Spring finally seems to have arrived and the weekend has been warm and sunny. There are signs of growth in the flower beds once again, the daffodils and tulips are coming up although nothing is really blooming yet, and the forsythia are finally blossoming, although still a bit sparsely.
Although the hybrid crocus have been out for some time, and have survived the cold and wet admirably, the wild (species) crocuses have just now stuck their heads up from beneath the leaves:
Spring is in the air in the Kitchen as well. We had our first soft-shell crabs this past week. I didn’t memorialize the event on film because I had temporarily mislaid my camera, one problem with having a teeny tiny pocket sized camera. I had hoped for ramps this week but they are not yet up around here. Apparently they are glorious just a wee tad south, in Pennsylvania for example, but not here. I had hoped the guy who brings ramps would be buy this weekend, but he called and said he had so few that he could barely meet the restaurant demand. I am a loyal customer, but do not purchase in quantities large enough to get first dibs after all.
The mushroom man was by however. Of course he comes all winter as well, if the mushrooms are growing that is. I am lucky that my house is right on his route, between his stops at restaurants in Rhinebeck, the CIA, and Poughkeepsie, so I get fabulous mushrooms without having to spend more carbon in the procurement. We had shiitake and oyster mushrooms this week, and they are far far better than any I can get at the local gourmet grocery — yet another plug for buying local when possible.
Last night we had shiitake with non-local asparagus and tonight we will have local chicken breasts roasted on a bed of leeks and shiitake. I had hoped for ramps, so the leeks were purchased in a pinch. But I know the ramps will come, and other spring treats as well: fiddleheads, morels, asparagus, shad.