*We’re falling into spring with our friends at Chateau St. Jean. This is the first in a series of three springy date night recipes. We’re starting with a Grilled Lamb Salad that is both hearty and light – just what is needed as we slowly move away from long gray days of winter and into light, breezy and nearly warm spring. We’ve paired this recipe with their Cabernet Sauvignon. With aromas of berries and spice it holds up to the lamb quite nicely.

I hate to admit it but it is true what they say about Seattle – it rains, a lot. This year in particular has proven that point beyond what I feel it needs to. We’ve broken many sodden records and recently a headline read “Never-ending gloom? Seattle has had just 3 sunny, mild days since the start of October” That’s right, we have had a collective 30 hours and 51 minutes of sunshine since the beginning of October.

I’ve reached the point in the season where I am desperately ready for the next. I’m ready to feel a bit of sun on my face, get my hands dirty in the garden, wander the beach (without four layers on) and pluck sun-warmed berries off the vines. The roaring fire in the fireplace was once cozy but now I curse it for its necessity.

This morning, Roman was ready for school well before it was time to leave. He put on his hooded rain jacket and favorite baseball hat, grabbed his wooden bat and went outside to practice his swing. I held my coffee cup in tight as I watched him take swing after swing while the rain trickled off the brim of his cap. He turned to the window and saw me watching him with a big grin across my face. His lips curled into a smile, matching mine, before returning to swinging position never once letting the rain slow him down. 

Our marriage has weathered its fair share of seasons. In fact it was in the midst of a season that felt much like our gray, wet late winter days when Gabe and I started dating at home. I had resigned to settle into the season of raising young children while pushing aside our marriage. There will be time for us when they’ve grown I would say to myself but just like Roman out in the rain practicing for sunny days on the ball field, I decided that I couldn’t simply wait for this season to pass and expect that our relationship would be okay at the end of it. We needed to continue to live and invest in one another even – or especially – during the gray. Had we waited for the proper conditions – kids in school, sleeping through the night or even waited until they were out of the house – we would have missed so many beautiful moments together in the midst of children wailing, sharpie sketches on the wall and long sleepless nights. Because we made us a priority even when we felt we had nothing more to give at the end of the day, our relationship thrived in a season where it could have easily shriveled and suffered immensely.

In the kitchen I’m willing spring to come regardless of what it looks like outside. I won’t allow myself to sit around and simply watch the rain streak down my windows while there are delicious things to be enjoyed right now. This hearty yet healthful salad is a tip toe into spring as it’s laced with fragrant herbs and peppery greens. It is indeed decidedly green, which to me is the color of spring with fresh, bright and pungent herbs leading the charge.

If Israeli couscous is tricky to find you could easily substitute it for chickpeas, rice, lentils, quinoa or simply leave it out and serve as a more traditional salad. The same goes for the lamb. I love the gentle gaminess here but chicken, beef, fish or even grilled peppers and zucchini would all be lovely in its place.

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Grilled Lamb Salad with Couscous

Prep 15 mins

Cook 15 mins

Total 30 mins

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 2 servings

This salad pairs beautifully with a glass of Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon

Ingredients

1 pound lamb shoulder

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup Israeli couscous, cooked until just tender

4 cups assorted spring greens (mustard, arugula, watercress, friseé)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup chopped cucumber

1/3 cup crumbled feta

1/4 cup sliced red onion

Lime wedges

1/2 cup basil and mint leaves

Dressing:

1/2 cup mint leaves, finely minced

1/2 cup basil leaves, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar

1/2 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt

Instructions

Chef 1: Salt and pepper the lamb. Grill or roast until medium-rare, 145°F.

Chef 2: Prepare the dressing by whisking together the herbs, cumin, vinegar, honey, dijon and olive oil. Add a pinch of salt then taste and adjust the seasoning to your tastes.

Chef 1: On a serving platter arrange the greens, then the couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and onion. Drizzle on some of the dressing then top with the lamb and add more dressing. Top with more fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime.

