These 9 spring recipes will inspire an obsession with seasonal fruits and vegetables!

After a long winter, it’s hard to believe warmer days are upon us. Do you know what you’re cooking? Eating according to seasonal availability is a great way to pay homage to mother nature, respect the environment, and boost the nutritional benefits you get from your fruits and vegetables. The following 9 spring recipes are infused with fruits and vegetables that will make you fall in love with the season all over again. Enjoy!

The following 9 spring recipes are infused with fruits and vegetables that will make you fall in love with the season all over again. Enjoy!

9 Spring Recipes

1. Vegan Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are by nature very light, fragrant, and fresh– the perfect springtime sentiment. This recipe wraps rice paper around lettuce, cilantro, carrots, cucumber, and avocado and then dips the result into a deliciously zesty ginger almond sauce.

2. Asparagus & Leek Soup

Light, creamy, and dense with flavor, this soup incorporates iconic spring ingredients, including leeks, onions, and asparagus. The result is a figure-friendly dish that lets its vegetables shine.

3. Spring Pea Salad Recipe with Feta and Pistachios

Peas, parsley, feta, pistachios, and a zesty vinaigrette make for a great salad that you can enjoy as a meal or as a snack. The sweetness of the peas is accented by the honey in the vinaigrette while the feta cheese, parsley, and mustard offer an earthy overtone.

4. Vegan Gluten-Free Pasta Recipe with Kalamata Olive and Sun-dried Tomatoes

With Spring’s arrival come healthier meals, featuring homemade favorites, only with a twist. This pasta recipe nixes the regular pasta, cream-based sauce, and cheese, and it opts for brown rice linguini, a load of vegetables, and cheesy nutritional yeast.

5. DIY Cucumber Face Mist

Treat your palate – your facial one, that is – with spring flavors! This refreshing and cooling mist combines cucumber with aloe vera and witch hazel to make for a soothing, acne-busting concoction that keeps your skin clear and young all season long.

6. Vegetable Frittata Recipe with Red Onion and Radish

Wake up to a unique frittata, which features a springtime favorite: radish. The flavors balance one another surprisingly well, and like any frittata dish, you leave the table satisfied and full of protein to carry you throughout the morning.

7. Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Who knew you don’t need cream to achieve a creamy texture or butter to achieve a buttery taste?! This soup highlights the magnificence of broccoli and its versatility as it transforms from large, hard, and bulky to smooth, soft, and sensuous. Enjoy!

8. Spicy Mango Citrus Ceviche

Nothing screams warm weather quite like mango does and spring is the perfect time to introduce some well-deserved tropical sensations into your diet. This mango ceviche is sweet, spicy, and herbal all at once.

9. Pan-Grilled Asparagus and Endive with Fava Beans, Orange and Basil

Just about all of spring’s delicacies are jam-packed into this dish, and I’m definitely not complaining. Asparagus and fava beans add the bulk while slightly bitter endive leaves, sweet oranges, and aromatic basil pique the dish’s flavors. A backdrop of a smoky, grilled essence adds even more spring vibes.

Related on EcoSalon

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Colorful Root Vegetables Image from Shutterstock

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ColumnIs there anything better than all the good food that spring brings us?

Spring represents many things. The end of winter. A time of rebirth. A countdown to summer.

For me, it’s a celebration of good food. Certainly, there is good food to be had all year around, but there is something extra special about spring.

Now is the time when the root vegetables are replaced by more exciting ingredients; a time when every week that you go to the market, a new vegetable that you had almost forgotten about pops up. It’s a time when we come out of our hibernating slumber and shake off the desires of heavy comfort food and start to turn towards fresher dishes. Things start to grow. Fresh herbs come back into our kitchen pots. We start dreaming of dinners outside.

Summer is a time when good weather is a given, when berries and vegetables abound and everything tastes good. Spring is more subtle, a gentle surprise. It comes slowly, certain foods quietly making their way back and into our everyday meals. A radish here, some asparagus there. The culinary cobwebs of winter are dusted off and you experience a new found feeling of inspiration. You want to chop, you want to mix, you want to pull things from the garden.

Spring is a glorious season for food, and it’s a season that begs for simplicity.

Time and time again I come back to my core concept of good food, with good people, from good places. It doesn’t have to be complicated, in fact, most of the time, I don’t even want it to be. When a dish is simple, there’s nothing to hide behind. If the ingredients are bad, then so is the food.

