Spring Dishes

Spring is here! J doesn't believe me, but spring = a lot more tastiness at the market. Even in this global economy, it's readily apparent to me that spring and summer vegetables taste better and are cheaper. So enjoy while you can, everyone! Eating my five colors a day should be a breeze for the next few months.

Our main course tonight was spring asparagus (California grown, please, not Mexican. Eat local!), carrots, celery, green onion, and a handful of shrimp. I know, we shouldn't be eating too much shrimp because of sustainability and cost concerns, but I can't resist. 

And rounding out the color wheel, something a little unusual: lotus root! This is definitely something you don't see all year long, but when it's available I love cutting it into large chunks and simmering it in a simple pork bone and ginger soup. Today, we didn't have time for that so I sliced the lotus root into very thin slices using a mandoline, then simmered it for about 20 minutes in some salt, hondashi, ginger, and water. The result was slightly crispy and very flavorful. I would only do this with very fresh, tender lotus root. Sometimes older roots can be a little fibrous, which is fine stewed but would be terrible for this application.

Strawberries were another sign today that spring has arrived. These are hardly summer berries, but they were on sale and smelled delicious. I figured why not? They were red to the core and quite nice for the first strawberries of 2010.

For those who are counting, dinner today included SEVEN colors. Yay! The hidden color is yellow, blended into this strawberry-pineapple smoothie. Who says desserts have to be calorie-laden? This was better than store bought ice cream, hands down.