Chef 2: If the wine hasn’t been poured do so now.

Courses Dinner

 

After the second night of eating out and one exasperated text away from throwing in towel and admitting yet another dinner defeat, I turned on the stove and grabbed a few simple ingredients to form some sort of dinner. We are trying to eat out less after all, and three nights in a row did seem a bit much, even for me.

I’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut lately – not eager to dive into the kitchen when it’s dinner time and not feeling the usual bit of glee when Jacques Pepin appears on TV to teach me the wonders of classic French cooking.

Just like any relationship, mine with food has its peaks and valleys. There are times when I’m madly in love with food. She’s all I can think about, and recipes pour out of me like velvety caramel. Other times it’s as dry as that loaf of bread I just threw out – too lazy to even make breadcrumbs.

The thing is, all relationships take intention, work and commitment. I’ve been in love with food long enough to know that my feelings flutter and then cease in different seasons. When I’m feeling uninspired I trust that excitement will once again strike but sometimes my creativity needs a bit of a nudge.

When I’m in the midst of a rut and am feeling tired with my cooking I push myself to try new things. A couple weeks ago I picked up the cookbook, Cairo Kitchen, because I know nothing about Egyptian cooking. Its exotic ingredients and flavor combinations have ignited many of our meals and have been the basis for several dinner parties. I’ve become enamored with dried mint, stunned by sumac and possibly have gone a bit overboard with Nigella seeds.

So I seek out new ingredients, new spices, new cuisine and new techniques to refuel our romance. With a bit of intention and stepping out of the mundane and into something exciting, my creativity is ignited and once again food and I are in a passionate romance.

That’s why I’m thrilled to partner with Frontier Co-op to bring you all and quite frankly, myself, inspiration for fresh ways to dress up the season’s produce with fragrant herbs and spices.

These peas are just the sort of recipe that lift me out of the doldrums and get my mind reeling with ideas. It’s crazy simple, uses only a few ingredients and yet tastes far more complicated.

First, the peas are quickly blistered in a hot pan with a bit of oil. At the last minute, a few pea shoots are thrown in – quite possibly my favorite spring ingredient. I love their tender sweet leaves, their light grassy flavor and the way the curled tendrils look on a plate. The hot peas lay on a bed of cool crème fraîche and are simply adorned with lemon zest, poppy seeds and a bit of flaky salt.

Over the next month, I’ll be exploring more creative ways to prepare seasonal produce on my and Frontier’s Instagram accounts. I’d love to hear about your ideas as well!

Follow along for ideas and to share your own recipes and ideas using the hashtag #SpiceUpSummer.

Blistered Peas with Crème Fraîche and Poppy Seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups sugar snap peas

2 cups pea shoots

3 ounces creme fraiche

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

flake salt

Add the olive oil to a large skillet set over high heat. When the oil shimmers add the peas in a single layer.

Cook until golden in parts and their green color turns bright, about 3 minutes.

Add the pea shoots and give a quick stir.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the crème fraîche to a platter then place the peas on top of that.

Finish with the lemon zest, poppy seeds and flake salt.

Enjoy right away.

This is just the sort of thing you make when spring brings rhubarb as red as a fire truck.

It is just what the day needs when the sun struts its stuff as if it’s summer.

It’s what you make when you taste spring in the form of a rhubarb popsicle at the market while simultaneously sneaking bites of your husband’s coconut creamsicle.

This is what we make to remind us of a sunny day at the farmer’s market where we tucked pea shoots under our arms and each of us devoured a different sort of frozen treat.

We make these because having a stash in the freezer is just what is needed when a sweet little girl is home sick from school with a fever and her mom needs a little sweetness to push through the afternoon.

At the end of a long, sunny spring day, it’s just what is needed.

Coconut Rhubarb Creamsicles

Makes 10 popsicles

Sweet, tart, and creamy; all the makings of a fine spring treat. Feel free to use coconut cream for an added indulgence. Or part coconut milk and heavy cream if dairy isn't an issue.