And why make spring food complicated? There are artichokes. There is asparagus. There are leeks. The options are endless, with only a few ingredients. Spring is a time where food preparation doesn’t need to be much more than dusting off the dirt from the ends of the radishes.

Spring is a season where sometimes a dinner table is no more than an open space on the ground. A season where the ray of sunshine shining through the window onto your morning coffee cup feels like the start of something completely new. As the vegetables come back, we too are renewed. Refreshed.

So, if you’ve been considering changing how you eat, now is the time to start. Now is the time to embrace seasonality. Now is the time to start learning about where your food comes from. Now is the time to give up the processed foods. Because spring is the perfect reminder of all the good, natural food that there is around us.

Good food is as close to you as the nearest garden. Somewhere, something is growing. That is the beauty of spring. So make time to go out and celebrate. Go into the season with abandon. Eat well and eat often; spring is begging you to do so.

Related on EcoSalon

Spring into Seasonal Vegetables: Marinated Vegetable Salad

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21 Radish Recipes for Spring

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Anna Brones

The post Spring, a Season for Good Food: Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnThe simple pleasures of eating seasonally can enhance your enjoyment of healthy food.

I get excited about fresh figs.

No, really excited. Some may even say overly so. Watch me go to a market or a store that has local figs, and I may look a bit like a madwoman, frantically stuffing dozens of figs into a bag. I have been known to buy all the figs in the store (ok, they were low on them to begin with). Normally there’s no recipe in mind, just the feeling that fig season is fleeting, and I better take advantage of it while I can.

I always eat one fig straight from the fruit bowl. I don’t have to do anything to it, it’s perfect enough to eat by itself. It’s sweet and succulent. Mind blown.

I’ve always liked fruits, but recently I made a commitment to eating seasonally, as well as local, and the result is that everything tastes better. When pears came to the market, it was like eating a pear for the first time. Same with the figs. The tastes are so particular and so special, you’re amazed that you’re just eating fruit.

Why? When eating seasonally, we only eat the foods that are available, and in doing so there are many things that we go without. Eating seasonally inevitably induces a craving, and one that can’t be solved with a quick fix. You can’t go buy a fresh fig just because you want one.

The craving grows and grows, and when the taste buds are finally satiated, they appreciate that taste and flavor so much more. It’s an experience that can be equated to if you have ever given up eating something for a certain amount of time. You stopped chocolate for a month just to see if you could do it, and the first bite upon re-entry was like no chocolate you had ever eaten before.

In a time of mega-supermarkets, we’re used to most products being available year round. Our brains are fooled into thinking that it’s completely normal to eat tomatoes all year round (for most regions, it’s not). Unless you live in New Zealand, your apples shouldn’t be from there. It’s not hard to see why: the carbon footprint of shipping thousands of pounds of apples around the world every day is obvious.

In fact, we are so brainwashed by the illusion of choice, that we don’t question buying a tomato in January. But you know what happens when you start eating seasonally? Buying those tomatoes out of season isn’t even an option, so you never even try to fulfill the craving with some GMO-induced, bland, reddish blob. You wait until tomato season rolls around, and you get ones that were freshly picked, not carted up from god-knows-where in a truck. Instead, you get satisfaction that comes from fulfilling a craving that has lasted for months. And you eat food when its meant to be eaten.

Certainly, eating seasonally 100 percent of the time is difficult. Even I can’t commit to that, and I’m the first to admit it. I love coffee, and eating root vegetables all winter long could make for a pretty boring few months (although it would inspire creativity in the kitchen, hello beet and carrot tacos). That being said, we could all make a better effort to create a diet that’s more in tune with where we live and what season we’re in. The payoff is a delicious one.

Related on EcoSalon:

Eating Local and Organic By the Seasons

21 Fig Recipes to Make Right Now

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Anna Brones

The post The Joy of Eating Seasonally and Locally: Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

Who knew that the hand-crafted ricotta in your shopping cart had a seasonal shelf-life? Surprise: milk is actually one of the most misunderstood ingredients from the farm, and a truly seasonal food.

EcoSalon readers will agree that as a farmers market-shopping, tomato-growing, eco-conscious subset of society, we’ve become pretty savvy about where our food comes from. We understand that asparagus and peas are worth waiting for, and that pastured-raised chickens and their eggs really do taste better.

Yet, few food-loving folk people are aware that cheese is a seasonal food. Since its discovery sometime around 2000 BC, fresh cheese has been a way to use surplus milk. The process of aging cheese is actually one of the earliest methods of food preservation, and it provided vital protein and other nutrients during the winter months, when certain species of ruminants (cud-chewing mammals with four-chambered stomachs) aren’t lactating.

