Rhubarb season

We've loving the fresh rhubarb coming out of the garden and in abundance at the farmers market these days - we've been enjoying rhubarb pie, rhubarb tarts, rhubarb crisp, rhubarb crumb muffins, and this incredibly simple recipe we found for homemade rhubarb soda. No homestead should find itself without rhubarb for that first fresh fruity tangy taste in early summer! The recipe comes from Culinate Kitchen (www.culinate.com), a nice site that offers loads of seasonal recipes, local food articles, slow food chefs, farmers market tips, stories about the ethics of eating, gorgeous foodie photos, and more.

Rhubarb Soda - from Culinate Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
sparkling water
ice

Method:
1) Place rhubarb, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water into saucepan and bring to a boil. Then turn down to simmer and cook down for about 15 minutes until syrup is bright pink.
2) Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Strain syrup into a large jar.
3) To make each soda, measure 1/2 cup syrup into a glass. Add enough sparkling water to fill the glass 2/3 full. Stir to mix. Add ice and sprig of mint if desired.