Rhubarb!

When I was young, my first job was as a waitress. The owner of the restaurant had hired a woman for Thursdays just to make pies for the week. That's the first time I ever had rhubarb custard pie. Even since then it's been my favorite. (With pecan pie a strong second.)

This is the season for rhubarb. I bought some from our local farmer's market and made a simple rhubarb sauce. I washed the stalks, cut them into small chunks, put them into a pot with some water. Then I stirred and simmered it all until it was of a sauce-like consistency. I added sugar to sweeten it to taste.

 
Today, rather than make a whole pie, I decided to make vanilla pudding and top it with the rhubarb sauce. I found a simple recipe for the pudding online with milk, cornstarch, sugar, salt, vanilla, and butter as the ingredients. It came together in about five minutes. (I actually used almond milk.)

 

It's not pie, but it is a wonderful easy dessert, especially good with a dollop of whipped cream. The sweetness of the pudding is nice combination with the slight tartness of the rhubarb.

Raw rhubard is easy to freeze. I need to get back to the farmer's market to buy more. Next time, it will be rhubarb custard pie! Or maybe Rhubarb Pudding Cake.