Last Saturday we trekked to Raleigh to go to the state farmers market. Despite getting caught in a sudden downpour, it was worth the trip: we left with bags brimming full of juicy red strawberries, freshly baked bread, and some more plants for the garden. But it’s the strawberries that I’m most excited about…
Sweet Charlie Strawberries // I love strawberry season because it means you can get locally grown berries. They might not be perfect and they’re certainly not big like the ones you get at the grocery store, but they’re soft and sweet and fragrant and they make you never want to eat a grocery store strawberry again.
![Strawberry Mojito Popsicles [close]](http://ohmyveggies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/strawberry_mojito_popsicles_close.jpg "Strawberry Mojito Popsicles [close]")
Strawberry Mojito Popsicles // Although I ate a lot of the strawberries as-is, I also used them to make these popsicles. Now that summer is almost here, it’s time to break out the Zoku again!
Mango Ginger Overnight Oatmeal // Yes, more oatmeal. You’ll be tired of hearing about this far before I’m tired of eating it. For this iteration of overnight oats, I used cubed mango (the whole thing this time!), 1/2 cup of rolled oats, 1/2 cup of soymilk, 1 tablespoon of minced crystallized ginger, and 1 tablespoon of agave nectar. Mix it all up in a resealable bowl and refrigerate overnight (you can add more milk in the morning if you like). Then get excited because you have a delicious breakfast waiting for you in the morning. (Oh, and sorry about the photo. This is 7am breakfast realness.)
Veggie Platter from Charlie’s Kebab Grill // We rarely get takeout during the week, but we’ll occasionally make an exception for Charlie’s. After going without a good Mediterranean restaurant for years in Wisconsin, it’s awesome to live 5 minutes away from one now.
Mexican Polenta // I made this without the queso fresco, but it was still a very filling (and easy!) meal.
Barbecue Zucchini Fries // This was improvised, but it’s good enough that I think I’ll be making it again. I sprayed zucchini spears with olive oil, sprinkled them with barbecue seasoning (Penzey’s BBQ 3000 to be exact), and baked them for 15 minutes at 500 degrees. Why hello there, easy side!
Also follow on:
Is it weird in my head I was going “duck season….rabbit season! Duck seas….” never mind.
Everything looks wonderful! Don’t you love Penzeys? I’ll have to try that BBQ seasoning after I check out the sodium content. Have you used their Penzeys Cinnamon which mixes 4 different kinds of cinnamon that one whiff will send you floating on a cloud? Mmmm….
Ha! And I think the BBQ seasoning might be high in sodium–I believe salt is one of the first ingredients. But just about any BBQ dry rub would work, I think. I’m gonna need to try their cinnamon now!
OHHH that zuccini looks so delish!
Thank you–it was! And super easy too!
Yay for strawberry season! I think I could seriously OD on ‘em. Wonder if picking season has started? And I love that the photo you apologized for looks 10x better than anything I ever take! Happy weekend
There’s a sign down the road for us for pick your own strawberries–if the weather wasn’t so lousy this weekend, I was totally go!
Love Penzey’s! The zucchini fries look great. never tried BBQ 3000, I will. I usually go for their Fox Point on vegetables. everything looks delicious, I’m never tired of oatmeal. Cool pops. Another great week of great tastes!
I haven’t tried Fox Point! I used to live about 15 minutes from a Penzey’s store–it always smelled so amazing when you walked in the door and I always found something new to try. I miss it!
Mexican Polenta may be my favorite out of this week’s eats. I do love strawberries and the Strawberry Mojito Popsicles make my mouth water just looking at them.
Yes, I think I will definitely be making the polenta again. It was so easy, especially using the polenta in a tube from the grocery store.
I’m so jealous! I’ve been eating grocery store strawberries, and the farmers market doesn’t open til mid-June. My strawberry plants are mere tiny leaves at this point.
Everything else looks good, especially the veggie platter. Looks like falafel, grape leaves, and hummus? Mmm…
Yup, falafel, grape leaves, hummus, and baba ghannouj.
I could eat their baba ghannouj with a spoon! I can never seem to get it right when I try to make it, so I’ve just given up and I buy it instead.
