Nothing says spring like asparagus
First of all, let me say, that Spring is here! Shopped at the Park Slope Food Coop this morning. What a pleasure. The shelves were fully stocked and it was not crowded. Hooray! But most importantly, what did I see in the vegetable bins, but shell peas, and the thinnest youngest, early asparagus. I bought a piece of fresh salmon to go with these vegetables, and that is what is cooking in the oven now, salmon swathed in olive oil, with a little kosher salt and black pepper sprinkled on. The asparagus stalks received a similar treatment, tossed with olive oil and spiced with some sea salt and black pepper. Then, upon noticing the grape tomatoes sitting in a bowl on top of the microwave, tomatoes which I also purchased during this morning's food shopping excursion, I cut a number of them in half and proceeded to roast them as well. Life could not be easier. I would say this should be added to the category of "Easy Peasy Recipes."
This is such a simple, healthy and satisfying meal. So simple, that it reminds me of the Shaker song, "Tis a Gift to be Simple." This song plays within, what my husband now calls the "record-player of my head," since my recent post describing music playing in the back of my mind while I cooked a certain recipe.
To finish the meal, I cut up a fresh pineapple for dessert. Once when we were vacationing on the isle of Capri, off the coast of Italy, I had a real craving for pineapple. The owner of the restaurant who waited on us, only spoke Italian, and I could only get out some Italian words by finding them in my phrase book, which I faithfully carried with me in my pocketbook, where ever we went. Though it was not on the menu, I bravely asked for "ananas," but must have missed the phonetic way of saying it, because while the word was correct, I was not understood. After much back and forth, there was an understanding by our hostess, who said, "oh.....a nan nan se!" Therewith followed our own lightbulb moment of understanding, that oh, that is the way you say it, not the way we were trying to say it, which was "an nan nas," as rhymes with bananas. Shortly after that ah ha moment, our dessert of fresh pineapple was served to us with a flourish. I think that it was such an unusual request in the midst of cakes and gelato, that our dessert choice was deeply appreciated. As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing like fresh fruit!
In addition to the spring vegetable sightings, today we saw our first Robin Red Breast in the back yard. And yesterday we uncovered some of the garden furniture, so that Dan could enjoy sitting outside in the 70 degree weather we've been having. I would say that every New Yorker that I talk with, loves this unnaturally warm weather. It is as if New York has turned into California. We New Yorkers are always envious of that beautiful California weather. But of course, we are all enjoying this weather with a sense of foreboding. Global warming is here, and we are all frightened of the high heat that the summer may bring. But for now, no overcoat when walking outside. The feeling is unreal. I swear that while I was looking outside my front window this afternoon, I saw a young girl from across the street, going down her front steps to visit a friend next door, wearing just a bathing suit.
One more spring sighting at the food coop includes the bags of the best potting soil ever. I usually make special trips there, with my fire engine red, granny shopping cart, in order to load up six of the 20 pound bags at a time. I store them under my front steps. In addition to all of the perennials in my garden that faithfully return every year, I love to pot annuals arranged in pots of all sizes and colors or materials, in various places throughout the yard. Every year brings a different display, though I do have favorite plants that I use again and again. It is the combination within the pot that varies.
And just in time for spring, new wall paper has been hung in our kitchen, the tin ceiling, and woodwork have been painted, and there is new baseboard trim to boot. For the past ten years, all my friends and family have seen a parade of wall paper swatches come and go within our kitchen. A few under consideration have hung there for years. A swatch would be brazenly taped to the wall on top of the old wallpaper, in a spot between my kitchen windows, over the big cast iron radiator, and under the red clock. I finally made a choice after so many almost and maybes, and am very happy with the results. Today we looked about our kitchen, mystified, that we were no longer looking at one little square of wallpaper, but that all of the kitchen walls were covered in this wonderful green vine printed against a white background.
When I was a young girl, my mom would take me to B. Altman's department store, to go clothes shopping. Part of the shopping trip included a stop at the restaurant, which was called "The Charleston Gardens." We would sit at a table eating crustless finger sandwiches, some of which often included a slight ladylike spread of cream cheese on white bread, or thin slices of cucumber on buttered slices of pumpernickel bread. Models would walk up and down the aisle of the restaurant, showing off the fashionable clothes of the season, while customers dined. The backdrop of the dining room were murals of large green plants and moss hanging off of trees, giving you the sense of living in the South where such plants grew, and life was genteel. There is a faint hint of the feeling of "Charleston Gardens," when I turn my head and see my new wallpaper.
I have a yearly spring ritual. And yes, dear readers, I do know that it isn't really spring yet. Let me tell you about it nonetheless. In the olden days, as I now like to say, we used to have something called record albums. You of the "Spotify," "Pandora," and "Apple Music" era cannot imagine the pleasure of long playing record albums, with two sides of songs. You would play one side, and then flip the album over in order to hear the second side. There was usually a continuity to the entire album. Each record came in it's own cardboard case or cover. One end of the album cover was open so that the vinyl record could be slipped out of the case. The record was wrapped in a thin paper cover so the record did not get scratched. There were holes in this second paper cover through which the record labels would show, and you could see the list of songs. There were notes on the back of the album giving information about who wrote each song, which musicians played on that song, and the names of the back-up singers. Sometimes there was even a little booklet included. Other times there would be a poem written by the artist, or in the case of early Bob Dylan albums, a written flight of fancy. Best of all was the front album cover, with bold graphics, or a photo of your favorite record artist or group. Every spring I would take out one special record album in my collection, entitled, "Wendy Waldman," and play a song called "Spring is Here." (Click on song title to hear Wendy sing this song). There is a long zither sounding intro. Maybe it was just the strumming of a guitar. And there is deep belly sounding drumming throughout the song. After the purely musical intro, the song would be sung, and my heart would dance in my chest, my feet along with it. I know that I will delight in this song, once again, very soon.
Spring is Here, as Sung by Wendy Waldman
Well Spring is Here
I feel it in the air
The world is turning green
The wind is sweet
I smell it everywhere
And I know that God must be smiling
Those of us who tend the land
Set about to planting
The rest do what we can
So just sitting in the fields and singing
And I know that God must be smiling
I know that God must be smiling
I know that God must be smiling
I know that God must be smiling
Ah nah nah nah
Those of us who tend the land
Set about the planting
The rest do what we can
So just sitting in the fields and singing
And I know that God must be smiling
And I know that God must be smiling
I know that God must be smiling
I know that God must be smiling
I know that God must be smiling
I know that God must be smiling
Dear readers, celebrate early. Roast some salmon, asparagus spears, and grape tomatoes. While waiting for your meal to cook, munch on some shell peas too. Peas are always best raw at the beginning of the season. Finish your repast with some fresh fruit, perhaps some "ananas," or perhaps some small green grapes that have the flavor of sweet champagne. Kick up your heels, for the coming season of spring.
