Rhubarb Sauce on Toast Points

My friend Gay, back in New Hampshire, used to make rhubarb sauce from her rhubarb patch early every spring. In fact, that is often how I knew it was spring, as the weather sometimes gave no sign of it. The sauce was delicious, but it was more the whole experience that I loved so--Gay's beautifully set table with flowers and little figurines and linens to match the season, and the wonderful company of friends in that old, old farmhouse. 

The sauce was always served on toast points and the dish was always referred to as rhubarb-sauce-on-toast-points, a phrase that somehow reminded me of my mother, who grew up in Maine, as did Gay. If you don't know them, toast points are simply firm bread that has been toasted and lightly buttered, then cut diagonally into four pieces. 

Rhubarb Sauce

- 3 cups of rhubarb, well cleaned and cut into one inch pieces (of course, you know to throw away the poisonous leaves)

- Approximately one cup of white sugar (start with maybe a bit less--you can taste the completed sauce and add a bit more, if necessary)

- Just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan

Cook and stir over medium heat until the rhubarb is as soft as you like it. Stir in a little vanilla. Serve warm on toast points.