spring County Fare
by Diana Cercone
Tennyson told us in spring a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love. And every year we hear flower gardeners reminding us to look for daffodils and tulips to usher in the season. No disrespect here, for all that may be. But when I think of spring my mind turns to asparagus and fava beans. Asparagus with their stalks of glistening green or royal purple, plump or model-thin, and favas—their first-green-of-spring-colored orbs protected in robes of brilliant green waiting to be shelled. It’s only then, when I see them at the markets, that I rest easy knowing that spring is finally here.
I’d be hard pressed to tell you which of the abundant array of vegetables we’ll have access to from now through early winter that’s my favorite. But these two harbingers of spring have to top my long list hands-down. And it’s not just their looks that set them on their pedestals. It’s their taste, texture and versatility that make them game-changers in the kitchen and at the table.
I’ve roasted, sautéed, steamed, pureed and grilled (well, not the favas), and have used them as accents to salads or as the star attraction, but I’ve never thought that one could stand-in for the other. That is until I spoke with Sheila McDuffie. Sheila runs The Kitchen Garden Cooking School in Upper Black Eddy. That’s how we met. I had taken her class on Moroccan cooking. Since then—and many classes later—we’ve become friends and I never hesitate to call her about a veggie, ingredient or cooking method. (Sheila’s teaches hands-on classes for basics and demonstration classes for world cuisines. All are vegetarian, although so delicious are the dishes and so knowledgeable is she about the cuisines even omnivores like myself forget about the absence of meat and come home with recipes that quickly become staples at our tables. And for those who crave the addition of meat, she always gives suggestions for the beef, pork, chicken or fish that would work best in a recipe.)
To finish reading "Harbingers of Spring" turn to page 160 in the Spring 2013 issue of Bucks County Magazine.