The soft spice adds a warming note but if you want the zip of rhubarb to really shine it's okay to leave out the spice.

Regular granulated sugar is a fine substitute if you don't have natural cane sugar.

This is the popsicle mold I use and love: Norpro Ice Pop Maker

Rhubarb Popsicle

1 pound cut up rhubarb

1/2 cup natural cane sugar

pinch ground cinnamon (optional)

pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

1/4 cup water

juice from one small lemon

Coconut Cream

1 15 ounce can full-fat coconut milk

3 tablespoons natural cane sugar

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean

For the rhubarb: Add the rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and water to a saucepan. Cover with a lid then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rhubarb easily falls apart when gently pressed.

Remove the pan from the heat then add the lemon juice.

Carefully transfer the rhubarb mixture to a blender and blend until completely smooth.

Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. You can use less sugar if you like a very tart rhubarb taste.

Let this mixture cool for at least 30 minutes.

For the coconut: In a medium bowl whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

Carefully divide the two mixtures between 10 popsicle molds.

I like to layer the mixtures then use a butter knife to give a gentle stir, breaking up the layers and adding a subtle marbling.

Freeze until completely firm. At least 4 hours or overnight.

Unmold the popsicles by running warm water on the sides.

It’s not out of life’s character to move quickly, to come and go while often leaving a path of destruction not unlike the upended houses and thrown cars that get in the way of a tornado. Right now emails are coming in faster than I can respond to, we’re signing my little girl (my baby!!) up for preschool, I’m tripping over clean clothes spilling out of the confines of the basket and the dishwasher is loaded and unloaded more times that I can count in a day.

“In our next house I think we need a bigger dishwasher.” Gabe said while unloading yet another round. We’re both trying to seek some sort of sense in a season that has us both gasping for air.

These things happen. I’ve seen seasons come and go numerous times, particularly while being a parent. Just when you think you have a schedule figured out – baby is sleeping through the night, we’re getting three healthy meals on the table a day and we’re able to rest at the end of day – then suddenly something shifts and the new schedule that we took great pride in is pointless. Then in struts a new season without warning.

In our house we’re experiencing some shifting, a new busy season, and it’s provoked many moments of Gabe and I sitting on the couch staring blankly at the google calendar trying to make sense of the week. Nothing about these changes are bad – it’s multiple birthdays that call for multiple parties, book writing, new job opportunities, the start of wedding season, travel – but it’s enough to fill up the moments in our day and have us needing to seek out our priorities that don’t always get a time slot on the calendar.

The to-do list was growing by the minute last week and the 50 unread emails in my inbox were taunting me with their bold type but I knew we needed dinner. The sort that has food setting on multiple platters along the table. The kind of dinner that we ask the kids to set the table, with napkins even. They may be paper but even so a folded paper napkin with a fork and knife resting next to its crease somehow elevates the meal beyond the harried throw something on a plate because the kids are hangry dinners. Those happen too. But this time I was seeking the sort of dinner where we sit around the table and linger until the conversation dwindles and even then Gabe and I stick around for awhile while the kids carry their plates, with much of dinner still on it, into the kitchen then run off to play.

It seemed such a simple thing, in fact it was. Dinner was little more than braised chicken thighs with a bright white bean salad speckled with fresh mint, salty feta and peas that burst with spring. But sitting down to dinner reminded me that in the midst of chaos and new seasons it is vital that we stick to the routines that bind us.

It’s for this reason that our date nights are scheduled. If they weren’t their absence would go unnoticed until Gabe and I realize that something isn’t right in our marriage. These weekly nights that breed connection are like our preventative medicine – as exercise builds a strong body better ready to fight when sickness comes – our marriage is the stronger for our weekly dating exercise over a sprightly cocktail and satisfying meal.

