from the market / may 18

this time around we decided to go to the downtown’s farmer’s market on saturday instead of our usual sunday trip to aksarben. saturday morning blessed us with pretty much perfect weather so we figured a bike ride down to the market was in order. after this weekend, i think we might be downtown market converts. it’s only about a mile away so it’s a pretty easy bike ride, with the exception that all of our veggies didn’t really fit in my bike basket. if we decide to keep riding down on saturdays, i’m thinking about investing in a flat bed bike basket like this one so we can fit more stuff and bungee it down!

although summer produce is undoubtedly my favorite, i’m kind of enjoying the products of a late start to growing season because we’re getting to enjoy lots of spring stuff for longer than usual. nebraska seems to kind of skip out on spring weather and jump from winter to summer so this year has been kind of a nice change. i was telling k that i don’t remember seeing much asparagus or rhubarb at the markets last year around this time, but this year, it’s everywhere!

here’s what we got from the market this week:
-more GIANT green onions!
-bunch of asparagus
-red radishes
-rhubarb
-2 heads of lettuce: 1 green leaf (not pictured) and the head in the photo above (anyone know what kind?)
-cherry tomatoes
-cucumber
-yellow-orange tomatoes
-greek flatbreads
-bouquet of lilacs!

p.s. we also planted a garden this past weekend! if tonight’s rain/hail/tornadoes don’t kill or freeze all of our starter plants, i’ll post photos later this week! :)

by Hollyanne Posted on May 20, 2013
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{recipe of the week} strawberry-rhubarb crisps.

it’s rhubarb season! rhubarb is one of those things you pretty much have to cook, but thankfully it tastes delicious in all sorts of baked goods, like these strawberry-rhubarb crisps we’ve been making recently. they are super easy and pretty much foolproof, and even though they do have a little bit of butter and sugar, the main part of the dessert is the fruit so overall they are still pretty healthy!

to make, just add sliced rhubarb and sliced strawberries to two oven-safe ramekins, prepare and add the oat topping, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. that’s it! hope you try this out and love this simple, summer dessert as much as we do!

by Hollyanne Posted on May 16, 2013
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from the market / may 12

when you live in a place like omaha that has many months where it’s too cold for anything to grow, you get pretty excited when farmer’s market season starts up again. it’s easy to get annoyed that we can’t get fresh produce as easily as we’d like year-round, but it also makes those times that we can get it that much more special and cherished. i kinda have a special place in my heart for the markets in omaha because, even though they’ve been around for quite a while, i think the local food movement is really just starting to take off here, and it’s kind of cool to be a part of that. i heard about one farmer who didn’t usually bring leeks to his stand, but brought a few bundles last week and sold out within the hour and had lots of customers asking for more. and when we went to the sunday market, i witnessed another farmer giving a customer a free bundle of rhubarb because she had never seen it before and was curious but didn’t want to buy it. those sorts of things are just really special i think.

i’ve heard from the newspaper and other sources that nebraska and other midwest farmers’ crops are all about 4-5 weeks behind normal schedule because of the late frosts we had this year, so we didn’t see all the normal may produce this past weekend. i’m hoping to do a post like this each week featuring a few photos and a list of what we purchased from the market, and when applicable, maybe links to a couple recipes we’re going to try out that week.

here’s what we got from last weekend’s aksarben village market:
-mixed orange/red tomatoes
-butter lettuce
-spring onions
-asparagus
-cherry tomatoes (grown hydroponically)
-cucumbers (grown hydroponically)
-rhubarb
-baby bok choy
-loaf of whole wheat sourdough bread

by Hollyanne Posted on May 14, 2013
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happy weekend / currently

reading / love the one you’re with by emily giffin. i almost always gravitate toward reading either nonfiction books or trashy magazines, but lately i’ve been reading more novels. i read a couple of emily giffin’s other novels back in the beginning of college, and recently came across a few of her new ones at the library and picked those up. nice, easy reads for summer. i have a feeling i’m going to be reading a lot more novels this summer after looking at research-y things all day at work!

eating / all things rhubarb. i’m trying to soak up as much rhubarb in these next few weeks because it doesn’t seem to stay around for long in omaha. i picked some up at the grocery store earlier this week, and we made our own strawberry-rhubarb sorbet, and last night i whipped up some quick individual strawberry-rhubarb crisps. hoping i can find more this weekend so i can make them again and share the recipe on the blog next week!

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a few fun links, if you’re interested…

we made the pioneer woman’s risotto primavera this week, and it was amazeballs. i don’t usually cook directly from recipes, but i followed this one pretty much exactly (except subbing in sugar snap peas for frozen peas). it’s full of springy vegetables, and i’m always amazed by how creamy risotto is without adding any dairy (the recipe has you add feta and parmesan at the end, but it would still be fantastic without).

a new-to-me blog i’ve been loving lately: enjoy it by elise blaha cripe. she has amazing home decor / DIY art tutorials, and documents her day-to-day life in such a beautiful way.

love this excerpt from michael pollan’s new book on the dinner: a love story blog (which, if you aren’t yet reading, you should be). i’ve been reading soo many good things about this newest release, and reading a lot of interviews he’s done about it, and can’t wait to go pick it up this weekend at barnes & noble while it’s 35% off.

OMG IT’S MY TWO FAVORITE FOOD GROUPS: grilled cheese tacos. these will be made asap.

a great slideshow featuring “25 cocktails everyone should know.” i was actually surprised how many of these i didn’t know / didn’t realize were “classics.” summer to-do list: master all of these.

are you all up to anything fun this weekend? today is my last weekday of freedom before i start work on monday! i keep thinking i should do something exciting, but i really just want to make sure all the laundry’s done and get my planner ready…typical. we don’t have much planned for the weekend, except for hitting up the farmer’s market on sunday (!!!!) and maybe planting a few things. hoping to just take it easy and get everything ready for this new schedule of ours…like packing lunches, better meal planning for dinners, etc. have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

by Hollyanne Posted on May 10, 2013
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