Rhubarb-Strawberry Sauce, plus (bonus!) Frozen Dessert

Rhubarb is one of the midwest's great fruit flavors, even if it is technically a vegetable. When I lived in North Carolina, it was incredibly hard to find in the stores and most of my friends weren't really familiar with it.  But my mom and grandma both grew rhubarb in their yards (in Missouri and Minnesota) and I have bags of frozen rhubarb in my freezer that I sort of hoard.   

This recipe combines rhubarb with its best friend in the whole world: strawberry.  The two complimentary flavors meld into a sauce that can be eaten cold or warm, and  used on ice cream, pudding, yogurt, oatmeal, on pancakes, etc.  Or you can eat it by the spoonful.  It is pretty dang good that way, too.  And feel free to mess with the amounts of each ingredient, depending on if you want one flavor or the other to come forward...and on how tart you like your desserts!

I also just tried a new experiment to make the sauce into a frozen-sherbet-y dessert.  I don't quite have the texture I was looking for, but it was super tasty so I'll work on it some more.  

The original is actually a WW recipe.  

Sauce Ingredients:

3 to 4 cups uncooked rhubarb, sliced (have used fresh or frozen after it is thawed and drained in a collander)

quart of strawberries, sliced (this is about 1.5 pounds and probably around 3 cups, I suppose?)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Sauce Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan, stir until sugar melts. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Cover pan and set over medium to medium-high heat until mixture begins to boil, about 5 to 10 minutes. 
3. Uncover, reduce heat to low, and simmer.  Stir a few times, cooking until fruit breaks down into a sauce.  (This'll take about 45 minutes.) Serve warm or chilled.

Serving size: 1/3 cup per serving, makes about 10 to 12 servings (depending on how much original fruit used and how much you cook it down)

BONUS!  Frozen Goodness Directions:

1. Freeze rhubarb-strawberry sauce in ice cube tray (makes about 10 cubes)
   
   
   
2. Blend two cubes with about 1/3 cup of the milk of your choice (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
   
   
   
3. Then blend in two regular ice cubes.  
   
   
   

(I think I need more ice cubes or something, as it was way too liquid to be scoopable.  But it was tasty!)