The same is true for family dinner. I don’t want to communicate to our kids that we only have a nice meal together when there’s time. No, we make the time for it. And while I know the reality is that some nights we just can’t all linger at the table together, it’s important for our family that it’s most nights.
As we sat around the table over dinner I remembered the days when I longed for family dinners around the table. Baron used to sit in a little seat with an attached tray on the floor in our kitchen as he mumbled his way through black beans and purees of all kinds. Then when he was finally able to sit at the table with us for dinner, Roman had his turn in the little chair. We’d just sit down to dinner when suddenly Roman would start to cry and moan and demand something other than the mashed banana I was feeding him. I would leave the table with Roman while Gabe and Baron enjoyed dinner.

“When will we ever be able to eat as a family?” I lamented longing for those idillic dinners that I so eagerly wanted with our growing family.

Then came Ivy and again our meal time was split between a preschooler eager to talk about his day, a potty training and not eager to sit still toddler and a baby who didn’t want to sit on the sidelines or sit (unless in someone’s arms) in general. During those days it felt like dinner would never happen around the table. We ate in shifts and in between messes.

And then it happened, really without me even noticing. Sometime last year we were all sitting around the table.

“How was your day?” I asked Baron excited to hear about his day at school while at the same time remembering how often I was asked that question at the dinner table.

His generic response was the same as mine often was, “good”. Soon the conversation expanded beyond one word answers and we’d have to remind the kids to actually eat their food in between sentences.

Even still our dinners rarely last longer than 10 minutes, are often met with moans from all the green stuff I’m serving and much of the time is spent cleaning up spilled milk and sticky fingers. But it’s happening. We’re around the table most nights creating the habit and building the ritual. If we don’t build that into our schedule, regardless of the season we’ll one day realize that our opportunities for those dinners have passed. How terribly cliche of me but I’ve come to realize a new cliche – the cliches are true (and now I shall not say that word again because I really don’t like it).

While the romantic in me doesn’t like the need for “scheduling” time together – whether it’s date night or family dinners – the practical side of me, albeit however small that part is, realizes that in order for these times of connection to happen they need to be scheduled. The importance of those times outweighs my disdain of scheduling.

White Bean Salad with Peas and Mint

serves 4 as a side

1 15 oz can or 1 1/2 cups white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
zest and juice from half a lemon
1/2 cup crumbled feta
olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine everything in a bowl. Add just enough olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper, lots of pepper, to taste.
If you are making this ahead combine everything except the mint as fresh mint tends to wilt and turn black once cut. Stir in the mint just before serving.
I like this with a bit of bread for a light lunch or served alongside chicken as a main course. Makes a great, easy picnic side dish.

*This post was inspired by the new book from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, called Gluten-Free Girl Every Day. It’s simple weeknight cooking centered around the family and dinner together. The recipes are simple yet creative and enticing. I can not wait to try the zuchini noodles with pesto.

*Recently I did an interview with Saveur. Check it out their site. And while you’re clicking around hop over to Bon Appetit where I took their new grilling book for a spin. *Spoiler* I LOVED it.

First of all I need to thank you all for the incredible response from my last post. I have read every single comment and email and they have been like a breath of fresh air. I struggled to publish that post but you all have once again proven to be an incredible community that encourages and lifts us up. So thank you. I apologize for not responding to the emails and comments. It continues to be a bit of a difficult season for me and my family but I have seen so much amazing goodness come out of it already. We are covered in grace and are so thankful for your words and continued support.

________

Of course much can be said on the beauty of sharing a meal with dear family and friends as laughter mingles with the scents of soft spices drifting through the air. Where wine glasses clink over riveting conversation and dishes linger on the table far after the meal is done. There is also beauty in cooking for one.

Perhaps it is because for me this is a rare occasion – one to be celebrated and remembered. It is a time when my cravings and food adversities (of which there aren’t many) are the only ones to consider. It is a time when the pasta can be covered in little green flecks and I won’t hear the moanings from three little ones each one meticulously trying to pluck the herbs off their pasta.

My meals for one are simple and light, often composed of many small tastes and they are consumed in silence.