Your food photos always leave me hungry!
I was thinking about getting that Zoku thingy. My son LOVES popsicles! But I really hate buying the ones from the store with all of the sugar and God knows what else. Would you say it’s worth the money?
Regular popsicles are gross–I don’t trust any food that’s neon colored! I was hesitant to buy the Zoku, but I’m glad I did. I think if you use it fairly often (and we do), you’ll end up saving money in the long run over buying them at the store. Plus, you can use just about anything in them!
Our strawberry season in Florida is almost over, so it’s about that time of year when we start getting them shipped in from California and Chile. I love strawberries, but the ones we get from FL are the best! I use them a ton of different ways!
This is our first spring in NC, so I’m not sure how long we have left of our strawberry season, but I’m definitely going to make the most of it! The strawberries from CA & South America just aren’t the same…
I get so sick of seeing nasty strawberries at our stores during the winter- so glad they are finally looking YUM!
Yeah, I hate the big ones that almost crunch like an apple when you bite into them–yuck!
I am so looking forward to fresh fruits at the farmer’s markets! My daughter and I both love all things strawberry – from eating them straight from the carton, to smoothies and strawberry shortcake!
Yeah, we have a year-round farmers market here and it gets kind of depressing in winter when it’s all root veggies and potatoes–it’s exciting to go there and see fruit again!
Love zucchini. Such an unoffensive, easy to bake veggie.
I think fries would be great! Everything you posted looks soooo delicious!
Yes, I think it’s impossible not to like zucchini! It doesn’t really have a distinct flavor, so you can throw it in just about anything.
I need to go get some strawberries!
I want that zuccini !
Oh it all looks so delicious! We all love strawberries and ours are just now ready to pick.
I’m growing my own strawberries too and I’ve been harvesting a handful a day. I never get tired of them!
I had to go google the Zoku, I hadn’t heard of that. We have some popsicle molds we use, but I like the idea of making them more quickly.
I’m so impatient, I love my Zoku.
When I want a popsicle, I want it now!
Mmmm! I can’t wait until strawberry season here! We still have about a month to go up here in the rainy NW, but when they come, they are SO good!
Local strawberries are totally worth waiting for!
I have been waiting for strawberry season, and now that it is definitely here, I always have strawberries in my fridge. I love your popsicles. Perfect for the summer heat. Can’t wait to try them. =)
These are definitely perfect for the summer heat. It’s supposed to be in the 90s here this week, so I may have to make another batch soon!
I’ve been eat quite a bit of local strawberries lately as well. The local taste is great.
They are so much better than the ones shipped in from far away!
I’ll take one of everything! It all looks amazing. I’m especially craving some Mediterranean food right about now. Although without the feta, I don’t know if it’ll be quite as satisfying.
Yuck, I hate feta! Is that made with goat’s milk though? Can you have that? Or is any milk off limits?
Yummy, Kiersten! I have always been fearful of trying polenta.
Really!? I love polenta–it’s so filling and you can do so many different things with it! I like the homemade kind best so if you’re going to try it, I would try that first, but the kind they sell in the tube at the grocery store will do in a pinch.
I guess I’m fearful as my mom never used it at home
I did buy a tube at Trader Joe’s but it is still sitting in my pantry. Maybe I’ll get brave this weekend and experiment!
I’ve seen a lot of recipes for grilled polenta slices lately–I think I might try that next time I have a tube!
I love zucchini fries – but your version looks so much healthier and still looks super tasty! I think I may try making something like it one day…but I’m sure it won’t be as good =)
I’m sure it WILL be as good–these are so easy, there’s no way to mess them up!
I had to come back to check out the strawberry popsicles. Those woud go over well in our house
They’re one of my favorites, although I don’t think I’ve met a popsicle I didn’t like!
I’m just barely learning about this overnight oatmeal and my curiosity is definitely peaked! My boys love oatmeal and something like this would definitely save time in our hectic mornings.
You should try it–it’s so good! If they’re a little bit picky about eating it cold, you could make it with bananas instead of mangoes and heat it in the morning. (You could heat it with mangoes in it too, but that might be a little bit weird…)