oven proof dish, approx 25 x 25cm
• Pour over the spicy orange juice mix, making sure the rhubarb is well coated.
• Put the dish in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes.
• Check it every 10 minutes or so and give it a stir.
• Remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly and enjoy any way you fancy.