Rhubarb is back-as a sauce with black mustard seed and allspice

So you think Rhubarb is just for dessert and requires 1 cup of sugar to taste good? Hold on! Not always. This rhubarb sauce is great basted on chicken thighs, salmon, pork or tofu as a glaze with mustard seed, coconut sugar and a pinch of allspice.

In my post in May 8, 2016  Rhubarb Revisited, (check it out!), I wrote that the rhubarb has leaves which contain oxalic acid and are toxic to humans. Discard the leaves.  You may fear eating the stalks of a plant that has poisonous leaves but I eat rhubarb every spring and I am still standing! It is called the pie plant and for good reason. It makes a great pie filling recipe with other fruit. For more on the history of health benefits check out a website on rhubarb.   The positives: Good source of Vitamin C, Niacin, B1, Folate and is low in carbohydrate, no fat and if you sweetened with small amounts of sweetener and add strawberries or cherries, the sourness is lessened. So here is my sauce, a keeper, for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

RHUBARB SAUCE                                                                         

5 -6 stalks of rhubarb with leaves cut off                                         

4-5  tablespoons of coconut sugar or  brown sugar                   

3 tablespoons of honey                                                                    

a generous pinch of allspice                                                            

salt and pepper  to taste                                                                  

2 tablespoon of red wine or balsamic vinegar                             

1 tablespoon of black mustard seeds 

1/4 cup of water

1 teaspoon oil

Spicy Baked Chicken Thighs

6 skinless boned thighs

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

a 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1//4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon powdered garlic or 3 cloves of garlic mashed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix chicken spices (and the fresh garlic mashed if preferred) together in a bowl and coat the thighs. Place chicken on a greased cookie sheet and set aside. In a saucepan, roast the mustard seeds with oil over medium heat until you hear them pop. Take off heat and set aside. Cut up the rhubarb into 2 inch pieces and add the rest of the ingredients into a saucepan with the  roasted mustard seed and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Bake up boned and skinned chicken thighs  30 minutes until golden and the meat is white without any pink. Baste the thighs with the rhubarb sauce and bake for another 10 minutes.  Serves 6