It’s almost here, that amazing season of promise and possibility, when the sunshine warms us and the daffodils cheer us. And the spring greens, the spindly asparagus stalks and the tiny sprouts of new life actually, for the first time in so many months, feed us.
Gone are the soups and stews of winter. Now it’s salads that beckon, everything fresh and crisp and new.
Spring is always busy at our house with kids’ sports and new projects and the work of planting the garden. For me, this year, it’s even busier as a team of contractors tears out every last cabinet and counter in my kitchen and prepares to build back with pine floors, cherry-stained doors and swirling granite that hints of moss by a creek. It will be good — so good — when it’s finished.
But in the meantime it is … shall we say, a little dusty. And, you know, difficult to do much cooking.
Yet there are still five mouths to feed.
So we are pulling together sandwiches on the patio, eating lots of eggs and grateful for nature’s convenience food. (Last night we snipped our asparagus and ate it standing in the grass — no washing, no sautéing, no butter. Man, was it good.)
Even amid our technical challenges, I have recipes to share — a Greek pasta salad, a surprisingly good bulgur citrus salad and my all-time favorite condiment: creamy horseradish sauce. (Trust me on this one.)
Let me know what you think. And what you’re stirring up in your kitchens these days.
Also, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you who’ve signed up to follow this site. I am truly touched by each follow. To me, there is no greater gift than a community of readers.
Which is why for the next several weeks, I’ll be reaching out for followers like never before — sending emails, posting on social media, begging at school pickup. The site gained 40 followers in its first week. I’m hoping to double that in its second. So if there’s anyone you know who might enjoy healthy, seasonal recipes and food and garden writing … please invite them to come along.
Till next week, here’s wishing you a happy spring, filled with good eating and less dust than is in my kitchen.