Some of you have the luxury of getting dirt under your fingernails year round. Those of us in colder climates look forward to crocuses peeking out from under the last of the snow and daffodillies raising their bright yellow colors as the sun warms them up.
Are we ready for planting? Not quite yet…but we are OH so close. Prepping the garden area, raking out the detritus and aerating the dirt. Or maybe you’re just looking at the online seed catalogs to see what perennials, herbs, and veggies you want to try this year - whether it’s in an actual garden or a container garden on your deck.
But we’re getting there. So…what Spring veggies are you starting to dream about?
The first croci are peeking out in our front yard , but other yards in our hood are already dotted with white and yellow daffodils, tiny purple flowers, bright yellow forsythia, and the first green buds are appearing on the trees. 'bout freaking time IYAM!!!
We are so close to our departure for Berlin I can almost smell it: the good coffee, the fantastic bread, the white asparagus dishes, the sweet strawberries, the chanterelles, the democracy
I have to decide what to make for the spring potluck I’m organizing this coming Sunday — our final potluck before we leave town, the question of which actually woke me up far too early this AM: mac salad or caponata? I’ve been meaning to make caponata for the potluck for a while now, plus Sicilian is the COTQ… but the mac salad would be so much less hassle!
Gosh, am I really the first to post dinner in the new thread? Where are all the early diners?
Anywhos — with cooler temps after a balmy weekend casa lingua was in the mood for mapo tofu, again with ground lamb from our share instead of pork.
I always kinda fly by the seat of my pants with this sauce package, bc the English language instructions are pretty nonsensical, and yet it’s turned out rather wonderfully each time I’ve made it.
I started with sautéing baby leeks I got at the Asian market, then added TSTOGAG, the mapo tofu seasoning oil/sauce, and the lamb that I’d fried in a separate pan bc it is very fatty, and about 1.5 cups of water. Let that simmer for a good 20 minutes until the leeks were tender. Added a bit of cornstarch slurry to thicken it all up, tossed in the silken tofu to heat through, and finally topped it all off with a shprinkle of toasted & ground Sichuan peppercorns — et voilà: dinnah
My dude contributed rice from the rice cooker & his delicious bok choy.
Fasolada (Greek White Bean Soup). An easy and delicious soup from readily available veg (in our case, the freezer).
I used tarbais beans, and added some kale at the end. It required lots of salt, lemon, and red pepper flakes. All-in-all, very good. Served with homemade pita.
Spring for me, even with all the rain, is when the Thundercloud plums and camellias bloom, the Japanese maples leaf out and a new batch of chiplets appear at the feeder and play tag on the deck. I love how the flora and fauna do their own thing, year after year, no matter the weather.
Hot and spicy albondigas soup. The usual suspects, plus I added ro-tel tomatoes with chiles and golden hominy I found in the freezer. Pepper jack and Velveeta quesadilla, avocado and radishes.'Twas a blood orange paloma and wine spritzer with.
Pretending it’s 30 degrees warmer while I play around with drink ideas for summer (and to give recipes to attendees at three upcoming installments of “Botanicals and Booze” at Deep Cut Gardens in Middletown, New Jersey). This is Meletti Amaro and [diet] tonic. It is absolutely incredible. Bitter, slight sweetness that comes and goes, and VERY herbaceous. Maybe some lemon peel next time? I can imagine this being even better on a hot summer night.
Dinner was a brisket smothered in Dijon, Worcestershire, soy sauce, garlic, and horseradish, wrapped in foil and baked for a couple hours. Over mashed potatoes with a side of spinach.
Chili con Carne - chili made with ground beef, kidney beans, celery, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, tomato paste, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, parsley and beef broth. Topped with shaved carrots and sour cream and served over rice
For anyone in and around Monmouth County, I highly recommend this talk. Greg does a great job. A warning - after we went to the talk, The Sprout and I went to straight to liquor store to do our own gin comparison.
Briefly salted, then mixed with a little bit of olive oil and white wine vinegar - it adds some crunch and acidity through the vinegar. It’s from a recipe in a German cooking magazine
, but other yards in our hood are already dotted with white and yellow daffodils, tiny purple flowers, bright yellow forsythia, and the first green buds are appearing on the trees. 'bout freaking time IYAM!!!
