spring has sprung

we may have woken to snow, but the rest of the day certainly felt like spring. 

it was pushing 30 degrees in my kitchen all day with the sun streaming in & look, the rhubarb's starting to pop up.

i'm not a rhubarb fan, but i love watching it grow. it looks like alien babies hatching! i think most of this year's crop will be donated to jitterbug sodas, i think they'll be able to put it to much better use than me.

the sunshine also put me in a salad kind of mood. i know i make salads every friday, but most weeks i hate doing it. this week was different, they were reminding me of bbq season, picnics & beach bods ;) i made sweet potato, regular potato, broccoli & beet.

the sweet potato is the usual concoction, but i added black beans & corn to give it even more of a southwest vibe.

it's vegan & gluten-free, same as the regular potato salad which has beans, fennel, radishes, celery & fresh herbs. the broccoli & beet salads are my standards. the beet has become the #1 bestseller & there was a bit of uproar last weekend when i skipped the broccoli!

$5/375ml container

this week i also restocked a couple staples. first up was a pretty monumental batch of beef shepherd's pies. it's made with getaway farm's grass-fed beef. the meat is cooked up with lots of veggies - onions, carrots, peas, corn, mushrooms - and a tangy 'bbq-esque' type sauce. then it gets topped with cheddar & green onion mashed potatoes. this one is really popular with young families because the kids dig it.

small $10 large $20

i also cooked a pretty massive batch of seafood chowder.

i don't know why i have an obsession with filling pots to critical levels, but i do. if only you could see how hilarious i look trying to get it from the prep table to the fridge without spilling or throwing out my back... good times. per usual, it's a clam broth base with mussels, haddock, smoked haddock & tilapia. i certainly miss the fish shop at the market, but there's goldwater seafood in the centre court now for all your fish needs.

$7/500ml container

there are loads of other soups & stews in the freezer right now too:

carrot/apple/ginger

curried butternut squash

beet, parsnip & pear

white bean, lemon & kale

miso mushroom

indian spiced cauliflower

roasted red pepper, tomato & sweet potato

baked beans

beef stew

turkey stew

chicken stew

i think i dozen flavours might be enough, but if you ever have a particular craving or earth-shattering idea, please let me know, i'm always looking for inspiration.

as far as sweets go, there's lots of everything - as usual. i think one day i might show up to the market without any sweets at all. it might be bad for business in the short term, but so many people don't even realize all of the savoury stuff i make because they're totally distracted by the table full of goodies! 

the goat's milk fudge has been a hit at obladee & there's been lots of twitter buzz. i make it in bread pans now so i literally sell it by the brick! i'll have some on hand at the market but it gets pretty soft at room temperature so make sure to ask.

this week i also whipped up a special order lemon-blueberry cake.

and it has lots of fresh blueberries hiding inside.

early in the week, i took the first baby steps in designing a REAL website where i'll be able to have ordering information, pricing, flavours & all that useful stuff in a convenient location instead of making things up off the top of my head!

it'll be www.littleredkitschn.com

& for now if you have any inquiries, e-mail me at jenna@littleredkitschn.com

ok that's all for now, see you over the weekend at the market & don't forget cupcake happy hour from 2-4pm on sunday.

happy spring!