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When I think of rhubarb season, the same scene always comes to mind: I’m nine or ten years old walking barefoot through the dewy grass with my mom out to her rhubarb patch early on a Saturday morning. She lifts back the giant leaves and cuts the perfect stems – not too green, not too pink, not too long, not too short. Each stalk is then stacked across my outstretched arms like tiny cordwood.

Then we truck back to the kitchen and mix together breakfast from my mom’s scribbled book of rhubarb desserts, which is at least fifty pages long. They’re all some variation of rhubarb crisp, crunch, or bread and they all have basically the same ingredients: oatmeal, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and flour, together in one 9 x 13” glass baking pan with some sliced rhubarb in between.

The pan of warm dessert comes out of the oven just in time for my dad’s 9:30 a.m. break from whatever chores he is doing around the house, and we catch a quick plate of warm rhubarb something-or-other together before parting ways again. My sister and I are headed outside for a morning of digging in the sandbox or testing who can climb higher in the apple tree out front. My dad is in and out of the garden, the garage, or the greenhouse depending on where the “to-do” list is the longest.

All day long we wander in and out of the kitchen, taking a look at the rhubarb dessert and deciding we have room for just one more piece. My sister and I take some outside for a tea party. My mom cuts just one slice more. “You have to even out the row” is my dad’s excuse. If grandparents, cousins, or neighbors come by, they too peek over the edge of the pan and decide it must be too good to miss. The end of Saturday comes and one tiny piece is left standing in the corner of the pan, no one gutsy enough to eat the last bite.

Then it is Sunday morning, and my mom and I are out in the rhubarb patch again, dew on our toes.

Now that I am an adult, my house rarely smells like fresh rhubarb and cinnamon bubbling away in the oven. With only two of us nibbling away, a pan takes closer to a week to finish off. I still make one or two rhubarb crisps every season, and still look forward to spending weekends with my parents to witness the whole weekend rhubarb scene again. And now that there are spouses and grandkids in our family, the pan of rhubarb something-or-other only makes it until mid-afternoon.

Instead, I’ve been finding new ways to enjoy rhubarb season. Rhubarb crisp is great, but how about glazed rhubarb pork tenderloin? Or rhubarb margaritas? Both of these have made my grown-up rhubarb seasons a little brighter. I’m also sharing three recipes today for one of my favorite DIY projects: Make your own rhubarb condiments.

These easy recipes for ketchup, mustard sauce, and marinara dipping sauce are perfect for the start of summer grilling season. The slow-cooked rhubarb adds a unique tangy salty-sweetness to each of the sauces.; there’s nothing better with hot dogs, sausages, and vegetables fresh off the grill. Plus, your friends will think you spent hours in the kitchen making your own gourmet condiments, when each of these recipes can be made in under an hour start to finish. If you’re equipped for home canning, the ketchup and mustard sauce can be processed and set on the pantry shelf for those last-of-summer BBQs, too.

The more I think about it, my grown-up experience of rhubarb season may not be that different from my younger days. Instead of grabbing armfuls of rhubarb at our garden’s rhubarb patch on Saturday morning, I head to the St. Paul Farmers’ Market and bring home as much as I can carry from there. My friends and family don’t nibble down a rhubarb crisp on the counter, but they do come back for “just one more spoonful” of my homemade ketchup. DIY then or now is all about getting to relish a few minutes of “Cool, I just made that all by myself,” and then sharing it with the people I care about.

Whether you have a stack of go-to rhubarb recipes or are just getting started this season, be sure to try out these DIY condiments at your next BBQ:

Rhubarb Ketchup

Rhubarb Ketchup

Recipe from Minnesota Locavore, adapted from Edible Twin Cities, 2011

Makes 3 ½ pints

Ingredients

• 4 cups diced fresh rhubarb
• 3 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 – 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes with juice (use low sodium if available)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon pickling spice
• 8” square of cheesecloth
• a large stock pot
• immersion/stick blender or blender
• canning jars or tightly sealed containers
• canning equipment (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients except the pickling spice in a large stock pot.
2. Pour pickling spice into the center of the cheesecloth. Bring together the corners and tie tightly shut into a satchel. Drop into the pot and allow to simmer with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Bring the ingredients to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to ensure the sugars are well-dissolved. Simmer, uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until rhubarb is soft and smashes when pressed against the pot with the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Remove the pickling spice satchel. (Don’t forget this step or you’ll have a mess in the blender!!)
5. Using a stick blender (this works the best when dealing with hot liquid), pulse 30-45 seconds to break apart the rhubarb and thicken the sauce. If you’d like thicker ketchup, continue simmering on low heat. Ketchup will thicken the longer you cook it. 
6. If processing in a boiling water canning bath, immediately transfer to hot jars. Process for 15 minutes, following food-safe canning practice. If using fresh, cool and refrigerate in tightly sealed containers for up to 2 weeks.

Rhubarb Mustard

Spicy Rhubarb Mustard Sauce

Adapted from TLC Cooking 

Makes 2 1/2 pints

Ingredients

• ¾  cup yellow mustard seeds
• ½ cup brown mustard seeds
• ¼ cup fenugreek seeds
• 3 cups rhubarb, diced
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 2 cups white vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• blender
• medium sauce pot
• canning jars or tightly sealed containers
• canning equipment (optional)

Instructions

1. Put the mustard and fenugreek seeds in a blender. Pulse 5-10 seconds or until seeds are ground to a fine powder. Combine with rhubarb, sugar, water, vinegar and salt in a medium sauce pan.
2. Heat over low heat 15-20 minutes or until rhubarb is soft and smashes when pressed against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Be sure to stir the mixture frequently since it will thicken rapidly and scorch if not monitored.
3. If processing in a boiling water canning bath, immediately transfer to hot jars. Process for 15 minutes, following food-safe canning practice. If using fresh, cool and refrigerate in tightly sealed containers for up to 2 weeks.

Rhubarb Marinara

Rhubarb Marinara Dipping Sauce

Adapted from Edible Perspective – this recipe was originally for a BBQ sauce, but I think it’s better served as a substitute for marinara sauce (breadsticks, pizza, calzones, etc.)

Makes 2 pints

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 medium-sized jalapeno pepper, chopped with stems and seed removed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups rhubarb, diced
• 1 – 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 – 6 oz. can tomato paste
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar (brown sugar would work here also)
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• large pot
• immersion/stick blender
• tightly sealing containers or freezer containers.

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in the large pot. Add onion, jalapeno and garlic and sauté until tender, 3-4 minutes.
2. Add in remainder of the ingredients, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the rhubarb and onion are soft.
3. Remove from the heat and using a stick blender (this works the best when dealing with hot liquid), pulse 30-45 seconds to break apart the rhubarb and thicken the sauce.
4. Return to the heat and continue simmering 5-7 minutes more or until the sauce reaches the desired thickness. Taste and season with salt, pepper or additional sugar if necessary.
5. Serve warm or allow to cool before refrigerating. Refrigerate for up to 1 week or place in the freezer for up to 3 months.