Vanilla-Poached Rhubarb

I wanted to do something with my rhubarb that wasn't a pie. I know, I know. You can never have enough rhubarb pie! But I can only serve pie for breakfast - with a clean conscience - on rare occasions. So, I decided to poach them and serve them over steel-cut oats. Delicious!

Ingredients

2-3 pounds fresh rhubarb
2 C sugar
3 C water
2 vanilla pods

Procedure
Trim both ends of the rhubarb stalks. Cut the stalks into 3/4"-1" pieces.

Put the sugar and water in a large flat, bottom pan. Split the vanilla pods lengthwise with a sharp knife and scrape the caviar from the inside of the pod with the dull side of the blade. Add the caviar and the pod to the pan. Bring it all to a simmer, stirring regularly as the sugar dissolves.

Add the rhubarb to the simmering syrup and allow the mixture to return to simmering point. Once the syrup simmers, cook for just 1-2 minutes, until the rhubarb pieces are soft but still holding their shape. Test the rhubarb with the tip of the knife.

Remove the rhubarb with a slotted spoon, leaving the syrup in the pan. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Save the syrup...it makes a fabulous, pink simple syrup for cocktails or whatever you can imagine!

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