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Today is the vernal equinox: the official first day of spring! True, we’ve had a mild winter here in Boston, but that in no way dampens my enthusiasm for the change of the seasons. With daylight savings, the gradual lengthening of days, and warmer weather, I start to crave green foods, maybe as an echo of the verdant landscapes before me. Asparagus, lots of salad greens (arugula and Boston lettuce are my favorites), and leeks are sure to find their way onto my plate with greater frequency.
There are so many ways to celebrate spring in your kitchen. Is there a seasonal vegetable that you enjoy? A special dish that a family member always cooked this time of year? Do certain foods just “taste” or “look” like spring to you? We asked around America’s Test Kitchen to find out what the bounty of spring is bringing to people’s plates. Here are a few of the responses:
Spring always makes me want citrus-y foods. Orange wedges start popping up in my salads, lime juice in all my drinks, lemon zest in every bowl of pasta, and lemon halves inside roast chickens. When the days are getting longer but it’s still too chilly for a picnic, citrus is a great way to perk up a meal.
Growing up my mom would treat us on Sunday mornings (either before or after church) with 蛋炒飯 (dan-4 chao-3 fan-4), otherwise known to the masses as the humble “egg fried rice.” This homemade stir-fry is by all means not the greasy, insipid version you’d expect from a takeout Chinese place. Instead, my mom would somehow make alchemy with day-old rice tossed in a hot oiled pan with garlic, green peas, prepared egg (kind of a lightly cooked omelet, cut into thin slices), and—if we were lucky—leftover shreds of cooked chicken or pork. Salty and hot and super super yummy; I’m craving it big-time just writing about it. I suppose it’s my first-generation Chinese-American version of biscuits and gravy, or hot buttered grits. For whatever reason, I associate this dish with spring. Maybe it’s the eggs and peas.
Rhubarb, specifically my mom’s rhubarb custard pie, and stewed rhubarb. It grew (wild) in our backyard.
Decent asparagus!!! Yum.
And now for the Silly Question of the Day…
What foods signify spring for you?
Leave your silly answer in the comments!
(Photo: Liz West)
About the Author: Johnisha Levi
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Fresh fruit, especially nectarines (my favorite). Really excited for farm markets and produce stands to start opening up!
Asparagus and spinach for me.
Rhubarb is it for me!
Strawberries!!! Actually, I begin to crave lots of fruits and greens, but strawberries is definitely number one.
Strawberries!!
Running out on a cool sunny morning and nipping those first stalks of asparagus and putting them into an omelet does it for me.
Strawberries, rhubarb, and asparagus! Pasta primavera too – I usually like to make that at least once during the spring.
It’s not technically a food but elderflowers = spring.
‘Tis the season for asparagus — but these unseasonably warm temperatures in Philly actually have me craving summer produce like Jersey tomatoes, corn, strawberries and blueberries. Hope those goodies are here soon!
Morel Mushrooms and Strawberries
Strawberries for sure! Just bought my first container of the season this past weekend!
Artichokes, morels, peas, and eggs!
Asparagus for sure… just had them 2x this week!
Growing up in an Italian-American household, all of the traditional foods we make for Easter represent Spring to me. Fresh bread flavored with anisette and slathered with butter, spaghetti & egg pie, pizzagaina plus sweet rice and wheat pies. For produce, it would have to be artichokes – loaded with garlic and steamed on top of the stove until they are tender.
Baby lettuce greens. I can’t explain it, but in the spring I crave them like Rapunzel’s mother.
Iced coffee! Now that the weather has become a little bit warmer, I’ve mad the switch to iced. I also find myself having more lemonade and salads these days, which is always a sign of spring in my house.
Strawberries!!
Strawberry crepes.
Spring = Easter = Deviled eggs!
Definitely artichokes. There’s so many different things I can do with them, all of them delicious!
Fresh spring peas = Spring for me!
Asparagus, which is always followed by artichokes. God I love spring!
Without hesitation: Rhubarb. Delicious, delicious rhubarb. Damn. Now I’m hungry!
a fresh and zesty basil pesto pasta salad w/ green peas, grape tomatoes. a squirt of lemon juice, freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt and cracked black pepper and voila!
Fiddleheads do it for me! They taste and look like springtime and signify that things are only going to get more interesting over the coming months.
Ah, yes, yes, it’s asparagus for me, too. Sweet, tender, crisp, bright green…YUM!
Hello!?!??! What about RAMPS???
They are the quintessential spring food and I put them in absolutely everything during their short season – pastas, pestos, salads, etc.
They should start “popping up” soon — can’t wait!
For me it’s chives. I live in an apartment and can’t have a garden. But I do pots of herbs on my back deck. Chives are the first of my perennial herbs to come to life after winter. Chives are the first green thing I see in the spring. Then the snipping begins. In my eggs, on my potato, in my rice. A garnish for everything. Simple chives=spring for me.
dandelions…in a salad.
Absolutely, asparagus…alone or in partnership.
I love going to the farmer’s.market and getting some strawberries..
I don’t know if qualifies as a food, but whenever I see rows of brightly colored Peeps marshmallow chickies I know that it is SpringTime.
Asparagus & wild strawberries! Love rhubarb desserts too!
I just LOVE springtime and watching the plants and trees come back to life. And I love Easter and all the foods associated with our family Easter dinner too: Ham, baked beans, deviled eggs, Au gratin Potatoes, Fresh fruit and veggies, and a yummy springtime dessert made with strawberries and or rhubarb.
Pineapple reminds me of spring because it’s often seen on special desserts this time of year.
Strawberries and basil! Both fresh and refreshing.
For me, it’s rhubarb (my Mom still has a patch), deviled eggs (from those that survived the Easter egg hunt), and lemon meringue pie.
sharonjo at gwtc dot net
When you see Strawberries in the stores, you know it’s spring.
Eating English peas right out of their pods in the garden is my favorite spring food ritual. Can’t wait for the pea pods to plump up!
It isn’t one particular food that signals spring for me, but the fact that I will soon be planting my favorite herbs in window boxes on the back deck to use until winter rolls around once more. The chives are already popping up… I can’t wait !
Rhubarb! Last year I missed the season. I’ve got some shoots to plant but won’t be able to harvest for two years. Bummer!
Fiddleheads! They are sold everywhere here in Maine during the spring and I can’t wait for them to start appearing.
Morel mushrooms. My dad and I hunted for them every year and feasted upon fried mushrooms for dinner. Nothing else, just fried mushrooms. (Today, I am a registered dietitian so I’ll just leave the nutrition part alone…though, it MUST be balanced, they tasted so good!)
Every year, I managed to stumble into poison ivy. One year, literally, I “stumbled” upon a poison ivy patch and got the rash all over my neck and chest. It was so bad, I missed school for a week because the rash was “weeping.” Gross? yes. Worth it for those morels? You betcha!
Strawberries and asparagus
When I see asparagus at the market I know it’s spring.
Time to start planting tomatoes!
Morel Mushrooms, only available for a very brief time, they are a spring delicacy all their own…mouth watering
Asparagus, always. Ironically, I absolutely hate asparagus.
Congrats to this week’s random winner, kappapsichica! I’m looking forward to hitting those farmers markets as well. Everyone, be sure to check out our newest giveaways at http://americastestkitchenfeed.com/topics/giveaway/