Thursday, April 19, 2012

Spring has sprung, well not so much spring as almost full on Summer.  I am looking around to planting.   Where are my Lettuces?  Where are my herbs?  I should have cold crops like Carrots, and Broccoli sprouting now, but the weather seems to have left all those plans behind.

There is a philosophy here in KY, never put out tomatoes until after Derby.  I think Global Warming may have put the KyBosh on all that.

At any rate, spring really kicks my cooking gear into hyperdrive.  All of a sudden I think of vegetables in a way I never did in Wintertime.  Something about the barren winter just makes me become the queen of braises.  But with Spring I think about the freshness of tender lettuces and baby beets.  Tiny baby root vegetables, is there anything sweeter than a baby carrot in a multitude of colors.  Yer right, there is not.  Unless it's a baby lamb eating those same carrots.  Now that's pretty cute.

I think of herbs, just waking up from a long winter's nap.  Chives are the first heralds of spring and nothing is more beautiful than those georgous purple flowers. Did you know Chive Flowers were edible.  They are fantastically garlicky and oniony and all in such a subtle way you won't ruin your breath for your date.  Herbs are the life's blood of spring just when everything is springing up.

If I take a simple salad of baby greens, but then add snips of chive, whole leaves of parsley, fronds of dill and a shaving of parmesan cheese to it, it becomes something that makes my day shine.  I could eat the heck out of that salad.  And if you put it with a beautifully poached piece of fish.  Well ..... you'd better open the wine up and call it a short day.  Cause I'm going to the park with the dog!

Spring is a wonder, a wake up call, a smack in the gob to say... oi!  Get Going!  Breaks Over.  Get out there and eat it up!

Love ya


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