{"id":1087,"date":"2016-06-01T12:41:47","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T16:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/?p=1087"},"modified":"2016-11-09T11:23:17","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T16:23:17","slug":"suddenly-summer-in-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/?p=1087","title":{"rendered":"Suddenly, Summer… in Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sorrel<\/a>

Fresh Sorrel and Green Garlic<\/p><\/div>\n

What seemed like an eternally dull and March-like spring has\u00a0suddenly\u00a0burst into summer But now it seems as if August is here in May! Because of the heat, I crave the foods of late summer like juicy tomatoes and melon,\u00a0although here on the East coast we are still firmly within the season of young stalks and shoots: green garlic, rhubarb, asparagus, sorrel and\u00a0pea tendrils. It’s so inspiring to see them at the markets, and I can’t resist- sometimes I buy more than I can\u00a0possibly eat\u00a0during\u00a0my leisure days. These things are costly, and\u00a0I make sure I use them all up. Some I can toss into salads, but many\u00a0spring\u00a0ingredients seem suited to cooler weather and delicate cooking: sorrel and nettles in pur\u00e9ed farmhouse soups and\u00a0creamy sauces for fish; green garlic softened in butter and used in egg dishes such as omelettes and frittatas,\u00a0and most deliciously, in the\u00a0Green Garlic Pudding\u00a0Souffl\u00e9-\u00a0a familiar anchor of the Chez Panisse caf\u00e9’s spring menus. And as for rhubarb, it’s most often baked into crumbles and pies.<\/p>\n

Although these ingredients\u00a0require time spent in the kitchen when I’d rather be outside on the grass, cool drink in my hand, there are ways to\u00a0work around this<\/strong> seasonal confusion:<\/p>\n

Creamy\u00a0pur\u00e9ed\u00a0soups, such as the reviving nettle and sorrel one my friend Stephanie made for us on a sweltering night last week, or the potato with peas and\u00a0herbs below, can be iced down and served chilled<\/strong>– or stored and reheated on cooler days-\u00a0and are especially delicious with a large dollop of yogurt, creme fra\u00eeche, or a swirl of buttermilk stirred in.<\/p>\n

\"Cool<\/a><\/p>\n

Treat your\u00a0lovely green things with care<\/strong>– they are newborns, after all. I like to place the stalks of asparagus in a bowl of cool water until I’m ready to cook\u00a0them; I keep them on my counter for a day, and in very hot weather I place the whole setup in the refrigerator. The stems continue to drink in the moisture, which keeps the asparagus tips nice and firm. On hot days I prefer quick, simple preparations, and I will steam the asparagus briefly and toss with butter, or throw them on a hot grill if that’s what the meal dictates. All they need then is a drizzle of delicious olive oil, coarse salt, and a squeeze of lemon. Shaved, raw asparagus will keep you away from the stove completely, although I don’t think the\u00a0flavor of asparagus can\u00a0really be appreciated until it’s cooked. But, if you insist: Use a vegetable peeler to shave the stalks into ribbons, Toss them gently with olive\u00a0oil, lemon and salt and layer on a plate with plenty of parmesan shavings and basil or parsley- and finely chopped toasted almonds or hazelnuts.<\/p>\n

Prepping ahead<\/strong> is the other key to keeping cool in the heat. Wash and dry delicate greens and roll them\u00a0loosely in a clean, light cloth before storing in the refrigerator in an open plastic bag. It’s very important for air to get in so the greens don’t become wet and slimy.<\/p>\n

And I long ago relieved myself of any obligation to bake unless I feel like it. Instead, I make things I can use later<\/strong>\u00a0stalks of rhubarb\u00a0can be quickly chopped and simmered: in simple syrup and strained to make a puckeringly tart, pink liquid I keep chilled to use as a base for lemonade and cocktails. Or the rhubarb can be cooked down with just a splash of water and sugar to taste- and okay, strawberries too- until it’s all\u00a0completely soft. Then the fruit simply needs to\u00a0be mashed with a potato masher and served, still warm, over scoops of vanilla ice cream- or even better-\u00a0fresh ginger ice cream. Any left will keep in a jar in the fridge until you’re ready for more. This is the most delicious fruity sauce to stir into your morning yogurt cup.<\/p>\n

On Memorial Dy weekend I was thanking my lucky stars (though, of course\u00a0I don’t believe I’m\u00a0lucky) that I had planned ahead<\/strong>; my Vin de\u00a0Pamplemousse is ready for aperitifs. During the cool months of early spring I had prepared a simple concoction, trusting that summer would come. Grapefruits were sweet and heavy with juice, and I sliced them and steeped\u00a0them into a ratafia for 40 days.\u00a0\u00a0But more on that later…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0538\"<\/a>

Thinking Ahead: Preparing Vin de Pamplemousse in March<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What seemed like an eternally dull and March-like spring has\u00a0suddenly\u00a0burst into summer But now it seems as if August is here in May! Because of the heat, I crave the foods of late summer like juicy tomatoes and melon,\u00a0although here … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[43,168,20,152,235,160,165,164,162,166,163,161,159,167,21,169,153],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ICYG-hx","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/annakovel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}