Rhubarb Lemonade Punch
Some of you may know that for the majority of my college career, I worked as an assistant wedding photographer. I once tried to estimate how many weddings I had been to during that time and I figured it was around seventy. I was a seasoned veteran by the time my own wedding came around (even though planning was still so anxiety-inducing that my face broke out in hives two days before the wedding). There are, of course, a million tiny details that go into the whole production, but one thing my lead photographer, Tara, and I paid special attention to was the reception punch. We even devised a ranking system which began at basic Kool-Aid and topped out at our mutual favorite, a rhubarb punch we'd had at a wedding in Detroit Lakes, MN. Once we'd had a taste of that mythical punch, all others were measured against it.
And so this week I managed to find a way to address both my trepidation about using the oven during the hot summer and figuring out a way to use my frozen store-bought rhubarb. This recipe comes from Cooking With Union Hospital and is credited to S. Nelson.
Rhubarb-Lemonade Punch
3 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
6 oz. frozen pink lemonade concentrate
3 cups water
16 oz. bottle of lemon-lime carbonated beverage, chilled
In saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar, lemonade concentrate and water. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until very soft. Strain to remove pulp; chill the syrup. Just before serving, pour rhubarb syrup over ice cubes in punch bowl. Carefully pour in beverage. Makes 6 cups.
I should add that this recipe is not the famed rhubarb punch we had before. I assume that recipe is locked away in some secret vault as it's just too good to share with the world. But despite that, this is a solid beverage and I love the dreamy pink color it became. The lemon and rhubarb flavors mix very well together, though I wouldn't mind kicking up the rhubarb flavor slightly more. It's possible that the rhubarb I used isn't as flavorful as it would be fresh from the garden.
If you like, the rhubarb lemonade simple syrup would be nice and refreshing in a cocktail, maybe with gin, club soda a little sprig of mint.
Final Rating: 4.5/5 this ain't no Kool-Aid drink