For another idea of what I like to eat while dining alone check out this cheese plate I created for Wisconsin Cheese. Also, check out CheeseCupid.com for a great tool on pairing cheese with drinks. Somehow I managed to include chocolate with my cheese. I may have a problem.

*Disclaimer – I was paid to produce the content for Wisconsin Cheese. Words and images are, as always, my own.

Simple Pasta with Fresh Herbs

This pasta is far too simple for a formal recipe so instead I’ll channel my inner Nigel Slater (I wish) and contain its ingredients and basic method in paragraph form.

First you’ll set a pot of water to boil with enough salt in it that one taste conjures up images of those horrid accidental times of ingesting a bit of sea water. If you didn’t grow up around the ocean - the water should taste salty. Cook enough spaghetti noodles for one. While the noodles boil mince a handful or two of fresh herbs. In this particular batch I used chives, mint, dill, thyme, parsley and purple basil. Whatever you have on hand will do nicely. Add to that a finely minced half of a garlic clove and about a teaspoon or so of finely grated lemon or lime zest. In total you want to have about two tablespoons of this herb mixture.

Toss that with the hot pasta. Over the top you can grate Pecorino or Parmesan or dot the pasta with a bit of Feta or Chevre. Or just leave it as is. On this particular day the sun was shining and the temperature outside didn’t seem quite fitting for a big bowl of hot pasta. So before I tossed the pasta with the herbs I cooled them off with cold water then tossed in the herbs and had a dish that resembled more of a pasta salad.

Warm or cool it is an incredibly simple dish that satisfies, particularly if eaten alone.

Sometimes you take baby steps and sometimes you leap.

There are times when a task feels like a mountain and other times you jump over them like molehills.

There are mornings when getting out of bed seems impossible and others where you are so excited for the day you can’t sleep.

At times it rains and others when the sun warms your face casting a rosy tint to your cheeks.

Sometimes the words are plentiful and eloquent, other times they are bulky and incoherent.

There is a time to selflessly serve and a time to humbly ask for help.

There are seasons of planting and pruning and times when the harvest is fruitful.

The challenge lies in finding the purpose and joy in it all. Every season tucks away lessons and occasions for growing and bettering. It’s our duty to seek the truth whatever the season.

This is a lesson that I’m currently learning or I should say re-learning. I hold firmly to the truth that everything is made beautiful in its time. In this I find hope.

Then there are the days when you stop taking yourself too seriously and realize that a cocktail and a bit of retail therapy goes a long way. Which is why I’m here today.

This pleasantly pink brew is the perfect accessory for spring. A gentle touch of cinnamon and nutmeg blended with rum leans towards a tropical punch but the heady scent of mint wins out giving this cocktail the title of “mojito”. The rhubarb flavor isn’t overly intense but rather lends a floral sweetness that is too light for summer but perfect for the gentle warmth of spring.

Today I come bearing more than just a cocktail. I’ve recently been introduced to Noonday Collection – a company that carries a stunning array of jewelry, gifts and accessories with a bold mission behind the brand.

“Our passion at Noonday Collection is to connect you with the lives of artisans struggling for a better future while styling you along the way. Fashion and design are a vehicle for opportunity and change. You, too, can be a voice for the oppressed!”

image from noondaycollection.com

The products sold by Noonday Collection are created by artisans from around the world. The money goes to the artists and back to their community as well as helping to fund costly adoptions for loving families.

For one of my dear readers, Noonday Collection has offered to give a $50 gift card. If you’d like to enter just leave a comment below. To increase your chances become a fan on Facebook or give a follow on Twitter. Comment below and let me know if you have done either of those.

It is a joy to tell you about this great company and I hope you love their products and their mission as much as I do.

Now go make a cocktail and start shopping.

*I am hosting this contest because I believe in this company and am eager to share it with you all. I wasn’t given anything in return – well, except the excitement of being able to share it.

You have until noon on Monday 4/30/12 to enter . At which point I will randomly select a winner.

