Spring Break

My younger sister, PeggyDee, and I are visiting my older sister, Margaret, and her husband at their home in Chicago. We just started our Spring Break, a much needed vacation, I might add, so we decided to visit our sister for a few days before heading back home to Georgia. We all got here late on Friday night, in time for dinner, but last night we stayed in and I had the chance to fix dinner for the family.

Margaret and I stopped by Whole Foods earlier in the day to pick out some fresh veggies, fruit and a few other things to cover dinner for the next few night. Last night, we had a really fresh salad of arugula, fennel, golden beets, and a cheese that I had never tried before. The cheese was a very interesting combination of cheddar and blue cheese; it was a hard cheese like cheddar and had the flavors of cheddar, but it had the strains of blue in it. It was a very nice, distinct flavor; very nutty and almost woodsy.

We had a dish of penne, applewood smoked bacon (uncured), spring peas, onion, and sheep's milk parmigiano; it was absolutely delicious, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures right now. :(

Dessert was wonderful, a lemon cupcake with raspberry buttercream. It was a really nice dessert for the spring, especially with Easter right around the corner. I love the dishes that we fix for fall and winter, but when spring finally comes around, I love the fresh , bright flavors.

Find a great menu for the upcoming spring season. There are some great veggies out there right now, and they are tender and beautiful because they're young. Research your local farmer's market, most of them are either opening up soon or moving from their indoor market to the outdoor market. Find some good and fresh. And then employ the help of a great sister to take pictures for you. ;)