Image: June Mita Photography

Milk, of course, comes from lactating mammals, i.e., those that have recently given birth. The stomachs of ruminants are specially adapted to break down their entirely plant-based diet, and the end result is an especially rich milk, and the main ingredient in cheese. The normal lactation period for the three main dairy species—sheep, goats, and cows—ranges from six to ten months. Factors such as breed, climate, diet, and topography all influence lactation time and the flavor and chemical composition (the ratio of water to solids) of milk, as well.

This is why fresh (unaged) cheeses such as mozzarella, chevre, and ricotta were traditionally only available during the spring and summer, when animals began their lactation. Aged cheeses such as cheddar, Gruyère, or Parmigiano-Reggiano were consumed during the lean winter months. As agriculture became industrialized, dairy species were domesticated and genetically selected to produce more milk, and extending the lactation cycle was adopted as a practice in most commercial dairy farming.

A longer lactation results in a higher milk yield and profit (in the short term, at least). The problem with continuously lengthening lactation and overbreeding a dairy animal is that it stresses their system, which is not exactly humane or conducive to quality dairy products. Ultimately, this results in a shorter “working” life, and potentially makes the animal more susceptible to disease and injury.

Image: George Wesley & Bonita…

Despite advances in the dairy industry over the centuries, cheesemaking has changed very little, which is why, for small cheesemakers, it remains a highly seasonal food making endeavor. From a financial standpoint, fresh cheese equals immediate profit, while aged cheeses mean a source of income during the off-season.

This is why you likely won’t find that incredible yogurt or chevre from your favorite local, small-scale cheesemaker during the winter months: their animals aren’t producing milk. There’s nothing wrong with purchasing fresh cheeses from larger producers or those using frozen milk in the colder months (or summer, for that matter). If, however, you want to support local or small-scale cheesemakers, be sure to purchase their winter offerings, as well.

Want to know more about cheese? Check out my book, Cheese for Dummies.

top image: mark notari

The post Celebrate Summer With Cheese: The Surprising Seasonal Food appeared first on EcoSalon.

Column6 foods that comfort in the cold months.

Six degrees Fahrenheit. The kind of weather that necessitates two puffy jackets. The time change means it’s easier to motivate in the morning routine, but come dusk all I want to do is crawl under a blanket on the couch and read a book. No more balmy, late evenings with a group of friends and a plate of hors d’oeuvres and a bottle of wine; it’s hibernation time. Dark days, cold nights; the winter fueled mindset is upon us.

In front of me sits a steaming mug of Lavender Earl Grey (thank you Banff Tea Co.). On a winter morning like this, it’s a needed infusion of energy. The large cup turns into a hand warmer and the lavender gives a sense of calm that fits the season. I’m slowing down, off the late summer and early fall craze, falling more in tune with the shorter days. Which gets me thinking about comfort food: the edibles we gravitate towards when we hit our hibernation months.

There’s a reason why we want heavy, starchy, fatty foods: they make us happy. These foods boost our serotonin levels, which are much needed throughout the colder months. Centuries ago we could have blamed it on needing extra energy for winter, but in our modern days we certainly don’t need extra fat for winter, we just eat to feel, well, comforted. Which is why, all of a sudden, we’re craving things like hot chocolate milkshakes and macaroni and cheese, even though they go against our better judgement.

If you’re feeling like you need to crawl into a cave, away from people and hunker down, you’re not alone. There are comfort food restaurants, food trucks – Ms. Cheezious grilled cheese sandwich anyone? – and even diets. Yes, comfort food diets. If anyone out there manages to eat a diet rich in cheese and carbohydrates and still stay healthy, please let me know, I’m dying to hear about it.

All jokes aside, might as well give your body what it needs, and when salads just aren’t cutting it, it’s time to start getting creative in the kitchen, not just to make you feel emotionally better, but to keep you healthy. Here’s your foodie guide to comfort food bliss, keeping you happy without the culinary sacrifice.

The Classy Comfort Food

Bored with the standard macaroni and cheese and need to cook up a more high end meal? Try Heidi Swanson’s Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash, a seasonal favorite. Or test out our very own Vanessa Barrington’s Spicy Crab and Polenta. You can’t go wrong.

The Comfort Food You Drink

Fireplace, book and a mug of mulled wine, what more do you want? Go for my Swedish favorite glögg, which packs the kind of punch your winter nights need.

