Emerge into Spring!
Emerge is such a wonderfully positive word. Just picture a purple crocus
emerging on a hillside next to a snow bank or a baby chick from an egg. It
seems impossible to link ‘emerge’ with something negative. The cynic may try to
tell you that we are now ‘emerging’ into our annual Maine ‘mud season’, but the
correct view is that we have emerged from all those snow banks and gloomy
days into days with crisp air and sunshine.
The Easter Holiday table with bright colors and
sprightly flavors set the tone for kitchens and tables for the season. Asparagus
has come in it’s rightful season, even if our Maine gardens still do not
provide the local varieties. Any
leftover baked ham in your refrigerator
is going to guarantee many quick, simple and delicious meals for the week(s) to
come. Ham slices easily complement breakfast eggs and make great sandwiches on
foccacia with cheese, slaw or sauerkraut. In a cream sauce cubed ham goes well
on pasta or even waffles. A very different flavor can be had in stir-fries with
broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms and some Oyster sauce. Another one of my
favorite combinations is a hearty luncheon salad.
Ham and chickpea salad with Parmesan
Combine chickpeas (garbanzos) from a 15 ounce can, drained and rinsed
with 1 cup of cubed ham, 1 Tblsp. chopped red onion and 2 Tblsp. chopped
parsley. Toss with a vinaigrette: 1 Tblsp. olive oil, 2 Tblsp lemon juice (or
seasoned rice vinegar) and season with salt and pepper. Toss lightly with
1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese and serve on lettuce.
And when the rest of the ham is gone, you can still make a hearty bean soup
with the hambone. As any old-fashioned farm wife would have told you: “ It can
all be used, except the squeal”.
Pan roasted asparagus
I find an interesting taste variation in pan-roasted asparagus. Prepare
asparagus by removing the tough bottom
portion of the stalk. Simply snap it off where it breaks naturally. Wash the
spears and dry on paper towels. In a large pan melt 1 Tblsp. butter and 2
Tblsp. olive oil. Place the asparagus in a single layer in a pan and roast on
medium heat for about 8 minutes, turning the spears with tongs so that they are
slightly browned on sides. Remove to a serving platter and drizzle with
Oriental vinaigrette: mix 2 Tblsp. light soy sauce, 1 Tblsp. lemon juice, 1
Tblsp. rice vinegar and a pinch of tarragon.
Living in New England it may seem strange that spring is the time for citrus
fruit abundance, but in California and Florida, this is the time when citrus
fruit come ripe. For bright spring salads, it is easy to pair variety of citrus
fruit with greens for satisfying salads with just the right amount of tang to
wake up anyone’s taste buds.
Spinach-orange-bacon salad
Peel a large orange, separate out the individual sections and cut each in half.
Crisp fry 2 slices of bacon in in a large heavy pan. Drain bacon on paper
towels and crumble in large pieces. Pour off all but 1 Tblsp. of the rendered
bacon fat. Set pan to medium low heat and pour in 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar,
bring to boil and remove pan from heat, add 3-4 cups of baby spinach, ½ tsp.
salt and toss until well coated. Toss with the cut up orange and bacon
pieces and serve.
Mainers who have lived throughout the many wonderful seasons here are likely to
tell you that the euphoria of ‘emergence of spring’ is bound to be followed by
that other emergence mid - May – the black fly. So, enjoy the present!
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the
author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the
Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
