Rhubarb Dilemma

My first CSA (community-supported agriculture) produce share arrives on June 11. I went to the farmers market yesterday for what will probably be my last produce shopping trip in a while. Sure, I will still have to buy some produce this summer and fall. The CSA definitely will not be providing lemons and avocados. I cannot live without those things.

Anyway, it is one of my favorite times of year: rhubarb season. The cheerful celery was everywhere in the farmers market. I found the brightest red bunch around and planned to spend most of today working with it. Red rhubarb and green rhubarb taste about the same, but I figure that whatever it is that makes red rhubarb red must be a very healthy compound.

I do love rhubarb pies, cobblers, and crisps, but I cringe at the thought of the cups of white sugar that go into them. I could Splenda-fy a pie, but that's just an overwhelming quantity of artificiality. I could use part Splenda and part sugar, but I shouldn't have to. I should celebrate the nature of rhubarb instead of trying hard to hide it.

I made a savory chicken and rhubarb dish a few years ago and remembered it being tasty, so I went on the hunt today for more savory options. I am trapped in a difficult dilemma. I don't know what to do. I try starting a shopping list for one of these recipes and then I start dreaming of a different recipe and feel like I am betraying the first.

Here are my thoughts:

1) Make another chicken and rhubarb saute.
2) Rhubarb and lamb stew. I am not really in the mood for a stew, but by the time I am, neither lamb nor rhubarb will be in season.
3) Savory rhubarb chutney, to pile on chicken or pork or ham or fish.
4) Not-too-sweet and partially Splenda-fied rhubarb compote, to serve warm atop vanilla bean ice cream, to serve cold atop hot oatmeal, to spread on peanut butter sandwiches, or to whirl into rhubarb milkshakes.
5) Low-carb rhubarb muffins made with soy flour and Splenda. (substituting rhubarb for the blueberries in this link)

I should have bought more rhubarb. I should have bought several pounds to chop and freeze so that I could avoid the seasonal panic. I'll update later with what I actually made.