Seasonal Sundays (Week 18) Late April

Let's embrace spring! In all its snowy silver-sun switch-ups. For the food? I've got you covered.

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

We had snow this week, just a couple of inches, definitely real snow, wet and heavy and beautiful. By chance, that day I had scheduled a 15-minute in-person visit with my 95-year old father. These two northern souls just l-o-o-k-e-d out at the late-season falling snow.

April snow is rare in Missouri, especially so late, especially preceded by two or three weeks of pretty-pretty-pretty early spring days, warm sun, cool air. I'd moved back to skirts and sandals, my husband wanted to pull the extra blankets off the bed, we opened up the pool and summer porch.

During those pretty days, it was sooooo easy to forget that the "official" last-frost date here is Mothers Day weekend. It felt sooooo tempting to throw caution to the winds and put in all the summer flowers, the herbs, the annuals, the bulbs. It felt sooooo carefree to ignore history and reality, just because we could, just because it seemed "okay" ... like putting one over on Mother Nature.

Everything interlaces with the virus-pandemic-vaccine right now, at least in my head. I can't help but compare our early-spring temptations with the signs of friends and family eagerly venturing out into the world.

Is it really time? Really?? Or is it too soon???

Honestly, I have no idea.

But now that we've gotten through that late-April snow, in the next week, I'll put in the plants that will color our backyard world for the next six months.

But our frost date? It's still Mothers Day weekend, two weeks from now.

On a personal note, I'm taking May off to work on some family business.

As always, THANK YOU! I so appreciate your checking in for new recipes and for the Seasonal Sunday collections: every single day, I think about what it is you might find useful, interesting, enticing.

With any luck, see you in June! In the mean time, spring!

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: Easter weekend was so pretty here, my husband brought home pansies and johnny jump-ups to brighten things up outside our kitchen. Luckily, they're both hardy and thrived in our brief snowy-white world.

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PICK ONE

Pick One is for those of us overwhelmed by life's unending choices. If that resonates, then check out this one recipe and then call it a day. It's one that I think could make the most difference, the one I hope will become a regular in your kitchen, as it is in mine.

• THE RECIPE Karelian Borscht (Finnish - Russian Beet Borscht Soup) Rich beet color, big earthy flavor, either meaty or vegetarian.
• WHY THIS, WHY NOW The vegetarian version is perfect for spring, warming from the inside but light and fresh and absolutely gorgeous.

Pick One 2020

• THE RECIPE Smitten Kitchen's Avocado-Cucumber Salad
• WHY THIS, WHY THEN Early in the pandemic, many of us were looking for a lunch that's quick and fresh and will hold. Sounds good nearly any year, right?

Compliments!

• "I made this yesterday and it was excellent! ... I'll be making this recipe again ..." ~ QuiltingAgain
• THE RECIPE Easy Everyday Bread for the Stand Mixer Better bread, no kneading by hand!

• "For Easter brunch, we fixed your recipe for shakshuka. Mmmmm! We garnished it with cilantro instead of parsley, we thought it better, saw a NYT recipe that called for it." ~ Charlie & Jan
• THE RECIPE Shakshuka (Eggs Nested in Summer Vegetables) A traditional North African and Israeli dish.

What's New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE RECIPE Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole Layers of roasted vegetables, salsa verde, corn tortillas and fresh spinach.
• ANOTHER TAKE Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas A quick green chile fix without hours in the kitchen.

• THE RECIPE Greek Bread Salad with Toasted Pita Chips
• TOSSED IN Homemade Greek Salad Dressing

Sustainable Fish

For a girl who could clean a fish before she could ride a bike, we sure don't eat much fish around here. In much of my adult life, fish is ... well, problematic.

Mind you, not the fish we catch ourselves. Not the fish the neighbor catches and shares.

No, my long-standing discomfort with fish is the fish that's caught and shipped and then we buy.

Every time I see a Mediterranean diet guide or some weight loss program or some city food writer recommending that "everyone" eat fish once or twice a week, I quake.

First, it's the price. Yikes, fish is one very expensive protein. Unless you catch it yourself, fish is total luxury. (Is this different on the coasts with direct access to fish? Perhaps?)

Second, and mostly, the depletion of our fisheries feels personal. I peer into those beautiful filets and steaks lined up at the fish counter and wonder how long it all can last. I just can't bring myself to buy it, to fuel the consumer side of the supply-demand equation.

Sure, there's the Seafood Watch from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to help guide our decisions. That link, by the way, works way better on mobile than on the desktop, at least in Safari.

Sitka Salmon Shares

But maybe there's another way.

Earlier this year, we signed up for what's called a "CSF" – a community-supported fishery. It's the cousin to the more commonly known "CSA" – community-supported agriculture – except seafood, not vegetables and fruit.

Real fishing families. Catching fish one at time. Flash-freezing and fast-shipping out to subscribers.

We've had just one Sitka delivery but oh! we are loving having vacuum-sealed frozen fish ready and waiting for our next meal. The plan is, Friday fish (hello alliteration) or Monday fish (hello easing into a new week) once a week.

This week I made Fish with Herb Butter, it hardly needs a recipe, just broiled fish topped with a quick mash of fresh herbs and a little butter and a splash of lemon juice.

So good. I cannot wait to make it again. And thanks to Sitka, I can!

PLEASE KNOW This is not a sponsored post. I'm just sharing something that we find useful and that you might appreciate too. Sitka doesn't know me from anyone, we pay for our fish just like any other customer.

But I am so looking forward to more fish!

