Easy rhubarb recipe for breakfast

When it comes to fruit, if you like eating local, late spring doesn't give you a lot of choices.

First picking is the best!

The apples in the supermarket have either been stored for many months or are from South America, and around here, the berries aren't ready to harvest. 

If you're willing to look further afield, citrus is out of season and tropical fruits have been shipped such long distances who knows if there's much nutrition left in them. 

Happily, that's where spring rhubarb comes in! While our strawberries--the perfect accompaniment--are still a creamy white, in early June rhubarb is happily producing. If you're watching your sugar intake (while I'm all for desserts, I don't want to eat too much refined sugar for breakfast), the bad news is, it takes a LOT of sweetening to make rhubarb palatable. 

Blueberries mellow the rhubarb

But good news: adding a few berries from the freezer can lighten rhubarb's uber tartness. And with a dollop of a "natural" sweetener, you can still keep the fruit modestly healthy. 

Here's a simple, yummy fruit idea:

5 Stalks of rhubarb, chopped into 1/2 pieces 

2 cups frozen blueberries or blackberries (we still had one sack of blueberries left in the deep freeze from last summer)

In a medium size saucepan, add an inch of water to the rhubarb and bring to a gentle boil. Turn down to low and simmer until the fruit is soft.

Stir in the frozen blueberries, bring to another simmer until they've thawed and melded into the rhubarb a little. 

Let cool a little, and add a generous dollop, maybe 3 tablespoons (or more, depending on your taste) of local honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve warm!