Rhubarb Rosemary Spritzer

I first came across this recipe Spring 2008 on another food blog: Simply Recipes. Rhubarb season was just about over and it took trips to 4 grocery stores and I was about to give up before I finally found rhubarb; little did I know this recipe would be worth a dozen trips! After I had my first taste I was on the hunt for more rhubarb and stocked up. I froze about 5 pounds of rhubarb before I was satisfied: enough for a few months at least! Well, Spring is here again and so is glorious rhubarb! YEA! Ryan and I had family over earlier this week and they loved this drink too. It is refreshing, new, and delicious. So, go find some rhubarb (look for a red color, no so much green) and make this drink. It's unlikely you will want a glass of anything else this year. Enjoy!

Rhubarb Rosemary Spritzer

1 pound of rhubarb, cut into 1 inch chunks

2-3 springs of rosemary (leaves only)

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

Juice of 2 lemons

Club Soda

In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring rhubarb, rosemary, water, and sugar to a simmer. Simmer until rhubarb has fallen apart: about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the solids. You may want to start with a large pore strainer and repeat with a finer strainer. Press the solids against the strainer with the back of a spoon to squeeze out the liquid. Discard the solids. Add the lemon juice to the liquid and refrigerate. To serve, combine 1 part of the rhubarb rosemary liquid and 1 part club soda.

Quick Tip: To pull the rosemary leaves away from the stalk easily, hold the top of the sprig in one hand and run the fingers of your other hand down the stalk (the opposite direction as the leaves).

Cindy and Fernanda enjoyed a Rosemary Rhubarb Spritzer after a long day touring Chicago.