• THE RECIPE Roasted Salmon & Asparagus The original sheetpan supper.
• ANOTHER TAKE Maple Glazed Salmon A Quick Supper, sweet & peppery marinated salmon.

• THE RECIPE Easy Baked Fish with Red Pepper & Cucumber Salad A Quick Supper, made with pantry ingredients.
• ANOTHER TAKE Fish with Roasted Okra "Fries" & Tomato-Fennel Salad A Quick Supper, summer bounty on a plate.

• THE RECIPE Fish with Herb Butter A Quick Supper, one of my favorite simple meals.
• ANOTHER TAKE Herb-Coated Broiled Fish Fish filets coated in fresh herbs, then broiled. So simple, yet seductive.

The Dinner Bell

Seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, the dinner bell rings. If we're gonna eat, somebody's gotta cook, some nights fuel, some nights a feast. Let's make it good, a welcome end to our days.

• THE RECIPE Rainbow Chicken Chicken (no browning required) and vegetables baked in the oven.
• ANOTHER TAKE One-Pot Chicken with Beans & Vegetables A healthy stew, packed with cooked beans and root vegetables.

• THE RECIPE Asparagus Risotto Lighter, more flavor thanks to a gorgeous asparagus stock.
• ANOTHER TAKE Cauliflower Risotto Easier, more delicious than you think.

• THE RECIPE Lemony Broccoli Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• ANOTHER TAKE Roasted Broccoli with Lemon & Garlic

Good to Know

• THE INFO Never Buy Fresh Herbs Again How to grow a few favorite fresh herbs at home, the soil, the planting, everything you need to know.
• AND WHEN IT GOES WELL? DIY Dried Herbs (How to Dry Fresh Herbs in the Microwave)

Put an Egg on Top aka "How About Eggs for Dinner?"

Why should breakfast get all the eggs?! If eggs for dinner were a club, I'd be president, chief marketing officer, resident evangelist, public advocate and ... hey, wanna join my club? Start here!

• THE RECIPE How to Cook Eggs in a Coffee Cup in the Microwave Quick, easy and surprisingly good!
• ANOTHER TAKE Homemade Egg McMuffin The egg is cooked in the microwave, turns out light and fluffy.

Most Useful Recipes, Just One Per Year

When a blogger loves every single one of her published recipes, how in the world does she pick just one favorite? It's stunning, honestly, how each year one Kitchen Parade recipe stands out from all the others that year for sheer usefulness. So that's why I created this collection of best recipes, just one per year, Best-Ever “Most Useful” Recipes 2002 – Present, just one recipe per year from Kitchen Parade. Here's a sample.

• THE RECIPE Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas Quick way to get a green chile fix.
• ANOTHER TAKE Easy Green Chile Egg Casserole No bread! Just eggs, green chiles, bits of cheese and a surprising ingredient, cottage cheese.

PS Who's noticed? I'm big on highlighting "usefulness". To mark A Veggie Venture's 15th anniversary in 2020, I took a hard look at the first 365 vegetable recipes from the first year to select just 15 which, all these many years and recipes later, remain ever so useful. You'll want to dig into this collection, 15 Favorite Vegetable Recipes, Still Useful After 15 Years.

Made Me Think ...

• The Case for Keto: Gary Taubes Explains the Science Behind a Low-Carb Diet from Leite's Culinaria. This is a long but thoughtful read, worth investing in. The first knock-out statement, quoting a 1963 medical journal. "Every woman knows that carbohydrates are fattening."


• Do You Have Nafas, the Elusive Gift That Makes Food Taste Better? Do you? I'm not sure I do ... is that awful to admit?

Feeding a Sugar-Conscious Sweet Tooth

You too? We're cutting back on sweets without demonizing dessert, usually with smaller batches, smaller servings, shareable desserts or fruit desserts in addition to limiting frequency. But some times?

• THE RECIPE Easy Margarita Pie Tastes just like a good margarita!
• ANOTHER TAKE Blueberry Cheesecake Pie Cheesecake topped with homemade blueberry pie filling. No bake!

Timehop

Who else loves seeing old photos pop up, quick memories from years past? Welcome to a recipe timehop ...

• THE RECIPE Mexican Salsa Bread Great for loaves or buns, perfect for toast, sandwiches, burgers.
• ADAPTED FROM Our Daily Bread: My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe An easy, European-style bread I make every few days.

• THE RECIPE Celery & Chickpea Salad
• ANOTHER TAKE Carrot & Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Trending

My Top 10 Recipes are predictable, hello Should Cooked Pork Be Pink? and (Sloooow) Baked Potatoes (How Long to Bake a Baked Potato). But every week, seasonal recipes catch the internet's attention and start to trend.

• THE RECIPE Quick Corn Soup with Coconut Milk Fast and flexible, all pantry ingredients.
• ANOTHER TAKE Paleo Carrot Soup A simple warm carrot soup, just enough fresh ginger, cardamom and coconut milk.

Something to Read

Kristin Hannah books aren't great literature but I flew through The Four Winds this week, mostly because it's set in times I don't know much about, the Dust Bowl years when so many left the Great Plains for California to escape famine and find work. The "outsiders" and "migrants" were greeted with disgust and treated with disdain.

So much to think about and learn ...

• THE BOOK The Four Winds (affiliate link) by Kristin Hannah


• BOOK CLUB BOOK IDEAS My Reading Group's Book List since 1994!
• NO TIME TO READ? How I Read 4X More This Year Than Last What I gave up, how I read so much, what I read.

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Chocolate Malt Ice Cream Old-time fountain flavor at home.
• ANOTHER TAKE Buttered Pecan Ice Cream Old-fashioned goodness featuring native Missouri pecans.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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