Spring has sprung! It’s time for culinary rediscovery! To me, cooking is really all about spontaneity. I focus on simple dishes and reconnect with my passion for flavors and my reverence for locally produced, seasonal ingredients, especially at this vibrant time of year.
Our spring journey is simple, easy, and spectacular. Food isn’t just about cooking. It’s about appreciating the ruby red of rhubarb, the sensuous curve of a peapod, the aristocratic air of asparagus and the licorice aroma of fresh dill.
Asparagus, is a luxury, a privilege, not because she’s expensive, but because she’s at her peak for such a short time each year. My popular Asparagus Tart dish stars deliciously on our catering menu with slender spears submerged in lemon Parmesan egg custard. Oh, my, it’s beyond delicious!
Spring Greens are the soft leaves of spinach, the delicate bundles of watercress or the crunchy stems of chard. Butter Lettuce Wrapped Halibut steamed in a bamboo basket is delicious hot or cold.
Peas taste better fresh from the pod. Garden Pea, Asparagus and Mint Salad pairs beautifully with Aunt Betty’s Salmon en Croûte on my Sunday Brunch menu.
Spring herbs, like dill, chives, cilantro, tarragon and mint are a sensual and fragrant addition to any dish. Tarragon Chicken Salad stuffs well into croissants and mounds beautifully in a bowl of fresh garden greens. See photo below.
Rhubarb, is it a fruit of a vegetable? It’s a vegetable! I saw my first stalks sprouting pastel pink to scarlet when I lived in Indiana. I love Rhubarb Pie! For my sister April’s birthday each year, I make her favorite, Rosewater Poached Rhubarb. The leaves are poisonous, but a large vase full of shocking pink leaves is beautiful.
Your kitchen is a place to be creative. Good food is simple, fresh and seasonal and can be found in a handful of this and a bundle of that.
Be sure to read my next blog entry which contains all the recipes for the dishes mentioned here.
