I just want it all. I want sweet, savory, fatty and crunchy. Weekend breakfasts are the perfect way to get this all at once. I think that’s the main reason I love Saturday and Sunday mornings: opportunities for waffles.
This past weekend it was muffins and jam. I awoke Saturday morning and exclaimed: Rhubarb! Somehow I can. not. get. enough.
One might call this triple R jam! It can be made in a small batch and stored in the fridge. I made this to go on my favorite millet muffins that Heidi Swanson has in her book Super Natural Everyday. I made it while making bacon and hashbrowns for one of our weekend morning breakfast feasts.
This recipe could be improvised a hundred ways. I started with what I had, which is most likely why I love it so much.
I reached deep into our freezer and pulled out some rhubarb from last year (!) and some frozen raspberries. I had to find a way to wake them up from their long nap. BAM. Balsamic vinegar. Roasting the fruit and adding a little acid is a great way to add flavor to anything.
Add a little of whatever juice you have in the fridge (not citrus, but apple, cranberry, blueberry, pomegranate…) and some spices and you are good to go! Get your weekend breakfast on.
- 1 cup rhubarb, fresh or frozen, cut into 1/2” chuncks
- 1 10 or 12 oz bag frozen raspberries or 1 pint fresh berries
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup blueberry or apple juice
- Cranberry, pomegranate or grape would also work well)
- 1/4-1/3 cup sugar, honey or agave syrup
- 1/3 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/4 teaspoon vanillla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
- Preheat the oven to 400. Spread the cut up rhubarb on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle the balsamic vinegar over the top. Roast for 15 minutes. It will get very soft. Then sprinkle the raspberries on the same sheet and return to the oven to roast for another 5-10 minutes.
- When the berries and rhubarb come out of the oven, they will be very soft, and the pan will have some bits sticking to it. Deglaze the baking sheet by pouring 1/4 – 1/2 cup of juice directly on it, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the pan. Pour everything off into a small sauce pan and add the sugar or agave, the rest of the juice, and the the spices.
- Let it come to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until it is thick. Taste and season with a sprinkle of salt if desired.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
- *Pumpkin Pie spice is a blend of spices that are commonly used in pumpkin and other similar baked goods. My favorite is the one from Trader Joe’s, which has a blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom. You can use any pumpkin pie spice blend, it will not taste like pumpkin pie. Alternatively you can add in a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom or any other similar spices you have on hand.