Woa, where has the time gone? I’m going to have to stop trying to make excuses as to what life obstacle got in my way and took me away from blogging for so long. A new job. Vacation. Summer sunning. Summer drinking. Sumer cooling. The list could go on.

Instead of pretending that I will be able to finish every saved draft I’ve created and forgotten about. Let’s try killing a few birds with one stone. I present to you my compilation: My Month in the Kitchen (or so). Here are some of the fun things that I’ve been up to over the last couple of months…

Bourbon Brownies

More Spinach Pie!

I’ve made my love for spanakopitapretty well known, but it’s really one of those cultural staples that I can never get enough of. It’s where I can pretend that I was raised in more of my natural heritage than I actually was, while also enjoying real delicious-ness. When I was back in Michigan, I made some of these guys up for a family member’s party, and made bite-size portions instead of my usual large edition.

Pearl Onions

Sautéed Spinach, going all traditional this time.

Feta Cheese, it doesn’t get much better.

Spanakpoita Triangles

And then Spring Started to Spring

Late spring is fabulous. The weather starts breaking, patio season begins, and some amazing produce pops up for limited periods of time. I’m talking green garlic, morel mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns and the like. Wait, what’s that, you aren’t familiar with fiddleheads?

I was introduced to these oddities a few years ago when I was working in Ottawa, a place where fiddleheads are aplenty in late spring. Earthy. Grassy. Fibery. They are definitely different, and not everyone’s cup of tea, but the uniqueness of them is all part of the allure.

I struck out a bit this year, not being able to find them anywhere. So, after somewhat of a search, I found them at an over-night foraging company in BC, Canada. For a… not so cheap, price, I ordered them. But then, as luck would have it, my local CSA had some, so it was double duty fiddleheads. I can’t wait to use the surprise frozen bag of them later this summer or fall!

Flax Flatbread, with Mushrooms and Fiddlehead Ferns

Sautéed Fiddlehead Ferns

Then Summer Produce Started Peaking

Strawberries. As a kid, the run-of-the-mill Driscoll’s white-in-the-middle berries never did it for me. Actually, I stayed as far aways as I could. And now as I’ve gotten older, my tastes have refined, and maybe my maturity has moved up a tid bit, I still find these white-centered berries shun-able.

For those of you who aren’t in a northern state, let me first apologize. You are missing out. Northern strawberries are the sweetest, redest, best baking friends a guy could ask for. They are quite a bit smaller than the genetically modified junk you get at your chain store, and the taste really indicates it.

As summer starts, there is only one dessert that brings in the season: strawberry rhubarb cobbler. Organic, local rhubarb, and local strawberries is one helluva sexy marriage, after all. Add some sugar, a nice oatmeal-maple top, and your day just got a lot better.

One day, we will realize that bigger fruit, is not always better. Until then, I will passive aggressively blog about it.

Local, Organic Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp: messy, but heavenly.

Local, Organic Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. It was a major hit!

And Every Boy Needs His Brunch

Plus, I’m always a fan of adding caffeine to my food. So some chai tea concentrate, some cinnamon some vanilla, all added to a solid pancake base and BAM! That’s a real way to start a morning.

Spicy Chai Pancakes

Farmer’s Markets Change Lives

I have such a love/hate with DC farmer’s markets. They remind me of days when I lived in Michigan and could drive out to the local farms and fill up my trunk for $20. It’s been a serious chore to try to detach myself from that idea. It’s DC. It’s yuppie. It’s hipster. It’s gentrified HQ. So of course, everything is inflated to hell.

That being said, I still love the DC markets. You can get some really good quality produce — not even comparable to the rotten stuff they sell at our grocery stores here. So, I go. I sample. I buy. Then I’m broke.

One of my favorite vendors is the mushroom man. Not only because all the workers are cute, but because they have some really good quality ‘shrooms.

I feel guilty every time I buy some funky looking mushroom, and a recipe calls for pulverizing it into tiny pieces. So if you have some really good, different wild mushroom recipes, please share them!

Wild Mushrooms from the Dupont Farmers Market

This time around I tried out a few different things: wild mushroom risotto, easy mushroom pizza (aka, my dough didn’t turn out so I resorted to tortilla pizzas) and mushroom tempeh tacos.

Making the Risotto

Wild Mushroom Risotto

East Wild Mushroom, Garlic, Swiss Pizza

Chipotle Wild Mushroom and Tempeh Tacos.

The Schnozberries Taste Like Schnozberries

Gooseberries. They’re so Wily Wonka. So British. Besides hearing the word, what does anyone actually know about these mystery fruits?

The market had some last week, and since I was already binging, I knew I needed to give them a shot. They remind me a lot of rhubarb, they’re definitely sour, but put into a dessert, the sour blends perfectly.

I only bought a small box, so ended up making a gooseberry cobbler for two.

The Gooseberries Taste like Gooseberries!

Baked Gooseberry Cobbler for Two

Baked Gooseberries

A slice of Gooseberry Cobbler

Then it was DC Pride, and Time to Throw a Party

We held a pretty big party in our backyard to celebrate the weekend, and even though it was a happy hour party, I obviously still had to cook a few things up.

Feta, Radish, Yogurt Dip

Michigan Strawberry, White Chocolate Cookies

Bourbon Brownies

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all the stuff I’ve been forgetting to post. And now, I’m hungry to eat all of it, don’t mind if I do.