Salade Niçoise

In my humble opinion, this is one of those perfect summer meals. I love when a salad becomes a dinner with little effort. I was talking to my dear Mumsie while I put this together I wish she was here to eat it with me. It feels like cheating to throw together hard boiled eggs, blanched green beans, fresh tomatoes, cucumber slices, capers, anchovies fillets and tuna. I'm not sure purest would let me call this Niçoise because of the absence of those fine little Niçoise olives. Oh well, I bet even in Nice they would enjoy this combination of fresh ingredients drizzled with a garlicky balsamic vinaigrette.

Farmers Market

My new favorite

Farmers Market performers.

These stunning variegated Safari Gladiolus were too beautiful to pass up. And at 1$ a stem they were a steal. I arranged a little still life of my market treasures. The purple Amaranth is looking a little sad but I really love it in salads and this might be the last week. My dill died in a wind storm so I have been buying it and putting it in everything. I found some slender green beans and the purple cabbage was calling my name.

blueberries with mango and garam masala

A nice quick breakfast. I really like sweets in the morning so I have been trying to eat fruit. A little bit of garam masala sprinkeled on top is wonderful. This masala has lots of cinnamon and clove. I know they say you need to replace your spices every two years but this blend has to be at least five years old and is still really tasty.

A post for Apryll on Hunter S. Thompson’s Birthday

How would Kentucky boy Hunter S. Thompson celebrate his birthday (if he was alive and all)? Well there would be bourbon involved, I’m sure. I know he was a fan of Wild Turkey but I bet he wouldn’t mind some of this delicious Old Forester Birthday Bourbon.

It’s the perfect night for bourbon neat and some reading. Barreled in 1993 when Apryll and I were in 5th grade. This caramel deliciousness was bottled up in 2006. It tastes like butterscotch and happiness. Two kinds of ice cream. Knowing a secret. Climbing a tree. Sorry… I had a little You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown moment.

Well Apryll, now instead of rolling your eyes at a party when someone doesn’t know what Gonzo Journalism is… you can tell them about your dorky friend that posted a tribute to you, Hunter S. Thompson, and some really good bourbon.

Apryll love hash brown sandwiches, hates picnics and is one of the most clever people I know. If you were here we would drink it on our bunk beds while reading Rum Diary aloud. She would say “Happy Birthday Panda Bear!”

Spicy Tomato Cauliflower Soup

Spicy Tomato Cauliflower Soup Originally uploaded by yellaumbrella

I adore pureed soups. This soup came out of the fact that I couldn’t stand looking at anymore cauliflower. Colleen and I bought a gigantic head of cauliflower at the farmers market. We ate it many times and it never seemed to disappear. I cooked the chopped up cauliflower in stock, added tomato paste and some Sriracha. Seasoned to taste and then pureed with my immersion blender. I blended till very smooth and seasoned again. I topped it off with a locally made Chevre from ShadowBrook Farm and some sage. It is ok cold but it is really delicious hot. My apartment is over air conditions so it nice to have a hot soup even in summer.

Beet Green Ravioli

beet green ravioli Originally uploaded by yellaumbrella

This dish really didn’t work the way I planned. I sautéed up the beet greens with onion. I added some feta and filled wonton wrappers with the filling. I boiled them a little past al dente and toped them with tomato and basil. Colleen said she liked both parts just not together. I wondered if it would have worked better if I pan fried them like pot stickers. The bitterness of the beet green was a bit much too. Maybe a less flavorful cheese like cream cheese would have been better. Something sweet to counter act the bitterness, like honey might be nice.

El Rabaño… aka we only have goat on weekends

On a lazy Tuesday night we decided try out the new Mexican joint down the street. It was formerly La Tia’s Hot Tamales. I wasn’t a big fan of La Tia’s but the location is so close and it’s nice to have a restaurant to walk to.

It’s small but clean and has these amusing/freaky murals on the outside. We started off with a Tamarind Jarritos. It was really refreshing I had never had the Tamarind before. We wanted to try the goat tacos but were informed they only have goat on the weekends.

The Pork Torta was really well done. The bread was nice and crusty which is normally my problem with Tortas. Most of the time the bread is soggy and tasteless. This bread had a little bite to it any went well with the tender filling. The pork was mild but well seasoned. I recommend ordering it with the Jalapeños for a extra kick. Lettuce, tomato and crema compliment it well.

The enchiladas come ala carte and have good flavor but were dry. We asked for some salsa and they were really great. The homemade salsa was so tasty I started dipping some of my sandwich in it. I wonder if they were ready to close up early when we came in. The outside seating looks nice even though it looks out on Leavenworth. If it had not been raining I would have liked to sit out there. It seemed like the mother was the cook and the daughter was the waitress. It was friendly, fast and clean. I will go back, plus I still need to try the goat. El Rebano 3572 Leavenworth Street Omaha

Roasted Rabbit with Flageolets at La Buvette

After the Omaha Farmers Market is anything better than sitting on the patio at La Buvette? Saturdays often remind me why I live in Omaha. Sometimes when I have to park five blocks away to walk to the Farmers Market I have to pinch myself. Madison might have the whole capital square but there is something to the humbleness of Omaha’s. The traffic is laughable. The vendors have little pretension. If only they could somehow ban dogs and gigantic strollers!

We had the Buvette Salad and the Roasted Rabbit with Flageolets. The Rabbit was tender and flavorful but the beans were a touch underdone. Colleen just wanted water, but somehow managed to polish off some of my Limonata (maybe the BABY needed some).

La Buvette

511 S 11th Street

Omaha

Farmers Market Bouquet

My lovely Sister bought me this gorgeous bouquet