After teasing us for several weeks, it looks like spring is here and it might stick around a while, this time. (We’ve had a few nice days in DC so far this year, but they’ve all been followed shortly by cold and rain.) It’s finally warm enough to comfortably go outside in a t-shirt, and yesterday was the obligatory day of going outside and remembering, for the first time in months, what that big bright thing in the sky is and why you might want to limit your exposure to it. I always seem to end the first really nice spring day with a sunburn – but it feels worth it after enjoying such a nice day outdoors.
It’s also the time when farmers’ markets re-open and welcome back the vegetable farmers. After a winter where the only local veggies are potatoes, suddenly green things reappear. Today, I found a big bag of baby green kale, which I think will be fabulous – baby greens are much sweeter and more tender than their grown-up versions, which can sometimes get bitter and need a lot of attention. In a week or two, there should be asparagus coming in, which will launch a period of eating as much tender local asparagus as possible during its short season.
Thus, our cooking changes: we move from the winter where well-cooked and elaborate preparations of hearty foods keep us comfortable, to the growing season, where ingredients – especially vegetables – are king. It requires a different philosophy of cooking. When you have good, fresh ingredients, it’s easy to make them the stars with minimal preparation. It also means you can plan menus around what’s fresh and good, not buy food based on menus you plan. It’s an altogether pleasant way of cooking.
For many people, growing season also means gardening season. Even with so much talk in the news about how the recession is inspiring more people to grow their own food, I’m a little amazed at the sheer number of people I know who are growing gardens. The market today was chock-full of seedlings for every type of vegetable. I got more than a little jealous of all the people around me who, I’m sure, have houses with nice big yards with rich soil where they’re already planting a bounty of food. My apartment, with not even a balcony, is no place for growing food, but I’ve been itching to do some gardening. With luck, I’ll move someplace more garden-friendly before it’s too late to grow anything this year. If not, I’ll be living vicariously through my friends.
