I am sure she would have given it to us, but I have vivid summer memories of sneaking into my best friend’s aunt’s garden and coming out with stalks of her rhubarb, of which she had tons, to dip into sugar and eat by the side of the road. Oh my! I don’t know what she did with all of it, but we had some almost every day.

Although, I only have three major plants to pick from, nowadays, I grow my own and it is huge! Here is a picture of this year’s main plant. I love it and use as much as I can before the season is over. Yum!

I like my compote a bit chunky and not too sweet, so my cooking time is short. That is a personal choice, so please use my recipe as a guideline and cook your compote to the consistency that is best for you, adding the amount of sugar that suits your taste. The chia seeds act as a thickener, so let it stand while you make the oat topping. As for the oat topping, I like it with a little heat and so I always add the cayenne pepper. Also a personal choice, so please eliminate it if you don’t like sweet and spicy mixed. Otherwise, it is pretty straight forward and I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped rhubarb (1″ pieces), leaf removed
• 2 cups strawberries, quartered
• 2 T sugar or honey
• 1/2 fresh lemon juice + zest
• 1 cup water
• 2 T raw sunflower seeds
• 2 T raw chia seeds
• Dash cinnamon

Instructions

• Combine strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice, water, sugar in a pan on medium heat
• Stir frequently to become evenly heated
• Add the sunflower seeds when the water begins to boil
• When rhubarb begins to get soft, remove from heat; cool 5 minutes
• Add cinnamon and chia seeds and stir thoroughly to combine
• Pour into oven safe dish
• While it cools, make the oat topping as follows:
  Melt 1T butter or coconut oil, add in 1 cup oats and add to taste: cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, tumeric
  Stir to combine and distribute over the warm compote.
  Put into oven at 350 degrees for five minutes or until toasted on top.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or let it cool and enjoy anytime!
I enjoy it for breakfast or dessert.