Rhubarb frenzy

Last week Wednesday I went to the farmers' market for the first time this season. There wasn't too much produce yet available but I still wanted to support my favorite local farmer, so I bought some rhubarb even though I had no idea what I was going to do with it.

I asked my friends on a forum that I frequent, and someone recommended a Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp. (Yes, I can use recipes other than those coming from my favorite cookbook!) It was quite delicious. I made a few substitutions -- whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose and lemon rind instead of orange (since that's what I had at home). The topping didn't cook all of the way, which was probably the result of me not mixing it properly.
It turned out a little too sweet for me; if I make this again I think I would eliminate some of the sugar coating the fruit and perhaps only make half of the topping.

Two days ago, I bought some more rhubarb at the farmers' market. This time, I decided to make a Rhubarb Coffee Cake. Also delicious! Once again, a few substitutions. I didn't have enough sour cream, so I used plain yogurt. And once again, I substituted lemon rind for orange. Finally, I didn't have turbinado sugar, so I just used regular sugar. I also used a bit more rhubarb than the recipe called for since I didn't want to be left with a couple of stalks. I used a food processor to chop the rhubarb finely.I would recommend either of these recipes to anyone who has some spare rhubarb lying around.

Thomas was making asparagus-spinach soup/puree for dinner last night. After placing the cooked items in the blender, Max had to come over to investigate:
The parrots absolutely loved this dish. When Rocky really loves something, he keeps his top beak in the food and laps it up. We joke that he's afraid Thomas will remove the spoon if he doesn't lay claim to it by keeping his beak immersed. When Max really loves something, she uses her bottom beak to scoop out as large of a portion as she can. Both of these actions were seen in our house last night.

Everyone loves when the farmers' market is around again! How did we survive the winter?