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The refreshing tartness of a rhubarb rose mixture makes a perfect spring cocktail

The rhubarb here is rising along with the temperature, which calls for refreshment. This recipe can be made as an alcohol-free mocktail or mixed with sparkling wine for a light cocktail. It's a hit with both adults and — more surprisingly — kids. Even people who claim not to like rhubarb enjoy it.

As with most dishes, when the kids help prepare, they are far more likely to try new foods. They will enjoy chopping the rhubarb, squeezing the lemons, operating the immersion blender (with supervision) and shaking the mix with ice. They can get creative with making the garnish. Use a vegetable peeler to create long, wide strips. Make a ribbon and skewer with a cocktail pick. Or they can go freestyle with little curlicues to dangle artfully on the edge of the glass. Fresh herbs such as mint or rosemary add another subtle flavor note and look great. I had some dried edible flowers and sprinkled a few petals on each drink purely for visual appeal.

You don't really need a cocktail shaker or strainer for this, though it's a great excuse to use them if you have them. A Mason jar with its ring and lid works great for shaking, and the top can hold back the ice as you decant the drink into a glass. And any glass works, though stemless wineglasses, rocks glasses or flutes are especially nice.

An immersion or stick blender to purée the rhubarb and syrup is ideal. The alternative is to let the mixture cool a bit before putting it into a blender, no more than half full, and removing the feeder cap. Hot liquids can expand in a blender, creating pressure that can blow off the lid. These precautions will avoid a kitchen catastrophe.

The rose water is optional, but it's worth a trip down the international aisle of the grocery store to pick up a bottle. You can substitute orange blossom water, which would be equally good. The adults in class opted for prosecco, and I enjoyed mine with a rosé Cava to keep the pink theme. The kiddos had plain sparkling water, but it would be fun to experiment with different flavored sparkling waters like strawberry or hibiscus.

Here's to the fresh flavors of spring. Savor them while you can.

• Leslie Meredith is the winner of the 2019 Cook of the Week Challenge and teaches people how to grow and cook “real” food. She runs Farmhouse School on a historic homestead in Campton Hills. See the school's Facebook @FarmhouseSchool or Instagram pages @FarmhouseSchool or contact Leslie at food@dailyherald.com.

Rhubarb Rose Refresher

For the syrup:

2/3 cup rhubarb, finely chopped (about 1 large stem)

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup water

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon rose water

Peel a few rhubarb strips for garnish before chopping the rhubarb into uniform pieces. Place in a saucepan with sugar, water and vanilla. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the rhubarb softens (about 5 minutes.) Purée right in the pan with an immersion blender. Stir in the rose water, pour into a pitcher or carafe, and chill on ice.

To assemble the mocktail/cocktail:

¼ cup rhubarb syrup

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Sparkling water or wine

Shake the rhubarb purée and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker or Mason jar filled with ice. Strain into two glasses and top with either sparkling water or wine. Garnish with rhubarb and enjoy.

Makes 2

Leslie Meredith

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