TOP 5 SPRING INGREDIENTS

Back in the winter I talked about my top five winter ingredients and ways in which to use them. So here are my favourites for Spring, and what I am looking forward to stocking up on! Knowing 5 ingredients like this is great as sometimes just being able to focus in on a few key items helps can really help in meal planning and recipe searching!

1) Peas
I love peas! They are just to me the epitome of springtime, with their fresh taste, vibrant green colour and sweet flavour. They are a great ingredient for many different dishes; soups, pastas, side dishes. Quite versatile and extremely inexpensive, peas are a great go-to for the spring.
- Sweet pea risotto
- Crostini with mushed sweet peas and lemon ricotta
- Pea soup

2) Asparagus
I don't think there is one vegetable I truly couldn't live without other than asparagus. Such a great flavour, and to me a good looking vegetable. It always looks good on a plate and can really make a dish look pretty and rustic. Great on their own, with natural flavours of olive oil, salt and pepper or one of my favourite ways, with eggs in a frittata. They also could accompany any meat dish you serve!
- Roasted asparagus
- Asparagus frittata

3) Lemon
I am obsessed with lemons these days. Their tart flavour, versatility and bright colour just draw me in! A great springtime flavour, you will be sure to love this ingredient. It can be in salad dressings, in desserts, freshly squeezed
- Meyer Lemon tart
- Lemon ricotta for a crostini (basically this is a light and fluffy spread that can go on a crostini, delicious on its own or with crushed peas on top, this is a great springtime dish. To assemble just mix 1/2 ricotta with 2 tbsp lemon juice, some lemon zest, salt and pepper. For a deeper lemon flavour continue adding lemon juice to the mix)


4) Mint
I keep repeating how "fresh" flavour all of these ingredients are, and I guess the word fresh is just what I think of as necessary for Springtime. Mint is another one of those ingredients. After using it in my lab at school this week I rediscovered my love for mint! Beautiful as a garnish!
- Mint sauce for lamb chops
- Mojito (Cuban drink with fresh mint crushed into it)
- Two ingredient combo: pea soup with mint (also mint as a garnish for this)

5) Honeydew melon 
Honeydew for me just brings back the memories. In high school, everyday after school my mom would have a fruit platter waiting for us, and springtime meant copious amounts of honeydew, that is definitely part of the reason I adore honeydew. A great fruit, with a smooth texture and extremely sweet flavour, kids will gobble this one off their plates!
- Cold melon soup
- Melon wrapped with prosciutto
- Cut up on a fruit tray


Happy Spring!!


photo credit: google images

CHICKEN POT PIE

There is nothing better than comfort food, and sometimes when my mind is thinking comfort food it doesn’t go away until I make something to satisfy the craving. Last week I was given a Chicken Pot Pie recipe and for the past week all I have been able to think about cooking is pot pie! I finally made it last night – and it was delicious! Such a simple recipe, but so utterly easy and perfect! This dish is great for the coming cold winter months or when hosting friends or family as it’s a dish that serves many! I have never made pot pie before but I think it went quite well!

CHICKEN POT PIE

Ingredients:

- 2 pie crusts (homemade or the Pillsbury ones: I actually only did the top layer with crust, but if you want a bottom layer you will need two
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 /2 tbsp oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots (peeled and sliced into rounds)
- 4 celery stalks (sliced into similar size of carrots)
- 4 tbsp butter
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp ground dried thyme
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 3 tbsp minced parsley (fresh)

Directions:

- Heat oven to 400 degrees
- Place chicken and broth in a stock pot over medium heat. Cover, bring to simmer and cook until chicken is done (about 10 minutes. For this step I seasoned the broth with a bit of dried thyme, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper to give the chicken some extra flavour)

- Once chicken is done remove from broth and strain broth into a separate bowl.
- In the pot add oil (and I use butter too, for extra flavour) and sauté the carrots, onion and celery until tender (5ish minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove vegetables from pot and cut or shred chicken into bite size pieces. Set aside.
- Heat the butter in the empty pot over medium heat. Once melted add flour, whisk together and cook for about a minute. (You need to form a rue to thicken the sauce)
- Then whisk in chicken broth, milk, wine and thyme. Bring to a simmer continuing to whisk until sauce thickens (about another minute)
- Add in the fresh chopped parsley and stir together.
- Pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables and add in the peas.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish and cover with the pie crust (if you use a bottom crust, just make sure the dish is lined with the crust before you pout in the mix)
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the pie rust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly!

This recipe was adapted from the original at (http://www.momswhothink.com/chicken-recipes/chicken-pot-pie-recipe.html )

photo credit: my own

SPRING!

I think I am getting a little ahead of myself with all my summer talk - we still have spring to finish! FoodNetwork.ca has a great page right now featuring Spring Dinner Party Recipe ideas! I would recommend checking it out - not only are the recipes great for a party, but they focus on spring flavours like peas, asparagus and lemon!

Mmmmm, I can't wait to try out the Grilled Asparagus with Parsley Pesto!

Check out all the recipes here: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/search/story.html?id=2177646