I recently came across a brilliant idea, freezer pies.  Basically, you make the fruit ingredients in advance, freeze them, then pull them out on a rainy day to enjoy with a store bought or simple crust. Immediate pie satisfaction -genius.  This strawberry rhubarb freezer pie is super simple and can be easily made in bulk so that you can keep a few ready-to-make pies on hand.

I can imagine that after a long day of caring for a new baby, we may need a little bright pick me up and I think this striking red pie will do just the trick.  We can just defrost the fruit, crush some graham crackers or gingersnaps for a quick crust and assemble the pie.  I almost can’t wait for that rough day to get here, strange as that sounds.

Though I’m a big fan of eating pie crusts, like this one Annalise perfected, I more often make quick and easy crusts like this one.  I like to crush gingersnaps with nuts and add in butter or coconut oil, making for a fool-proof crust with a little spice and crunch.  You can find similar crusts in my Apricot Hazelnut Pie, Key Lime Pie, and Chocolate Hazelnut Pie recipes.

And the great thing is you don’t have to freeze this pie filling, If you simple want to make a strawberry rhubarb pie today and enjoy the fruits of your labor today – do it!  The recipe is easy and can be completed in less than an hour.

So I didn’t become a mother this Mother’s Day like I hoped but I did get to spend the day with my mother, which was a special treat.  We made one of her favorite desserts, a recipe from my grandma, Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding.

After a while of moping that Everett didn’t make his appearance on or before Mother’s Day and just feeling very pregnant and emotional I decided to try and stay positive and celebrate my mother instead.  After all, she had come all this way from Texas to meet her grandson and deserved to be celebrated as well.

My mother is one of the most kind and loving people that you’ll ever meet.  She’s always positive and smiling even when circumstances lean otherwise.  Selfless, sweet, and generous, she is constantly thinking of others before herself.  I hope that some of that has or will rub off on me.  She will be an amazing grandmother to Everett.

So, in her honor we watched her favorite movie The Inn of the Sixth Happiness with the classic movie star Ingrid Bergman, and we made grandma’s chocolate pudding. I must say she has good taste in both movies and desserts because I have yet to come across one of either that I didn’t also enjoy.

Here are a few more of her favorite movies, in case you’re like me and enjoy dabbling in the classics:

My Fair Lady
Sound of Music
The Sting
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Charade
To Catch a Thief
High Society

My dear friend Annalise and I concocted this recipe for Raspberry Popovers together.  It was like a month or so in the making, but when we finally found the time to get together and bake, our ideas came together brilliantly, making these light and fluffy popovers with a touch of elegance with the addition of fresh raspberries.

Our idea began as she told me over her latest great find of a vintage popover pan.  I explained the lack of popovers in my life and that I really had never even tasted one, then we decided we had to create some together.  In my naiveté of popovers, I suggested raspberry popovers.  I really had no idea what typical flavors were but it just sounded nice to me.  At this time I had no idea I was talking to the popover queen.

As we easily stirred together the batter and threw a batch into the oven, Annalise told that she often made these growing up.  As she explains in her popover post here, these were her baking treat of choice in her college days.  So, while I was making boxed brownies and throwing in a snicker bar for a little “gourmet twist,” Annalise was making these beautiful, delicate popovers.  I guess she was a bit ahead of me then as far as baking goes.

Through her expertise and my sophomoric knowledge of popovers, together we came up with something outside of the box, which turned out to be quite brilliant.  Another lovely example of two minds being better than one!

As a food blogger, I never know where the inspiration for my next recipe will come from, but that’s the fun part.  I was snail-paced walking around Liberty Heights Fresh the other day, overtaken by so many lovely ingredients and ripe produce, when I ran into some dear friends – Casee and John.  We started talking about spring ingredients and recipes, then John told me about the most beautiful risotto I’ve ever heard described.  He had recently created a creamy spring-time risotto with the full flavor of fennel shining through and bright spring favas garnishing the dish.  He made it sound so simple and so fresh, so without other considerations I decided, this is what would be for dinner.

As I continued walking around the market, I spotted some bright purple radicchio, something I have little to no experience with.  John explained to me a simple way of cooking the radicchio, in Italian-style, which just sounded perfect to pair with the risotto.  I picked up one head of radicchio but was kindly interrupted when John said, “Oh no, you’ll need at least another one of those, Casee and I would be fighting over the few bites if I only made one.” So, without further ado, I filled my bag with bright green favas and fennel and a few heads of radicchio.

