white asparagus "fries"

Asparagus means spring.  It's one of the first veggies to appear each year and kind of brings hope to its veggie friends that their time is coming soon too. 

My mom and I may have a slight addiction.  Unfortunately, there's just small window of time in the year when it's available and actually fresh and delicious.

This week at the grocery my husband and I spotted white asparagus.  I didn't even know such a thing existed!  So, we got a bunch and put it in the fridge.  It sat there a couple days as I tried to figure out what the heck I was going to do with it.

fresh fork market

Last week we got our second Cleveland Magazine in the mail (I guess now we're officially Clevelanders.  Weird, I know).   Upon opening it, I spotted an article about a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) in the area, and it was pretty much love at first sight.

CSA's are groups where people buy a share (subscription) for a harvest season and they get fresh, local produce in return.  I've been interested in joining such a group for the past couple years.  (After all, the local seasonal food is good for the environment, the economy, and your belly.  What's not to love?)  We never heard about any nearby organizations when we were in Georgia, so we were super-excited to hear about the one right here!

olive oil focaccia with rosemary and onion

So, having made the 5 minute light whole wheat artisan bread and tasting how incredibly amazing it was (and how popular the post was...thank you, whoever you are out there, for reading), I've decided that I pretty much need to make everything in the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book.

I didn't want to continue posting recipes from this book day after day, but I couldn't wait any longer!  I present to you my second carb-loaded treat from the book...olive oil focaccia with rosemary and onion.

engagement celebration cake balls

Ahh, cake balls.   They always have looked so pretty and yet I've always been a little intimidated by them.  They look sweet and innocent, but I've always imagined some baking disaster.

Well, I came to find that they're fairly harmless, but they can easily turn into a baking disaster (Don't give up now...the disaster is totally avoidable.  Promise.)

So, we were having a party with family friends where we would celebrate my sister's engagement.  For some silly reason I decided that that would be the perfect time to try making cake balls for the first time.

whole wheat chocolate banana bread

Spring break shouldn't be allowed to end so abruptly.  Somehow I didn't quite see it coming...despite the fact that I had the date in my planner since August.

Luckily, Monday mornings start with yoga relaxation.  And today was a test review in class.  Equally luckily, I'm not the one taking the Spanish test the Wednesday after break.  Ahh, the perks of teaching!

And, tomorrow newly-engaged Sister comes to visit!  I.Can't.Wait.

no-bake chocolate peanut butter oat bars

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Excuse my lack of posts this past week.  It's been a little crazy here lately...despite the whole Spring Break thing.

Last weekend my husband's family came to town to visit.  We went to Melt and spent an afternoon at Lake Erie.

Monday included laundry, packing, and dropping the dog off at my parent's house.

bailey's irish cream frosting

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Is it too early to celebrate St. Patrick's Day?  If it is, close this post and pull it up again this coming weekend.

But, if you're like me and happen to be on spring break and happen to have some leftover chocolate cupcakes from a weekend birthday celebration, this recipe's for you.

light whole wheat artisan bread

 I love bread.  Like, really love it.

I'm quite sure that I could live on bread alone.  Which partially explains the vegetarianism.  Who needs beef when you have a warm loaf of bread sitting in front of you??? 

Growing up, my parents would make a big holiday meal, and I would fill up on bread.  Unfortunately, I don't think it's something that changes with age.  I'm still the one who goes to Macaroni Grill, eats tons of their rosemary bread, and then asks for a box to bring home 90% of my meal.

Recently, I've seen tons of rave reviews for the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day in the food blog world.  This past week I finally got my hands on it, and I must say that I'm quite impressed.  This is my first loaf of their artisan bread.

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This bread is not your traditional bread.  There's no kneading involved (it feels kind of cheap at first...until you taste it and realize that kneading may very well be overrated), the dough is super-moist, and the dough can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.  And this is a quadruple recipe, so be prepared to enjoy this bread 4 times.

So, about 45 minutes before you want a loaf, you shape it, preheat the oven and bake it.  Five minutes of preparation time may be an over-exaggeration.  My first loaf took about 5 minutes, but by the second one, it took maybe 3 minutes.

vodka sauce

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My sister (who, ironically, doesn't like any alcohol besides church wine) has been talking about how much she loves vodka sauce for a while now.  It's always sounded good to me, but I never made it...

...until the other night.

When I decided that I needed some vodka sauce in my life already.  At 9:30.  At night.  After eating an entire bucket of movie popcorn myself.  (It's not my proudest moment.)

fish fry-day (grown-up fish sticks)

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It's hard to believe that it's already the second Friday of Lent.  And, it's already March!  I guess winter just decided not to show this year???

Anyways, since I usually don't eat meat, Fridays of Lent aren't much different for me (food-wise, at least) than the average day.  So, this post is for all you omnivores out there.

If you need other ideas for the next few Fridays, try...