RHUBARB MARTINI ON A VERY HOT DAY!

My niece mentioned that she had seen alot of recipes for rhubarb on the site http://www.foodgawker.com/.  It's an interesting site with beautiful photos of food.  One thing led to another and in no time I was in the kitchen making a recipe I found on the site for a rhubarb martini.  Long story short... here is the recipe I found:

Chop up 12 ounces (about 5 stalks) of rhubarb.  Cook with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat about 5 - 10 minutes until the rhubarb softens.  Mix in 1/4 cup (or to taste) of sugar.  Push the mixture through a strainer to end with a smooth puree.  To make a rhubarb martini, mix 3 ounces of the rhubarb puree with 2 ounces of vodka in a shaker with ice.   Rim a martini glass with sugar, pour in the martini and garnish with mint leaves.

There were all sorts of problems with the above recipe, most of which were evident at the start.  Thus, here is the recipe I developed:

RHUBARB MARTINI. 
*  12 ounces rhubarb (about 9 stalks), well chopped
*  1 cup water
*  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
*  1/4 teaspoon cardamom
*  1/4 cup sugar (I used Splenda)
     Add the rhubarb, water, vanilla and cardamom in a large sauce pan; cover pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the rhubarb is soft.   Use a blender to puree the mixture, then add sugar to taste, about 1/4 cup.   This makes enough puree for about 6 - 8 martinis. 
     To make a martini, add to a shaker:
*  3 ounces of rhubarb puree
*  2 ounces of cranberry juice
*  2 ounces of Absolut Citron Vodka
Shake very, very well... the longer the better.  It will be much colder and the ice will break down somewhat into fine crystals.  Pour into a martini glass and enjoy!

It was about 6:15 p.m. when I sat down to enjoy my rhubarb martini.  The outside temperature at the time was 102º.   Seems that summer has arrived!