When I returned home I quickly jotted down the recipe details for the two dishes.  They weren’t complex notes, just a few tips John had given to create this easy spring Italian meal.  When it came time for cooking, I went back through the notes and Josh and I went to work.  The radicchio cooks for about the same time as the risotto, so we each took a dish to create and finished around the same time.  The favas were a little more time consuming than I thought (cook, peal, cook, peal, then cook again) but their flavor proved worth it!

We found this meal perfect to showcase what’s in season and could easily be adapted to other seasonal ingredients.  If it’s fall, try butternut squash or during the summer try this with corn and chard. The most stunning part of the dish will be the bright seasonal produce that you choose to accompany it!

What is your favorite risotto dish? Leave a comment with your favorite spring dish to be entered to win all of the ingredients to make this Spring Risotto from Liberty Heights Fresh. (must be in Salt Lake City to win). Winner will be announced Friday the 10th.

Anyone else a fan of green tea lattes? As a part owner of a artisan coffee roasting company, I must confess that even I, from time to time, will have a visit to SB (you know what I’m talking about!). But, when I do shamefully walk in, I most commonly order a Green Tea Latte verses their coffee. Recently, a Japanese student of mine introduced me to Matcha Green Tea Lattes, and now I’m really hooked.  Luckily, these aren’t served in the big SB so I’ll be making them at home or visiting my local tea shop.

After seeing an article in Bon Appetit about Matcha Lattes, I first asked my Japanese student, Yuki, where to get Matcha powder cheaply in the city.  She kindly responded that you can’t get it cheaply anywhere.  Her friend sends her matcha powder in the mail from Japan and even then she only sends a small amount. This stuff is like powdered gold!

The reason why matcha green tea powder is so expensive is because of its many health benefits.   The health benefits of matcha tea exceed those of green tea because when you drink matcha you ingest the whole leaf, not just the brewed water. One glass of matcha is the equivalent of 10 glasses of green tea in terms of its nutritional value and antioxidant content. Here are just a few of the health benefits: calms and relaxes, fights against viruses and bacteria, rich in fiber, lowers cholesterol, rich in antioxidants, and boosts metabolism.

Yuki, generously brought me a tiny clear bag of this foreign green powder to class one day. I, overly ecstatic, thanked her for the gift of my current drug of choice.  I could hardly wait to concoct something at home with this magical green powder. My mind filled with dreamy green thoughts of match pound cake and match almond lattes…

That day, she also showed me the beautiful customs around sharing Matcha tea (see Instagram photo here).  The whole class drank the tea together and enjoyed learning about the history of matcha and the age old traditions behind tea drinking in Japan.  The whole process was beautiful and exact, from the way to whisk the powder into the water or milk, and how to hold the cup and pass it to the next person.  If you know me well, you know that it was a little taste of heaven for me, experiencing God’s creativity through cultural uniqueness. I will forever think of Yuki and her Japanese traditions when I sip a cup of Matcha!

Click here to download image for desktop.

Though my flower garden is all colors of the rainbow right now, the seasonal produce for May is mainly monotone – Green.  This is the month to eat green.  And maybe the occasional pop of red from rhubarb or a Spring radish.  I’ll be enjoying crisp green salads with watercress and arugula, lots of full-flavored, in-season asparagus (verses the bland stuff you get year around), bright spring peas atop risotto or pasta, and maybe I’ll even steam up some artichokes.

Here are some recipes to guide your eating this month! What are your favorite Spring Green Recipes??! Please feel free to add a seasonal recipe link in the comments section!

Strawberry Rhubarb Baked French Toast

Israeli Couscous with Peas and Watercress

Rhubarb Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Roasted Spring Vegetable and Quinoa Salad by Happyolks

Roasted Asparagus with Gremolata by Kalyn’s Kitchen

Wilted Chard Salad with Polenta Croutons and Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette by Cafe Johnsonia

Asparagus and Olive Tapenade Fillo Shell Appetizers by Cookin’ Canuck

Spinach Avocado and Artichoke Salad by Mountain Mama Cooks

Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Potato Soup by Kitchen Confidante

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Roll Ups by Two Peas and Their Pod

Garlicky Swiss Chard and Chickpeas by Foodie Crush

Roasted Asparagus Green Onion and Blue Cheese Frittata by Naturally Ella

Minty Pea Pesto with Rice and Radishes by Cookie and Kate

Creamy Asparagus Soup by Food Is Our Friend

How to make the seasonal produce image appear as your wallpaper:

Step 1 Click on the Image right above this text. This will open the image in a new window on your screen.
Step 2 Once image loads on a new page, right click (or ctrl-click) image and select ‘use image as desktop picture.’
Step 3 If the image does not fit your desktop background neatly, you may have to go to your preference screen and choose “Fit to screen” as the display mode of your background image.