CELEBREATING SPRING

 

                                            Celebrating spring

           The past weekend warmth finally came to Maine after the much-needed rains. Our gardens have been reluctantly yielding spring flowers until now and blooming fruit trees have been cautious to unfurl their leaf and flower buds in the past weeks, intimidated by cold and cloudy nights and even days. So, over the weekend, hungry bees converged on the partly opening crabapple buds outside my kitchen window. Not willing to wait for nature, some of them were actually prying open the more open buds to find the coveted pollen. Hunger is a great motivator after a long winter.  

          Inspired by nature this cook improvised Saturday breakfast with chive and cheese scrambled eggs leading to colorful tasty results; all served in Pita bread. Pita bread originated in the Mediterranean region and is a wonderful vehicle for sandwiches, lamb, Falafel, hearty salads and even scrambled eggs.

                                              Breakfast Pita bread

          You will need a halved regular Pita bread per person (reduced calorie Pita won’t hold the filling) and double that amount for people with hearty appetites. For each half of Pita bread: scramble 2 large eggs with a splash of milk, salt and pepper and a dash of Tabasco (optional). Spread in a heated pan with melted butter, sprinkle with a tablespoon of chopped chives and partway through cooking sprinkle with a handful of shredded cheddar or Feta and finish scrambling till cooked. Serve in heated Pita halves and garnish with grape tomatoes.

                                      Baked Italian sausage-Ziti Rigati

          Baked pasta dishes are easy and filling for those cooler days even in summer and Ziti Rigati (hallow tubes) are smaller than Rigatoni and adapt well to different sauces.

          Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet and sauté 6 oz. crumbled Italian sausage (mild or hot), 1 chopped medium onion and 4 oz. sliced mushrooms for 5 minutes, stir in 3 chopped garlic cloves for another minute. Add ½ cup white wine, 1tsp. salt, 1/3 tsp. pepper, 2 tsp. thyme,1/2 tsp. sugar, ½ tsp. Dijon mustard and cook for 2 minutes.

Cook pasta in salted boiling water and drain, saving 1 cup of boiling water. Toss pasta with ½ cup Parmesan and 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Add ½ to ¾ cups pasta water to meat sauce and mix with the pasta.

Coat 8x8x2 baking dish with a nonstick baking spray, spread sauced pasta evenly in the dish, sprinkle with an additional ½ cup Mozzarella and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve hot with a salad.

To many, rhubarb with its bright color and tart taste, personifies spring in the kitchen. It is often paired with strawberries but is wonderful by itself when baked in a coffee cake.

                                                    Rhubarb-ginger coffee cake

Sift together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ¼ tsp. salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl beat together ½ cup soft butter with 1 and ½ cups brown sugar. Beat in 1 tsp. orange flavoring, 1 tsp. vanilla, ½ tsp. nutmeg, 1 egg and 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger. Add the flour mixture alternating with 1 cup milk to the butter sugar mix until well blended, starting and ending with flour. Fold in 2 ½ cups rhubarb cut in 1-inch pieces and dusted with 1 tbsp. flour. Pour mixture in a 7x11 inch baking dish coated with baking spray. Sprinkle on top with a mixture of 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tbsp. chopped walnuts and 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until the cake tests done by a toothpick coming out dry from the center. Cool, slice in rectangles for serving and enjoy.                           

          (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

SPRING GREEN; ASPARAGUS AND PEAS

 

                            Spring green; asparagus and peas

 

          May Day, the ancient Celtic spring festival Beltane, arrived in Maine sunny but a bit cool to celebrate dancing around a maypole. There is still only a bit of white peeking among the green buds of my Sargent crabapple outside the kitchen window. Still May association with the color green is emphasized not only by those emerging crabapple leaves but also first spring vegetables such as arugula, chives, asparagus and peas. One might also include dandelion greens, if you are quick enough to harvest them before the first bloom makes the greens too bitter for salads.

          With our recent culinary emphasis on greens, peas tend to be neglected as a vegetable. Modern freezing methods make them available year around and often relegate them to a standby side dish. Yet their bright color wakes up not only spring vegetable soups but also adds flavor and texture to other dishes often named Primavera (Italian for spring).

                                          Creamy shrimp Primavera

          Peel and slice 3 medium potatoes in ¼ inch slices. Cover with salted water, bring to boil, cook for 2 minutes, add 1 cup frozen peas and cook for 3 additional minutes. Drain all and set aside.

          Thaw and peel 12 very large shrimp. Heat 2 tbsp. butter in a large pan and fry shrimp with 4 minced garlic cloves for about 4 minutes until shrimp are pink. Set aside. In the same pan sauté 1 large thinly sliced shallot and 1 chopped garlic clove in an additional tbsp. butter for 4 minutes. Add 1/3 cup dry white wine, reduce to half and stir in 1/3 cup chicken broth and the potatoes and peas. Simmer with stirring for 3 minutes and add the shrimp, 2 tbsp. chopped dill for another couple of minutes. Stir in ¼ cup heavy cream, heat and serve with chopped dill.

                                              Roasted asparagus quiche

          This recipe can be made with ½ lb. either roasted asparagus or asparagus blanched for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. To roast asparagus, trim the tough bottom part, rinse and blot dry, then spread on a sheet pan, spray or rub 1 tbsp. olive oil in the stems, sprinkle with kosher salt and roast in a 425-degree oven for 10 minutes for thin asparagus and 15 minutes for thick asparagus. After roasting cut into 2–3-inch pieces.

          Prebake a single deli-case roll out pie crust, fitted and fluted on edges in a 10-inch pie plate. Thinly slice 1 medium onion and sauté in 1 tblsp butter 8 minutes till softened. Beat 4 eggs in a bowl with ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. tarragon and ¼ tsp pepper. Stir in 1 cup milk or half-and half.  Shredd 2 oz. Gruyère.

          Assemble the pie on the baked crust by placing: a layer of the onion, Gruyère and ¼ cup fine Parmesan, ¼ cup julienned sundried tomatoes, 2 tbsp. chopped dill and parsley each, scatter the asparagus pieces and pour the egg and milk mixture to cover. Press down to assure the vegetables are submerged. Bake on top of a baking sheet in a375 degree oven for 50-60 minutes until well puffed. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

                                           Currant buttermilk scones

          Scones are welcome at any time of the year and make a delightful breakfast or snack. Traditionally they are served with clotted cream and jam.

          In a food processor pulse together 3 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tbsp. baking powder and ½ tsp. baking soda. Add 12 tbsp. (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter cut in 1 tbsp. pieces and pulse together 23 times until finely crumbled. Transfer flour mix to a large bowl and toss with 1 cup dried currants. Beat 1 large egg in a bowl with 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. lemon extract and 1 cup buttermilk. Make a depression in the flour, pour in the liquid and mix roughly with 2 forks to moisten. Mix using your hands 5-6 times, turn out on a floured board and make sure all the flour is moistened by kneading a few times by hand. Do not over mix. Divide dough in half and flatten each half on a parchment lined sheet pan, making a 6–7-inch round. Using a sharp knife cut each round in 6 wedges leaving them attached. Brush with additional buttermilk and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and separate the wedges for serving. The pansy garnish is edible.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)