First of the Season: Rhubarb

Although the weather has been cold and damp here, we are actually well into spring because I used the first of my rhubarb!  I love rhubarb in the spring when there is no other fruit available (ok, technically it is a vegetable), but as the season progresses I find it harder and harder to use up.  So a few years ago I bought a small cookbook entirely devoted to rhubarb recipes (at Value Village, naturally). 
On the weekend I decided that I would randomly open the book and make whatever recipe happened to be on that page.

Behold. Royal Rhubarb Dessert!

This recipe for Royal Rhubarb Dessert was a little off-putting because it required dry strawberry jello! And I couldn't quite figure out how it all went together until I started making it.

First I pushed a pie-crust type base into a pan.

I thought it fitting to use my pyrex bowl to contain the
Rhubarb in this likely mid-century recipe.

Then, onto the piece-de-resistance: sprinkling the jello onto the rhubarb layer!

Eww! 

And here it is with the top layer on, ready to go into the oven.

After 30 minutes it was done.

The jello soaked up the moisture from the rhubarb, and as the dessert cooled the rhubarb layer became firmer.

And here is a cooled slice.  It cut and stayed together surprisingly well.  But besides being day glow pink, you wouldn't even know that it had jello in it.  The pie crust-like base contrasted nicely with the other softer layers.  I enjoyed it, but am not sure if I would make it again.  First, because I rarely have jello on hand.  Second, because there are so many other recipes to try out!  What are your favourite ways to use rhubarb?