Spring Means Salads

Okay. I've had it with this weather. The latest "storm of the century" is slated to hit in a few hours with rain, freezing weather - and maybe even some snow. Hasn't Mother Nature noticed that the calendar reads April 24th?!? Sheesh! Enough, already!

On an intellectual level, I know I can't fight Mother Nature. I can do nothing to stem the wind, the rain, or the temperature. But that doesn't mean I still can't fight back.

And I'm fighting back with SALADS! Mid-April means fresh produce in my house, and fresh produce, it is. Dinner Salads are now the rule - regardless of what the weather outside may be.

Tonight we had a great salad of mixed greens (lots of arugula!!) and a dressing of strawberries, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Simplicity.

The salad itself consisted of the aforementioned greens, roasted red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, kalamata olives, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, cucumber, and a few ounces of perfectly cooked london broil that Victor marinated.

I love the balance of sweet fresh fruit and savory vegetables and meats. It's easy to prepare and every bite becomes a new taste sensation. The salads are colorful and as yummy as they are eye-appealing.

So do your damnedest, Mother Nature. You're not going to win!


Easter

We have an annual tradition at our house. Every Easter Saturday, Victor's family arrives en masse and we 1) eat pizza and 2) color Easter Eggs. In that order (tradition, ya know...) This year was no exception - except for the egg-stravagant egg coloring-and-decorating kits this year!

Remember back in the days when Paas Coloring Kits consisted of a couple of dye tablets and a wire dipping tool? Times have changed. First off, I couldn't even find plain ol' dye kits at the local grocery store. Everything is theme kits nowadays. I guess that ol' wax crayon just doesn't cut it for kids of today.

One thing I did notice at the store this year was a decorate your own Peeps kit. Four white Peeps with a tube of coloring gel. I must admit that I cannot abide Peeps. I've never cared for that marshmallow-ish sweet whateveritis confection. But... we were having kids over. I bought two packs - along with two tie-dyed kits and two sparkle kits.

The family arrived with even more coloring kits! There was even one from Williams-Sonoma that had to cost a fortune. We used to just punch out the holes on the back of the box. Now there are special drying mechanisms. Progress, I guess... And the Peeps were just as I expected - nasty. But with a couple of cans of spray food coloring and some decorating gel, they at least looked fun!

We decorated about 4 dozen eggs. Dots, glitter, sequins and feathers - and at least one that was dipped in every color and came out a lovely mud brown - another tradition, of course! This is a creative group! We sat around the table for a couple of hours, laughing and joking, admiring - or making fun of - the various eggs created. It reaaly is a fun time.

We pretend this is for the little kids, but the reality is the adults have more fun than the kids do. I wonder what strange decorating kits will be available next year?!?


Thanksgiving Dinner - in March

During my normal shopping trek on Wednesday, I spied an organic fresh turkey - at a great price. I thought "Why not do up a mini-Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday?" I picked it up, grabbed a few more fixin's, and home I went. We called Victor's mom to come over Saturday, and I proceeded to make a feast...Turkey, gravy, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans... Oy! The food for three people! Oh - and I made a pear clafouti for dessert.

We sent mom home laden with food for a week, the carcass went into the pot for soup, everything else nicely tupperware'd and into the 'fridge.

I definitely can't eat like this often, but it's fun more than just once a year!