Long weekend

Summer has arrived in Columbus, along with festival season.  We ate lunch at the Asian Festival today (chicken adobo - not pictured, chicken on a stick, pad thai, quarter watermelon and patbingsu).  Then we headed over to North Market and got a quart of these strawberries, which were picked at the farm yesterday.  Hope you are enjoying Memorial day weekend.

More pizza

We've broken 2 pizza stones and have a new one now that we have yet to try.  Luckily BB&B has a great return policy.  Above: veggies & prosciutto topped with arugula.  Below: dandelion leaves from our backyard, and fresh roasted beets.

During my mom's visit I learned that dandelion leaves are really good for you, and they grow all over our backyard.  We picked a bunch for my aunt, and when they grew back we tried some ourselves.  This was also my first time roasting beets.  My mom cooked a Korean soup with the greens when she was here, and then I roasted these.  I love beets, and fresh ones are even better!  I can't believe I only discovered beets a year ago.

Fresh herbs

My friend Jaclyn brought us these herbs (chives & dill) the other day, freshly cut from her garden.  Last night I put them in a salad.  I had never had chive flowers before - they are delicious.  They taste like onions in flower form.  I loved the texture.  Everything was so fresh...I can't wait to start my own garden one day.

Spring

These are photos I took in front of our house a week ago.  It seems that in one week we have gone from spring to summer.  The cherry blossoms came and went in April, leaving these beautiful red leaves behind, and now that it's May the lilac bushes are blooming.  I'm still in awe of how everything comes alive after a long and cold winter.  I love the transitions that take place in the fall and spring.  

Happy Mother's Day

Photos from my mom's graduation (top), and from her trip to Chicago in 2009 (bottom two).  I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful day with their mothers!  I send love to my mom from Ohio.

Mom

 My mom visited us last week and went back to LA on Sunday.  I had such a great time with her.  We got free veggie burgers at Northstar for Earth Day.  Among other things, W, mom and I took a nice walk Saturday morning along the reservoir and discovered some cool new spots that I want to explore more with W.

Cleveland trip

W and I took a one night trip to Cleveland last month.  It was refreshing to get away, even for 48 hours.  The highlight was going to the West Side Market, as shown in the photos above.  The next roadtrip will be Cincinnati.