Rhubarb Mojito

makes 1 small cocktail

1 oz white rum
2 oz rhubarb syrup (recipe below)
5 (or so) mint leaves
1 Tablespoon lime juice
lime zest
nutmeg

In the bottom of a glass add a bit of nutmeg, lime zest, mint leaves and the lime juice. Using a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon muddle the ingredients. You want to really bruise and break up the mint leaves. Add the rum and syrup, give a light stir then top with ice. Garnish with mint and a thin slice of rhubarb.

Rhubarb Syrup
This is enough syrup to make plenty of cocktails. If alcohol isn't for you a couple ounces of this syrup added to sparkling water and a squeeze of lime makes a delightful non-alcoholic version of this drink.

8 oz chopped rhubarb (2-3 small stalks)
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ vanilla bean (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Let cool completely.
Strain the ingredients. Reserve the rhubarb to top yogurt, ice cream or oatmeal.
The syrup will keep covered in the fridge for two weeks.

I stood at the kitchen counter chopping, roasting, baking and washing for most of the weekend stopping, momentarily, when the sun lured us outside. The only thing that could tear me away from the kitchen was the possibility of feeling the slightest bit of warmth from the sun as it reminded us that it indeed still exists.

Even though the calendar had declared the start of Spring sometime early last week while the snow continued to threaten, it was as the eggs boiled and I mixed in things like celery and capers with vibrant yolks that it began for me. And in between the hours in the kitchen when we found ourselves outside stretching our wintery legs and breathing in the air that “smelled like water” according to my 5 year-old, it hit me then too.

This sudden burst of inspiration led to not one type of deviled eggs but four. I dug through my pantry and refrigerator dreaming up ingredients that would easily lend themselves to being mashed with yolks and you know, I stopped at four varieties but could have easily continued.

A deviled egg is not unlike the perfect black dress with its versatility and ability to dress up and down. It may be a vintage recipe that gracesthe now yellowed pages of Betty Crocker but its adaptability makes it timeless.
When inspiration strikes you must seize it, even if it means a glut of deviled eggs. Actually, especially if it means a glut of deviled eggs.

Deviled Eggs: Three Ways

These recipes are suited to my taste but are easily adapted. Feel free to make them your own. I'd love to hear what you come up with!

A few thoughts on perfect hard boiled eggs:

These eggs were placed in a pan of cold water that was then brought to a boil. Immediately when the water came to a rolling boiling I turned off the heat and set a 12 minute timer. Then they were submerged in an ice bath until cool. 

Alternatively you can bake the eggs in a 325* over for 30 minutes. Chill in ice water until cool.

Beet Pickled Eggs with Fennel

2 cups water
1 cup distilled vinegar
3 small beets, washed and sliced
1 shallot, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon salt

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

Combine all the ingredients except for the eggs in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then simmer on low for 10 minutes.
Let the brine cool slightly before adding the hard boiled eggs. If the eggs are not fully submerged use the beet slices to help weigh them down.

Let marinate for at least one hour in the fridge.

When the eggs are done bathing in beets remove from the brine and carefully slice in half. Remove the yolks and mix with 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons dijon, ¼ teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seeds and a touch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Pipe or spoon filling back into the eggs then garnish with fennel fronds or Italian parsley.
Preserved Lemon

inspired by Mourad: New Moroccan

6 hard boiled eggs
3-4 Tablespoons plain yogurt
½ teaspoon minced preserved lemon
pinch salt and white pepper
Mix the yolks with the above ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings before filling the eggs and garnishing with fresh mint.
Sour Cream and Tabasco

6 hard boiled eggs
3-4 Tablespoons sour cream
Tabasco
salt and pepper

Mix the yolks with the above ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings before filling the eggs and garnishing with fresh chives.
Celery and Capers

6 hard boiled eggs
2-3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 ½ teaspoons dijon
2 Tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 teaspoons capers

Mix the yolks with the above ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings before filling the eggs and garnishing with celery leaves and capers.