Food For Thought
BBQ season is upon us! I actually feel a bit weird preparing food in my kitchen, and then sitting down at the dining room table INSIDE after the weekend. It was a little taste of summer to come. And I, for one, have been on the hunt for some creative, delicious, and healthy alternatives to the old classic BBQ foods. There is so much tasty green stuff popping up in gardens (or Farmer's Markets) everywhere. You really have your choice of a plethora of spring treats. And fresh herbs can add flavour to any dish without adding any extra fat, so you can enjoy your food without any guilty feelings about what it is that you're eating. Plus its always a sense of pride in our household this time of year when we can present dishes comprised of ingredients that we grew in our very own back yard!
I actually spent the afternoon of mother's day digging in the garden, weeding and planting. And the ideas just started flowing!
Mother's day is coming up this Sunday. My mother has already dropped several hints at easy homemade beauty products (yeah, yeah mom, I got the message). But that got the wheels in my head turning. The gifts we give our mother's every year often have a theme of pampering and that sort of thing. But with the knowledge out there now as to what the ingredients to these sorts of products are, maybe we should be taking a look at alternatives. Try something different this year. The good news is that there are very very simple recipes to make a lot of these lovely pampering mixtures that smell fantastic - and the best part is that they can be altered to suit any mom. Plus, what mom doesn't like a thoughtful homemade gift?
We focused on some great minty stuff for this mother's day. Mint should be coming up in your garden (or if you don't have any the Vernon Farmer's Market will have some locally grown mint, don't worry) and it is good for more than a few different things.
It has been disappointingly cold this week. It makes it a little hard to let go of those warm winter comfort foods. Like what is this 'risk of frost' business? It's MAY! It's supposed to be all about May flowers! But the glorious part of the spring time is ASPARAGUS! Possibly my favourite vegetable of all time, and one of the best parts of living here in the Okanagan (I may take that back when strawberries are red and juice and in abundance locally... and then again many times as the summer goes on) is that it grows locally all over the place. Armstrong is like a hot bed of this delicious spring time green veggie. Often when on my way home from the Vernon Farmer's Market (which will be in the Wesbild parking lot next on Thursday from 8am to 1pm) I just get so darn impatient and eat at least a few stalks raw for the drive. I like asparagus steamed, baked, pickled... and basically any way that you can serve it. It adds beautiful colour to a dish, and it is ridiculously good for you (I feel like that is also something I say a lot...).
The weather has been BEAUTIFUL lately. I have been enjoying afternoons in the yard, working in the garden, and enjoying the bounties of spring! There are so many succulent little greens that pop up first in the garden, and so many things you can do with them. This time of year the Vernon Farmer's Market is small, but there are some fantastic goodies. Salads have become a new staple in my diet as well, as I think they are making more frequent appearances for a lot of people. Gluten and grains are becoming something that are being avoided more and more. Intolerances to wheat are quite common these days, and it can be very hard to digest. Cutting it out a couple days a week could definitely feel a little better. And spring is the time to do it! The greens are fresh and sweet and plentiful.
Of course, spinach has some fantastic, amazing health benefits as well. It is unbelievably good for you. And there are about a million ways to eat it.
Read more: Sweet Spring Spinach Salad with Grilled Zucchini Ribbons
The warmer weather and now that the snow has finally stopped freakishly falling (knock on wood) things have started to sprout in the garden. I have some beautiful tulips and daffodils in my yard and it makes me just a little bit giddy! And there are lovely greens popping up in the vegetable garden too. "Self seeding" are like magical words. Its great. Even when you have forgotten that you planted something last year, it pops back up without you having to do anything. Radicchio is one that maybe not everyone has tried, or knows how to use. But Jayme has some really awesome ideas.
Radicchio has a pungent, almost bitter flavor to it raw. It is very complex in its taste, but grilled, it is definitely tamed. Radicchio is high in folic acid and is a wonderful, colored spring treat. As a perennial, you can expect those deep red, veiny leaves to appear every spring, whether you remember to plant them or not!
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