Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Almost-Here Season

Sweet Salty Spicy

Howdy, friends!

I’m afraid I’m turning into a flake, at least as far as this blog goes.  Last night, instead of writing about tomato soup, I decided to watch two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  Is that bad?  Not only did I not finish writing my blog post, I also didn’t read my new library book (The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton), finish cleaning the kitchen, do yoga, or pack my lunch for today.  In my defense, I seem to have the Rose-Anne Flu again, whose origins remain mysterious.  I’m afraid to point fingers, but I will say that I ate out two days in a row, and the Rose-Anne Flu seems to show up after I’ve eaten out somewhere.

My appetite has waxed and waned this week, despite my frequent nausea.  Mornings are the hardest, and evenings are pretty good.  I am managing to get something done at work this week as I dive headfirst into my new project.  I’m digging into the literature and filling myself with hope that the phenotype I’m studying will turn out to be real, in the sense that it is genetically tractable and we will be able to connect it to other biological pathways.  We shall see, but I am becoming increasingly optimistic about this thing.  As a result, and because I have something flulike right now, I’m not obsessing about food the way I usually do.  But fear not: my appetite for recipes shall return!  I know it will.

In the meantime, may I offer you a sampling of recipes that seem just right for this time of year?  It’s starting to smell like spring down here, that delicious smell of dirt and grass and flowers and sunshine.  This time of year makes me crave potatoes and lemon, radishes and broccoli, artichokes and spinach.  It’s a time of year to linger outside in the evening light, to start taking longer walks and noticing the wildflowers springing up out of nowhere.  And when it’s time to cook, it’s best to throw open the patio door, to let the breeze into your home while you chop and simmer with the radio on and the oven preheating.  It’s a good time of year.  I just hope this flu thing goes away quickly so I can enjoy every minute of the almost-here season.

Here are a few of my favorite springtime—or anytime, really—recipes:

* Easy Artichoke Sauce

* Greek Avgolemono Soup

* Rustic Lemony White Bean Stew

* Split Pea Soup with Green Peas and Fresh Mint

* Thai-Inspired Salad with Radishes and Roasted Potatoes

* Lemon Shortbread Bars with Chocolate Chips

See you soon, dear readers!

Another Sign of Spring

5 comments:

Chrissy said...

I'm adding that soup and the shortbread to my to-bake-immediately list. Can you tell that I love lemon?

I haven't posted a recipe in forever either, and I don't have a strange flu to blame. Hopefully my kitchen mojo will return next week. I hope you feel better soon!

Unknown said...

hope you are feeling better soon!! here's to many delicious spring eats :)

Rosiecat24 said...

Chrissy, yay! Lemon is such a terrific fruit, and it's so versatile too. I hope you like the recipes. All the dishes I listed here are among my very favorites.

Your kitchen mojo is out there somewhere--maybe drinking mojitos and eating French fries? Oh, wait, maybe that's my kitchen mojo!

Thanks, Shannon! Yes, cheers to springtime eats!

Anonymous said...

If this helps (it may not!), I've also had two bouts of stomach flu this winter, which is highly unusual. Maybe something is going around . . . even if we are 1300 miles apart.

Hope you feel better soon.
AMPD

Rosiecat24 said...

Oh, dear! TWO bouts of flu this year? That sounds awful. I'm sorry to hear that, but I hope you are all better now :-)

I do think that it's possible for something, some bug or virus, to travel quite easily from Michigan to Texas, or vice versa. If you think about how many miles food travels to get to a grocery store, there could easily have been some low-level of bacterial contamination that wound up on our plates. So basically, I think this is California's fault.

Happy spring to you and your adorable family! xo