Farmer’s Market Feature: Daffodil Gourmet Catering

“I love baklava!” I exclaimed at the sight of fresh, handmade baklava at the DAFFORDIL GOURMET CATERING table two weeks ago at the local Farmer’s Market (Lincoln, NE).  This baklava isn’t just good; it’s extraordinary!  The lady who hand-makes all of her pastries -- from her original recipes -- is Persian (from Iran) and baklava doesn’t get any more authentic than that.  You might ask, “What makes Daffodil Gourmet Catering’s baklava ‘extraordinary’?'” Well, I’ll tell you: fresh ingredients, attention to detail, and SAFFRON!!!  And what’s even more extraordinary is that you can actually taste the saffron in every bite of baklava, it’s not just there to make things smell nice or look pleasant; it’s there to Bandari dance across your pallet.

Two weeks ago I discovered Daffodil Gourmet Catering when my friend Kaelly tried to explain the intensity of the baklava’s flavor.  She couldn’t accurately detail the taste-explosion, so she took me to the Daffodil booth and that’s when my addiction started… with a sample.  Just one bite size taste sent me over the edge.  The baklava is on it’s own playing field; no other baklava I have ever tasted compares.  I ended up buying a box of baklava which she sells for $5, you usually get 5 or 6 pieces.  You might be thinking “$1/piece?! That’s a little high!” But wait just a minute, did you know that an ounce of saffron sells for well over $100?! And this baklava is “life-changing.”

samples of baklava (left) and eggless/sugarless almond cookies

Daffodil Gourmet Catering doesn’t just make baklava, they also craft an eggless & sugarless almond cookie (pictured above); and this past Saturday she had an espresso dark chocolate mocha cookie that she’s was still experimenting w/ the recipe -- it sent me over the edge again (keep last week’s recipe!).  They were amazingly moist and delicious and SUPER CHOCOLATY!!! And $3 for seven LARGE cookies (sorry no pictures, they didn’t last that long).

If you go to the Lincoln Farmer’s Market in the Haymarket every Saturday morning (8am-NOON) and haven’t found the Daffodil Gourmet Catering table, you’re not looking hard enough.  Their table can be found behind the AmTrak station right in front of the railcars (note the first photo and the brown railcar in the background).  Also, here’s some additional contact information for Daffodil Gourmet Catering: