Tis the Season

The cherry trees in Portland right now are stunning. I've been cutting branches from the trees in my yard (and my neighbor's...with her consent, of course,) putting them in vases and scattering them around the house. They are so lovely, they definitely help make up for our cold, gray weather.


I realize that my posts have been few and far between lately. Could be the lack of sunlight or could be that there's been a beehive of activity going on behind the scenes of La Pomme. Over the next few months or so, I will be unveiling some exciting changes to La Pomme de Portland. Subtle changes but changes that will hopefully make your experience here even more enjoyable.

Too rainy to actually get outside and plant much but this one pot of spring flowers on my deck is just enough to lift the spirits.


One of the first changes is that every Monday or sometimes Tuesday (barring sick children, flat tires, and other unforeseen events) I will be posting a quick look at what's in season.

So many of you, dear friends, have had questions for me surrounding what is in season, what to do with it, what to grow in your kitchen garden and when, that I thought I'd publish a quick look at what I'm eating and growing at certain times of the year.

This post will be something for you to glance at in under a minute (except for today and I realize today isn't Monday but this is how my week is going....:))

My hope is that it will provide you with a quick burst of inspiration that you can carry around with you all week as you plan your own meals or decide what to plant in your garden.

I will still continue to publish my traditional post with my musings plus a recipe on Wednesday or Thursday but I won't include the extraneous information that I've been attaching at the bottom except for the organization bit. After all, I have to keep myself on track. I do, however, have a plan for the extraneous bits but I'll share that another day.

So without further ado...

This weekend at the Farmers Market, I found:

These huge carrots. I simply had to buy a bunch. They will be perfect paired with Trader Joe's hummus for a snack and I plan to use them in a stir-fry later this week along with the rapini I bought using this recipe.

I love these sweet French radishes. They remind me of my Poppa. He was always eating them dipped in Krazy Salt. He also liked salt in his beer. I plan to set these out at dinner with a little bowl of kosher salt.

And what would we do without the humble rhubarb brightening our days with the first bit of spring color. I have been making an easy apple/rhubarb pie with them that is delicious. I hope to have the recipe up for you tomorrow.

Cheers!


All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2011