The Morning Comfort Food

A dark winter morning necessitates a little indulgence, this time in the form of plenty of butter. This recipe is adapted from Sheila Lutkins’ Dorset Scones in All Around the World.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled + cut into cubes
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup dried currants
• 1/2 cup sliced, toasted almonds

1. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add cold butter and mix together until it resembles a coarse meal. [Easiest way to do this is in a food processor, but using your hands to do the job works just fine!]

2. Whisk egg in a small bowl and mix together with milk. Add to flour mixture and mix until dough forms large curds.

3. Knead in currants and almonds.

4. Make two round balls and flatten on greased pan. Cut each round into eighths.

5. Preheat over to 450F, bake for 15 min.

The Impress Your Friends Comfort Food

It’s winter, not only are you craving comfort food, but you’re exhausted, so cooking up a storm for the neighbors isn’t at the top of your list. Keep it simple with this delicious appetizer that only requires three ingredients:

• Honey
• Goat cheese
• Walnuts

Put cheese in a oven friendly dish and cover with walnuts and honey. Put in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes, until cheese is soft. Serve with a crusty loaf of hearty bread.

The You Just Want to Be Alone Comfort Food

You’re hibernating, remember? Saying no to friends is perfectly acceptable, and it’s the perfect time to indulge. You can buy a round of raclette cheese, melt it and attack the entire dish with apple slices. There’s no one around to comment on your questionable serving sizes. If you’re craving something sweeter, whip up a coffee cake or Mexican Bread Pudding, make a cup of tea and retreat. If you go overboard and eat the whole thing, just be sure to wash out the baking dish to get rid of any evidence before any housemates, partners or significant others return home.

***

And that Lavender Earl Grey? Head to your local spice store, buy a handful of lavender buds and mix it in with loose leaf Earl Grey. It will keep your favorite tea mug happy all winter long.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: Comfort Food appeared first on EcoSalon.

The first person to figure out that an artichoke was edible was either very hungry, very clever, or both. Certainly they lived somewhere in the Middle East, as that’s where this edible flower originated. From there, the green spheres spread to Italy, France, and the rest of Europe. They were brought to this side of the globe by both French immigrants who settled in Louisiana and Spanish missionaries along the coast of California. Stuffed artichokes are still an important dish in New Orleans.

A perennial from the thistle family, almost all U.S. chokes are grown in California’s Mediterranean climate. They’re in season from March-June and are at their peak now. When I was a kid, we’d boil the big ones to a state of gray-green pallor and then dip their leaves in Best Foods mayonnaise, eating them as fast as we could, one after another, by inserting each leaf into our mouths and pulling it out again, while scraping the fleshy parts off on our top teeth. That’s still a fine way to consume them, but since then I’ve learned a thing or two from Italian cooks and now I prefer to braise them and serve them with fresh herbs and olive oil, and maybe a little lemon. My favorites are the babies, about 2 inches high. To prepare them for cooking the Italian way, you have to discard most of the artichoke, and it will seem wasteful, but it’s worth it. Just don’t forget to compost!

To prepare the artichokes: Cut off a sliver of the dry stem, leaving most of it intact and then cut the pointy top about 1/4 inch down for the 2 inch artichokes. Starting at the bottom and working your way up, bend back the dark green outer leaves, snapping them off at their bases until you get to the tender light green interior. Rub the artichokes with a cut lemon as you go so they don’t brown. Cook whole or cut as the recipe you’re following directs.

Baby Artichokes with Potatoes, Fresh Herbs, and Lemon
Serves 2 as a side dish or 4 as an appetizer

This recipe holds well and tastes even better at room temperature so it’s great picnic or party food. Add a little crumbed feta cheese for a nice variation.

You’ll need:

1/4 cup olive oil
3 organic garlic cloves, sliced thinly
8 to 10 small artichokes, prepared as above and quartered
4 small organic yellow or gold potatoes, cut into eighths
2 teaspoons chopped fresh organic oregano or marjoram
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh organic mint
Organic lemon juice to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

To make:

In a medium skillet with a lid, warm the oil gently over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook slowly, without letting it brown, until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Raise the heat to medium, and add the artichokes, potatoes and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add about 1/4 cup water, lower heat to medium low, and partially cover. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until both the potatoes and artichokes are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in the herbs and remove from heat. Let cool slightly. Add lemon juice and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately or at room temperature within 2 hours.

Image: Darwin Bell

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