Halfway to Spring!

As I write this, it is February 1st, and there is a nasty, driving ice storm going on outside. Much of the midwest is getting socked with snow, but down here, close to the Ohio River Valley, we're getting ice pellets, freezing rain, and all that dangerous stuff. I have no idea how we're going to get out to shut up the chickens for the night without falling on our butts, or worse. Heaven forbid we actually hurt ourselves; I have no idea how an ambulance would get here.

Face with such monumentally foul weather, it is cheering to contemplate the fact that tomorrow is Groundhog Day. Why is Groundhog Day cheering? Well, do you know why we even have a Groundhog Day? Because it's an ancient pagan holiday, that's why. And it's an ancient pagan holiday (called Imbolc or Candlemas) because it marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Yes, folks, as of tomorrow, winter is officially half over here in the northern hemisphere, and not a minute too soon, I say.

So I thought it might be nice to meditate on spring foods. Soon, asparagus will be cheap and devastatingly fresh -- and a whole pound of asparagus has just 11 grams of carbohydrate, with 5 grams of fiber, for a teeny usable carb count of 6 grams. Grilled asparagus, roasted asparagus, steamed asparagus, asparagus with lemon butter, asparagus with wasabi mayo, it's all fabulous and super-low-carb.

Eggs will be cheap! Around here we often get a flood of medium eggs in the grocery stores in March -- the pullets (young hens) lay small eggs when they first start; they get bigger as the hens mature. Those medium eggs are often super-cheap; I've gotten them as low as a quarter a dozen. With such a healthful food so cheap, we can eat a lot of eggs!

I have an infinitely variable egg casserole recipe -- it's a lot like a crustless quiche. The basic proportions for an 8x8 baking dish are 6 eggs to 1 cup of cottage cheese, but with those medium eggs I would increase to 8 or even 10 eggs. I whisk the eggs and cottage cheese together with 1/2 teaspoon of salt or Vege-sal and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Then I season it any one of a number of ways.

* Add garlic, cumin, and oregano, and layer it with Monterey Jack and salsa
* Add lemon juice and a little dill weed, and layer it with some of that asparagus, plus salmon and gruyere
* Add mustard and horseradish, and layer it with leftover ham, cheddar cheese, and thawed frozen chopped broccoli
* Instead of layering it, stir in 8 ounces of mushrooms you've sauteed with a little onion, plus a 10 ounce box of frozen chopped spinach you've thawed and drained really well. (I pick mine up in my hands and squeeze it hard till the water stops running.) Stir in a cup of grated Parmesan, too.

As you can see, you can play with this endlessly. However you vary it, put it in an 8x8 baking dish you've coated with non-stick cooking spray, and bake it at 325 for 50-60 minutes, until it's puffed and golden.

Of course, you can also serve eggs fried, scrambled, poached, in omelets -- steamed asparagus topped with poached eggs and Parmesan makes a great light meal. And long-time readers know I turn all sorts of leftovers into a great meal by adding fried eggs.

You can also boil 'em, of course, and to me there's something very spring-y about boiled eggs. I like mine medium-boiled, so the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. I bring the water to a boil first, then lower in my eggs. Now that I have eggs from my own back yard, I find that 7 minutes is right, but with grocery store eggs I generally went 8; I don't know if this has to do with freshness, or the diet of the chickens, or what.

Egg salad is another endlessly variable way to serve eggs. I love it almost any way you can serve it, but my favorite is with sliced scallions, diced celery, and diced green pepper, plus mayo, of course, and a good whack of mustard. I like to wrap this in lettuce leaves.

Speaking of scallions, they're available year 'round, but they're in season in the spring, as are Vidalias and other sweet onions. Love 'em, especially red onions.

Arugula is in season in the spring. If you haven't tried this fascinating lettuce, give it a try. It tastes like nothing else -- it almost tastes roasted. Tossed with a simple vinaigrette, with a little diced fresh pear (keep quantities small; pears are kind of carby) and shaved good-quality Parmesan, it's fantastic.

Spinach is another green that comes into season in the spring. It's wonderful for salads, of course, but don't forget to serve it sauteed, too. It's wonderful just barely wilted in olive oil, with a touch of garlic, and a sprinkle of that same Parmesan. (I do seem to like Parmesan, don't I?) Try it, too, with a little garlic and soy, since spinach originated in Asia.

Speaking of Asian vegetables, snow peas are freshest in the spring. A whole cup of snow peas has 7 grams of carb, with 3 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 4 grams. I often substitute snow peas snipped into 1/2" bits for the higher carb green peas in recipes, though I do sometimes use green peas -- another spring vegetable -- in moderation. They're too yummy to resist, and quite nutritious for the carb load -- and That Nice Boy I Married adores them.

For that matter, if you can find them -- try an Asian grocery -- pea tendrils, the tender tips of the actual pea vines, are wonderful. I learned this from Keith Johnson, my Organic Gardening God neighbor.

But the spring food I'm most looking forward to is lamb! Lamb has been hideously expensive around here all winter, but I expect it to drop by at least a few dollars a pound as the weather warms up. I'll have to stock my freezer. I do love the stuff so.

So now I'm sitting here, listening to the ice pellets tick down, and the occasional boom of a branch breaking, hoping very much that none of those branches lands on my house! But I'm thinking of roast lamb with plenty of garlic, a big salad with spinach and arugula (feta would be good on that, I'm sure of it!), plus a side of roasted asparagus.

Kind of warms the chilly heart, doesn't it?