[spiced gluten free pancakes with honeyed strawberry rhubarb compote]

The first farmers market of the year occurred last Tuesday. When you live north of Chicago, spring doesn't start until May and even then, there isn't much growing in our gardens. That is why I was so pleasantly surprised to see that there were so many fresh things at our first market.

Quite a few of my favorite vendors from last year were back again with their offerings. The fresh produce is still trickling in, this week it was tons of green onions and spring garlic. I bought some green onions and they were easy enough to work with, I brought them home to sauté with butter and toss with hot quinoa pasta, fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. But then I spied some rhubarb, rhubarb I can work with! I quickly bought several stalks from Providence Farms.

I love rhubarb! The bright, tart, oh-so-springy taste of rhubarb. Because of its tartness, some can shy away from cooking with rhubarb, but my plan was to use stevia to kill the tang and then finish it off with some local honey. Rhubarb has some great health benefits, as long as you don't can find a way to keep the sugar content lower. Which reminds me of childhood friends who would take the raw stalk and dip them into the sugar bowl!

This sounded like a good start to breakfast for me. With rhubarb, I mean, not a bowl of sugar! Why not a make a compote with strawberries and serve it over the top of some spiced gluten free pancakes? I began with a saucepan of fresh, chopped rhubarb, water, stevia and strawberries. As that began to bubble and reduce, I whipped up a batch of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancakes. This pancake mix is so easy to make and also versatile, you can use virtually any nut milk and add whatever you like to the batter. I wanted it to have a sort of spicy, warm flavor to pair with the sweet honeyed fruit. Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger would be just right!

This is the perfect breakfast for a chilly spring morning, serve with nitrate free chicken sausage and your favorite mug filled to the brim with hot coffee. Bon Appetit!

[ r e c i p e ]

honeyed strawberry rhubarb compote:

3 stalks (about 2 cups) chopped fresh rhubarb

1/2 packet of organic stevia

1/4 cup locally grown honey

3 tablespoons of water

6 chopped fresh strawberries

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Give it a few stirs with a wooden spoon and watch it begin to bubble. Reduce mixture until strawberries are soft and the rhubarb is stringy. At this point you can add more sweetener to taste.

spiced gluten free pancakes:

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger

Mix up pancake mix according to directions on the back. For this recipe I used So Delicious Coconut Milk and melted Nutiva Coconut Oil in place of water and oil. Add spices to mix and bake on a 350 degree griddle.

Stack pancakes on plate and pour hot compote over the top. If you're feeling extra daring, add a drizzle of local honey.

(serves about 4 people)