It’s starting to get real exciting at the markets here in Zürich.  We’ve already had a few tastes of summer, and berries are making their first appearances, mostly coming from Spain and Italy.  Best of all, rhubarb is now in the spotlight !  I noticed the long, green-topped, ruby stalks at the Coop (local supermarket) a few weeks ago, but as they were grown in hot-houses (and who knows where), I waited ever so patiently for the local crop to show.  Swiss rhubarb is now at every stand at the markets and I can hardly resist buying some each time I go.  Those bright stalks stick out of my market bag like a French baguette, and I hurry home to turn them into a quick pot of jam, or chop them up and throw them into the oven hiding beneath a mountain of buttery crumble topping.

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I’m normally at the Bürkliplatz market every Tuesday and Friday morning. And busy playing in the kitchen trying a new dessert recipe or photographing my latest chocolate tastings. But not when I have a rather critical deadline for a huge project that demands my every minute. I have had the pleasure of working on a very sweet project for the past two months – one that I’ll certainly share here later. Aside from a quick break to see the Burning of the Böögg, I?ve been mostly at my desk. But for now, with most of the work behind me, it was time to step away from my computer and enjoy the beginning of spring in Zürich.

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Medjool dates. Dark chocolate with salt. Meringue. Nougat. Chocolate chip cookies. There are certain foods that make my eyes grow large and the corners of my mouth go up. Any recipe making mention of those above sweets goes right into my “to bake” file. Rhubarb is another favorite of mine and I love its name in German: Rhabarber. When the season was in full swing here in Zürich last May, I was buying fresh bundles of vibrant rhubarb almost weekly at the market. Baked into tarts, cakes, jams and even rhubarb roll-ups! That peak season hasn’t quite arrived yet, but the first stalks are here. Strawberries too, from Spain rather than the local Swiss variety (small and softer) that will come in later summer months. Armed with rhubarb and strawberries,… it was time to get baking.

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You all probably know by now that I have a real fondness not just for sweets, but also for markets!  Every city I visit, I always love to visit the local market.  You can learn so much from seeing the people interacting with the vendors, the different products they have and how they’re presented.  You can simply get lost in the rainbow of colors.  I am all about taking advantage of what is in season too: I jumped at the first arrival of fresh figs in September, got awfully excited about my discovery of mini kiwis in October, ate a few blood oranges a day in March and now – it’s all about rhubarb! Read the rest of this story >>