Homemade Sesame Mayonnaise: Vegetable Dip and a Chicken and Pepper Salad

This is not your average mayonnaise. Not even for homemade. Made with rice vinegar, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, it is delicious as a dip for asparagus, snap and snow peas, radishes and other spring vegetables. I’ve made this many times, especially for large-scale spring gatherings, where I can arrange lightly blanched asparagus bouquet-style [...]

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Ricotta Frittata: Hakuna Matata

Someone could make a jingle out of that title. Ricotta frittata is a springtime refrain for casual living. It reminds me of that Swahili phrase “hakuna matata” (no worries), made famous by two meerkats in The Lion King. That certainly is the case with frittatas made from locally grown seasonal produce and really fine eggs [...]

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Asparagus Risotto with Spring Onions

Ah April, when the asparagus stalks emerge all spindly from the bare ground and plump violet spring onions are bunched for sale at the market. One of our local farms has a pick-your-own asparagus field, which I visit on my way back from the farmers’ market on Saturday. It’s rejuvenating to know that our local [...]

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Asparagus, Leek and Mushroom Lasagna

Early local spring vegetables baked with lasagna noodles epitomize the season with light, bright flavors in a warm, comforting dish that beats April’s lingering chill. Vegetarian lasagna seemed just right for the time of year, when the sky is crisp and clear and temperatures tease from bluster to balm. This is also a good do-ahead [...]

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Spring Vegetables with Pasta

Before we are overwhelmed by the bounteous fruits and vegetables of summer, we find spring to be the time for small harvests, a few peas just coming on the vine, a radish or two, some fava beans, asparagus, some garlic scapes left curly or cut like beans.  Cooked separately by steaming or plunging briefly in [...]

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Simple Asparagus and Leek Soup

A Bowl of Spring The weather’s ugly, cold and wet, and yet Burstings of spring and just sprung leeks Mean warmth will be here soon, in weeks From straw, asparagus is green anew And begs to join a springtime stew We will prepare, and warm the bowl For simple soup that wakes the soul  Asparagus [...]

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Pickled Asparagus with Curry Spices

After a few seasons of trying, I am gradually improving my pickled asparagus and this one looks like it will be the best yet. Last year I made curried pickled asparagus using ground spices and while the taste was good, the powdery substance created a slurry that I thought was unattractive. So this year, I [...]

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May: A Fresh Start

May is the first month of the year in the cycle of harvesting local food in sustainable quantity from our local farms, our own gardens, and the wilds. The blossoming cherry, apple and peach trees are exuberant reminders of the harvests that are some months away, but bring a cheery end to the bluster of [...]

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Pickled Asparagus with Curry Spices and Another Batch with Herbs

After I wrote this, I had an unexpected result: floaters!  Uh oh. You never want the ingredients in the air space, so I inverted the jars to let them cure. They were fully sealed but since the blend of spices was a complete experiment, I won’t be sad to decant after a month to test-taste. [...]

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Asparagus and Leek Bread Pudding

I had lots of asparagus stems left over from canning pickled asparagus, a couple of fat leeks from the farmers’ market and a hunk of stale bread, so on a ridiculously cold and blustery day in May, bread pudding was not only expedient but comforting. I used my typical formula for bread pudding but decreased [...]

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