spring |

Ramp & White Bean Fritters with Sriracha-Marmalade Sauce

25 April 2014 by local kitchen

“Oh, ramps,” I hear you sigh, sniffing delicately. “That’s so last year.” To be sure, ramp mania seems to have dimmed somewhat, after a strong showing in the opening years of the decade, to be replaced by new must-have food items such as artisanal toast and eggs that are scrambled in the shell. Which is a good thing, really, as ramps have been dangerously over-harvested in recent years: perhaps everyone has finally gotten the message about sustainable ramp foraging? Or, perhaps, it […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, leek, snack, spring, vegetarian, wild foods • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes, spring, vegetarian

Citrusy Red Lentil Salad

5 April 2013 by local kitchen

The last couple of days have finally felt like Spring in New York: bright sunshine, temps approaching 60 degrees F, tiny, pale green buds popping up on the trees and bright green new growth in our tiny patches of “lawn.” Amazingly enough, this run of warm, sunny weather is supposed to continue right through the weekend and into next week: could it be that Spring is actually here? (I wouldn’t lay bets that we’ve seen the last of this winter’s […]

Categories: citrus, grains & legumes, parsley, radish, salad, side dish, spring, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, salad, spring, vegan, vegetarian

Lemon Lime Linguine

6 March 2013 by local kitchen

I should be home by now. Curled up on my couch, exhausted from a long day’s travel, but happy to see my husband after nearly a week away, and excited by the thought of my own bed. Apparently Winter Storm Whatever-Silly-Name-We’ve-Picked-This-Week had other plans. I got up in the wee small hours of the morning, still dark outside, bleary-eyed from yet another fun night in San Francisco. My friend Christina graciously offered to drive me to the airport before she headed […]

Categories: appetizer, citrus, main course, spring, vegetarian, winter • Tags: citrus, cooking, food, local, recipes, spring, vegetarian, winter

Asian Kaleslaw

20 June 2012 by local kitchen

Yes, you read that right: kaleslaw. Not coleslaw (which is somehow not called cabbageslaw. Hmm.). No gloppy mayonnaise, no pale green cabbage, no (for the love all things holy) raisins (Who’s brilliant idea was that anyway? Dear Person Who Thought Raisins in Coleslaw was a Brilliant Plan: We need to have a chat.). Just thin strips of bright green kale, crunchy carrots and radishes, toasted peanuts and sesame, all tied together with a bright, slightly sweet and just-a-hint spicy Asian dressing. I know, I know: […]

Categories: carrot, fall, kale & leafy greens, quick & easy, radish, salad, side dish, spring • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, salad, sides, spring

Rhubarb Prosecco Jelly

30 May 2012 by local kitchen

Even before I brought home 25 lbs of rhubarb from Tai’s Grandma’s massive Maine rhubarb patch, I had begun the season’s rhubarbapalooza with about 8 lbs of gorgeous, fat and deeply magenta stalks courtesy of Madura Farm. Since the pale pinky-green stalks are far more common in New England, I pounced on these beauties, and knew that I would save them for preserves where color counts: rhubeena and jelly. Last year, when I was leafing through my new copy of Sherri Brooks […]

Categories: canning, jellies, preserving, rhubarb, spring, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb, spring

Strawberry Pinot Noir Preserves

16 May 2011 by local kitchen

The Great Freezer Clean-Out 2011 continues: this time with a Ferber-esque strawberry preserve, made with Pennsylvania pinot noir from Sand Castle Winery. I unearthed a giant bag full of strawberries from last June in my freezer assessment of last week. Half the bag went to one of my favorite strawberry recipes, strawberry rhubarb & caramelized onion jam; for the remaining 2 pounds, I wanted to do something new. I poked through Mes Confitures to see what she may have in […]

Categories: berries, canning, preserves, preserving, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: canning, cooking, dessert, food, jam, local, preserving, recipes, spring, strawberries

Strawberry Chipotle Preserves

4 March 2011 by local kitchen

Can you believe that I don’t have a single jar of strawberry jam left in the garage pantry? I feel like I spent half of last summer preserving strawberries, but in reality, I guess not: there was this Ferberesque strawberry rhubarb jam, but I made it in San Francisco and left it with my friend Christina; there was this Can Jam strawberry rhubarb & caramelized onion jam, but I made that way back in March with frozen berries (sensing a trend, here?); there was a […]

Categories: berries, canning, dessert, hot chile peppers, preserves, preserving, spring • Tags: berries, canning, cooking, dessert, ferber, food, local, preserving, recipes, spring, strawberry

Preserving Rhubarb

29 April 2010 by local kitchen

From the archives, just in time for rhubarb season and the May Can Jam! Enjoy! . . . Today I started tackling the metric ton of rhubarb that I brought home from Maine. I started with about 4 lbs, washed everything well, trimmed off the fat stem end and a small slice off of the top (leaf) end, and started chopping. I picked out the prettiest, pinkest stalks to make Rhubarb Rosemary Jelly (courtesy of Gourmet via Garrett McCord of VanillaGarlic); I decided […]

Categories: 100% local, canning, preserving, rhubarb, spring, techniques • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes, rhubarb, spring

Ramps!

8 April 2010 by local kitchen

You know it’s April in the Hudson Valley when you see ramps pop up, in the farmer’s market or in the woods. Ramps are wild leeks, an allium related to onions, shallots, garlic, and of course, leeks, and they create quite a sensation each spring when the broad, waxy green leaves start popping up in the woods. With good reason: although some think we should just shut up about ramps, there is a reason that foodniks go a little mad […]

Categories: 100% local, foraging, leek, preserving, spring, wild foods • Tags: cooking, food, foraging, local, preserving, ramps, recipes, spring, wild foods

Easy Breezy Pea(sy) Salad

26 April 2009 by local kitchen

Update: Funny to see how hot it was in April, three years ago, when here we are in June 2012 and it’s been chilly, grey and rainy for days. This time around, with fresh peas-from-the-pod, ever so slightly steamed, and radishes & lettuce from the first CSA of the year, this salad was still easy, breezy, pea(sy) good. —————————– This crazy “Spring” weather, with temps approaching 90 degrees, has got me not wanting to do much of anything beyond laying in front of […]

Categories: cheese, dill, lettuce, peas, radish, salad, spring, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, radish, recipes, salad, spring, vegetarian

Cheddar Scallion Scones

19 February 2009 by local kitchen

These cheddar scallion scones serve as my basic savory scone recipe and I’ve made dozens of different versions over the years. I’ve since come to believe that the scones turn out even better with just a little butter in the dough (duh) and so have updated the recipe below to include a small amount (2 tbsp) of butter. I still call these my “cheater” scones, as I don’t work the butter into the flour, just toss in small chunks and let them […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breads, cheese, quick & easy, scallions, vegetarian, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, spring, vegetarian, whole grain breads